Agriculture is rapidly developing and changing in the modern world. Best practices are being tested and implemented, and government regulations are evolving, bringing about plenty of various products to the market. One such strand of agricultural products is organics. Many nutrition centric agencies and think tanks have classified this to be one of the best alternatives to conventionally produced and processed foods. However, they are hard on the pocket. So is buying organic food products genuinely worth the investment?
Listed below are some of the reasons that organic foods are considered a healthy and an eco-friendly choice.
1.Healthy Choice
Maintaining a healthy diet has far-reaching benefits, with the most direct being our well-being. Therefore, as a consumer, buying organic products is a no-brainer.
Farmers only use organic or animal-based fertilizers to grow their food products. This restriction ensures far lower amounts of pesticide residue in natural foods. This restriction is also beneficial, as organic foods have higher nutritional value and are also relatively safer for consumption. Increased use of pesticides and fertilizers leave hazardous toxins on the crops and produce. Even though all food items in the market have been deemed safe for consumption, the lesser they are used, the more reliable and healthier the food is.
Administering large amounts of antibiotics can create high resistance bacteria, while growth hormones are known to be carcinogenic. These make animal-produce potentially hazardous in the long run. Organic produce, however, is not processed through these harmful means. Animals are fed and cared for appropriately. They also provide highly nutritional diets and greater access to open fields and grasslands.
Pertinent studies have concluded that organic produce has 50% more omega-3 fatty acids. These are unsaturated and healthier fat molecules. Moreover, in a comparison between organic and non-organic milk, organic milk had lesser saturated fats in it. As a rule of thumb, unsaturated fats are healthier and don't cause health issues such as obesity, high cholesterol, etc. Also, a recent study in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry proved that organic onions had 20% more antioxidants than their non-organic counterpart. This study catered to only one aspect of the comparison but thwarted previous studies claiming no difference in both samples. They claimed that a more extended period was required to compare both conditions appropriately, and to attenuate random variables such as weather and climate.
Due to the lack of preservative content in preparing organic products, a consensus has deemed them fresher than their counterparts. Even though taste and flavour are much subject to cooking expertise, these organic products taste far more natural. They are not accentuated with synthetic flavouring, making them more desirable.
On a broader, more collective outlook, buying organic foods can positively impact the environment in several ways, as the farming techniques used in their production are sustainable and eco-friendly.
Organic practices reduce dependency on fertilizers, pesticides, and other harmful chemicals in farming. Lesser amounts of hazardous compounds are flushed out, from the fields to streams and rivers. Toxins from riverbeds are cleansed, reducing their overall amount. Our drinking water is thus, cleaner and healthier as a result. Moreover, more water is conserved, too, as water isn't utilized, for diluting chemicals to enrich the soil artificially.
Organic farms indulge in several sustainable farming methods such as conservation tillage, cover crops, windbreaks, etc. These methods enrich the soil and maintain sufficient moisture content to prevent soil erosion.
Conventional farming methods rely heavily on the fertilizer, petrochemical, and pesticide manufacturing industry. These industries use exceeding amounts of fossil fuels to manufacture harmful products, polluting the air, water, and soil collectively. As organic farming does not rely on these industries, they decrease the production demand, and in turn, reduce the amounts of fossil fuels used. Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, carbon dioxide emissions is just some of the positive outcomes one can observe as a result.
We recommend choosing organic food products instead of their counterparts. They are a healthier option. They are also great for the environment. Even if being expensive makes them undesirable, their high-quality, nutrition-rich content makes them a far better choice. One should actively invest in assists, and what better asset to invest in than yourself and the planet as a whole
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