What Are The Benefits Of Eating Organic Foods?

[kuntrygirl]

I hear so many people talking about eating "organic" food and I have to wonder if there is truly a health benefit to eating organic foods. Does eating organic food make you live longer? Does eating organic food keep you away from the doctor's office because you don't get sick? Does eating organic food give you more energy? Are there any proven/documented studies that show the benefits from eating organic food as opposed to eating non-organic food? Were 2 groups of people followed for years, while 1 group ate organic food and another group ate non-organic food and daily living patterns, health issues, lab results, weight changes, etc were compared and documented showing that eating organic food is better than eating non-organic food?

And for those that buy and eat organic food, how do you know if the "organic" food that you "think" you're buying in the store and eating is really "organic"?

What's the big fuss about eating organic food?

 

[chickened]

They cannot even agree on what is organic... Good luck with your question.

 

[HollyBird24]

Quote:

x2

I've seen some organic farmers where I live and the crops look pretty thin and unhealthy looking. I dunno if that makes a difference but the crops grown with chemicals look much better and healthier.

 

[MaryMouse]

The only way I am sure something is organic, is if I grow it myself.

 

[chickened]

I think spending your money on good average fruit and vegetables and eating a balanced diet like the USDA recommended when I was in grade school is the best way to go. Eating for a philosophical idea/reason is not always the healthiest. Do all things in moderation.

A good multi-vitamin covers alot of poor diets.

 

[OldGuy43]

Knew a fella once who raised "organic" for sale to a health food store. I once asked him what he did about bugs. He said flatly, "I use insecticide." I asked the obvious question and he unashamedly answered, "You just have to sign a statement saying you'll raise organic. You don't have to actually do it."

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that all organic foods are a scam. Nor am I saying that they are better for you. My great-grandmother lived to be 96 and I seriously doubt that she ever even heard the word.

 

[PotterWatch]

I believe there is a health benefit to eating food that hasn't been covered in pesticides or genetically engineered to contain pest/herbicides. No, I can't point you to a study because I have never bothered to look for one. I don't need a study to convince me that using less poison is a good thing. I also believe there is a benefit to the earth to consume products that aren't grown using pest/herbicides or fertilizers that harm our environment. Organic produce doesn't look perfect but I don't expect perfect looking food, I expect it to taste good and be as healthful as possible. I buy the vast majority of the organic food I consume from local farmers. People I am able to visit and talk to and see for myself how they are raising my food. I don't think the label "organic" really means anything anymore since it is now regulated and there are loop-holes everywhere. We raise our birds on organic food and sell them as organically-raised, but we aren't certified organic. For our customers, the process is more important than the label.

If you think organic food isn't any better, don't buy it, it's as simple as that.

 

[kari_dawn]

Quote:
nuff said.

Besides the inability to agree on what organic IS, as others have stated, Im not so sure about it keeping you away from the doctor...I don't spring for organic foods all the time, and the organic revolution is just in it's infancy, so we wouldn't really be seeing any measurable effects for some time. I have not needed to go to the doctor for any ailment in almost ten years. I think it has more to do with the kinds of foods you put in your body. If you eat nothing but pizza and soda all day, don't expect to be the picture of health.

right now, it is kindof the same thing as buying "cage free" eggs...

 

[Illia]

I don't see why people would complain about organic food. Before the so-called green revolution and the second World War, that's mainly how we grew and ate things.

Personally I don't out-loud label my produce "organic" but it is. I see no reason why I should use GMO varieties, spray pesticides on my plants, use man-made fertilizers, etc. There's no reason.

My compost is my fertilizer and has far more nutritional/mineral value than something I'd buy and use money on which I coulda saved, I don't need pesticides considering nature takes its own course and it's called stop monocropping and then GMO varieties? Well if I didn't do the first two, why? I need special varieties of some things for my lame, cool summer climate, yes, but there's LOADS of awesome, unusual, and delicious heirloom varieties out there that need preservation and do me just perfectly.

So, in buying, I understand why. I don't want to think my food I'm eating is soaked in pesticides, or is altered to kill insects that try and eat it, or covered in some protective layer of who knows what just to make it look fresh when I know it's been unripely sitting there for who knows how long.




Now in the debate of what truly is Organic and "organic" labels being scams/lies, yes, I agree with those risks. And with what words people use these days to reel in their customers, such as "Cage Free" eggs.

 

[kcjones]

I grow some of my own veggies with organic fertilizers, no pesticides, buy the rest of the produce from the store.Hope to start growing more food for chickens so can use less store bought feed and try some meat chickens in spring. I believe the less insecticides and pesticides in my food the better it is for me.