Environment
Based on several surveys and studies, the general consensus is that organic farming is less damaging than conventional farming for the following reasons:
- No consumption or release of synthetic pesticides: Some synthetic pesticides can harm soil, water and wildlife.
- Plant and animal diversity: Natural ecosystems of plants, insects and animals are impacted less by organic farming techniques
- Efficiency: Organic farms consume less energy and produce less waste, including waste from packaged chemicals
- Soil quality: Soil is naturally enriched with manure and compost. Crop rotation and use of cover crops help stop weeds, leaching of nutrients and soil erosion.
Farmworker Health
Studies have detailed the effects and side effects of pesticides upon the health of farm workers, even when those pesticides are used correctly. By farming organically, farm workers are protected from unnecessary exposure to these chemicals.
The Bottom Line
Studies have show that organic food tastes better and is greener than their commercial counterparts. While some of this is certainly subjective, you’ll find that if you do your own tests, organic food does have a taste and appearance you may not have encountered by shopping for produce in a commercial grocery.
Buying locally helps you have a closer connection to the local community, and a stronger link to local farms and their farm workers.
At the end of the day, if you circumstances find you standing in the produce aisle of your commercial grocery, pick from items with less pesticides than others, including onions, avocados, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mangos, asparagus, frozen sweet peas, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli and papaya.
Top 5 fruits and vegetables with MOST pesticides if NOT organic
Top 5 fruits and vegetables with LEAST pesticides
Related Resources
- Wikipedia: Organic food
- Food Democracy: Food with most and least pesticides
- USDA: Organic agriculture
Tags: organic, pesticides
More about Amy and Scott Dawson, creators of Lunchtaker.com: One of our core focuses is on nutrition and fitness. Our children both attended a parent cooperative pre-school where the morning snack was as healthy as possible, and our family liked the opportunities for new foods that arose in pre-school. As our children go through grade school, we are focusing on continuing the trend of ensuring we feed ourselves a variety of foods, all good for our bodies... read more...
Posted Sunday, March 29th, 2009 at 7:49 am and filed under Environmental, Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
