Would you like some pesticides with that?
In the last few years the organic movement has gained a lot of ground among the general population. However, some still remain skeptical at whether there is any benefit to buying into this slightly more expensive food trend. This is why I am taking the opportunity today to talk about why it is important to choose organic foods.
Probably one of the most notorious powers in modern day agriculture is Monsanto, a name you’ve probably seen a lot on the news lately, namely in several lawsuits, most recently from a man who blames their glyphosate-based products such as Round-Up Weedkiller, for the development of his cancer. If you haven’t heard of this check it out here: https://globalnews.ca/news/4382251/monsanto-lawsuit-roundup-glyphosate-cancer/ This isn’t the first lawsuit against Monsanto for illnesses related to herbicide and pesticide use. Neither are they the only company targeted. The list of scientific studies demonstrating the negative health impacts pesticides can have on health is a long one. Everything ranging from cancer, to development disorders, to hormone imbalances can be found. Some people will argue that these pesticides found on your average grocery store produce are in too-small a quantity to actually affect human beings. While that may be true for a single day of eating pesticide-contaminated produce, one must also take into account that people tend to need to eat every day, several times a day… Your body will then be charged with pesticides and other harmful additives that it will have to try and deal with, day in and day out. Eventually there will be problems that develop due to the accumulation of toxicity in the body.
Aside from pesticides there are a bunch of other scary additives that are found in our food nowadays. Additives that act as preservatives, add flavour, colour, texture, replace sugar, etc. Not to mention GMO’s, again many will argue that GMO’s are safe. While we currently do not know whether there is in fact a safe way to genetically modify food, the way it is currently being implemented is certainly not deemed safe. A genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is an organism, for instance a plant, that has had its genes altered in a laboratory setting, often using genes from a different organism and inserting it into said plant, creating a sort of “Frankenplant” if you will. Now while this could potentially have some interesting applications in the sense of making a plant more resistance to environmental changes such as heat or drought, which we will likely see more of in the coming years due to climate change, this is not how they are currently being used or studied. Organisms are currently being genetically modified to be able to tolerate more pesticides and herbicides such as Round-up Ready. So, HURRAY we can spray more toxic substances on our food and the plants won’t die from it! Big round of applause to the person who thought that was a good idea! If you want more information on this you can check out: https://www.nongmoproject.org/gmo-facts/
So, the biggest benefit of eating organic food? Not overloading your body with poison (and no, washing it will never get all of it off). In terms of nutrient content non-organic and organic do actually contain the same amount, however in the case of the non-organic produce, your body will immediately use up the nutrients in detox processes in an attempt to eliminate the toxins, and not being able to regenerate cells. Now, I understand that organic is pretty expensive, but to those who can afford a little more I would say it’s worth the change. If you are a poor student, or are on the lower income side, there are still certain tricks I have up my sleeves for you. Namely the clean 15 and the dirty dozen list. Every year the Environmental Working Group puts out a list of the top 15 fruits and vegetables that contain the least amount of pesticides and the 12 fruits and vegetables that have the highest concentration of pesticides and other toxins. This way you can choose what produce you should really buy organic, and which ones are okay to buy from conventional agriculture. In terms of meat and animal products, you should always choose organic, because unfortunately animals raised in conventional farms are fed cheap GMO’ed, pesticide-filled, grain feed, and this all gets stored in their tissues, particularly in fatty tissues, which we then in turn eat. Not to mention the horrendous treatment of the animals on conventional farms. If this is an issue, try reducing your meat consumption, switch it out for some plant-based proteins.
Here are some more helpful links if you need more information:
EWG clean 15 list: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/clean-fifteen.php Equiterre to help you find local organic farmers: https://equiterre.org/actualite/abonnez-vous-aux-paniers-bio-des-maintenant