he public is becoming increasingly aware of the importance of
healthy nutrition for general health and overall well-being.
Processed foods which are high in saturated fats, sugar and sodium,
and low in essential nutrients are not only responsible for
overweight problems but have been also shown to be major contributors
to a number of health problems including diabetes, high blood
pressure and heart disease. To make things worse, there are also
various artificial preservatives, flavour enhancers and a number of
other chemicals with dubious effects on health. But on the other
hand, unprocessed foods are not as healthy as they seem to be either
because most of them are conventionally grown which means with the
use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, antibiotics, growth hormones
and who knows what else. Fortunately, there is a safer and healthier
alternative – organic food.
Critics claim that there are not enough evidence for organic food
being either healthier or safer than the conventional one, however,
the organic farming methods speak for themselves. The main idea of
organic food production is avoidance of all non-organic farming
methods which means that the use of pesticides, artificial
fertilizers, antibiotics, growth hormones and similar things is
strictly forbidden. Instead, organic food producers use all natural
farming methods such as crop rotation, composting, companion
planting, stimulating biodiversity, etc. As a result, organic
products pose no risk of pesticide residues nor presence of other
potentially harmful chemicals. Organic food products also are not
allowed to contain any genetically modified ingredients nor
artificial additives. Although conventionally grown food is claimed
to be safe, absence of all non-natural ingredients makes organic food
without a doubt a healthier and safer choice because the long term
effects of those “safe“ doses of pesticides, preservatives and
other chemicals remain unknown. They may be harmless but they may be
also seriously harmful. Why take the chance if you do not have to?
The main advantage of organic food is without a doubt absence of
all non-natural ingredients but the benefits of organic food for
health do not end here. Due to the fact that organic food products
must not contain any artificial preservatives their shelf life is
much shorter. This is particularly important when it comes to fresh
fruits and vegetables which start to lose nutritional value the same
moment they are harvested. And it is the shorter shelf life that
makes organic fruits and vegetables more nutritious because they have
to be consumed relatively soon in contrary to conventionally grown
ones which look like they were just harvested for weeks or even
months. As a result, organic food provides considerably greater
amounts of essential nutrients which play the key role in human
health.
In addition to direct health benefits, organic food offers a
number of indirect but just as important positive effects on both
human health and the environment. Since organic food production
strictly forbids the use of hazardous chemicals, there is no risk of
soil or water contamination which does not just affect the population
living nearby conventional farms but wider areas as well considering
that groundwater accounts for 80% of the drinking water in some parts
of Southern England.
