Why Buy Organic? Beyond the Health Benefits

Author: Chef Marty Rich

People have heard that organic food is better for them becauseit contains more vitamins and minerals and fewer chemicals thantraditional food; however, when people buy organic they don'tthink about the side benefits of their purchase such as theirpositive effect on the environment. Additionally, organicproducts put fewer pesticides, fertilizers and other dangerouschemicals into the environment which means they benefit yourfamily, as well as other families now and in the future.Organic farms also have better soil quality on organic farms,compared with soil on traditional farms, which proves it a majorbenefit of reducing chemical use in agriculture. Organic farmingworks to build the soil naturally through companion planting andcrop rotations, another great reason to buy organic. Bycomparison, traditional agriculture uses fertilizers to enhancesoil which fixes the immediate problem but doesn't repair theactual problem, nutrient deficient soil.Where do all the chemicals used by farmers go? Unfortunately,water from rain and irrigation runs off into lakes, rivers andstreams, taking all the chemicals used to farm the land with it.This water also seeps deep into the soil and enters undergroundwater supplies. Sadly, even if you buy organic food, chemicalsused in traditional farming could be infiltrating your localwater supply and, while many places control the amount of thesechemicals, others can't. In many rural areas, the only availablewater comes directly from the ground, modern filtration notincluded.Pesticides also adversely affect wildlife in farming areasbecause if you kill off all the bugs, the birds have nothing toeat. If animals survive with chemicals in their systems, theycan poison larger animals that eat them. One of the manynegatives of pesticides is that they kill good insects and badalike, which in turn kills beneficial wildlife.Possibly traditional agriculture's worst sin, and the mostharmful practice, bar none, is planting the same crop year afteryear because it can, and often does, make plants moresusceptible to pests while depleting the soil, thus increasingthe need for pesticides and fertilizers. To keep the soil fromwashing away, new soil requires more fertilizers so plants willgrow. Unfortunately, traditional farmers are not trying toreduce their use of chemicals. In many cases they are simplytrying to keep the family farm.In addition to the benefits of chemical-free agriculture,organic farmers work with the environment as a system. Theypromote conservation of water and soil and strive to maintainthe land so future generations can work, and benefit from, theland as well.About the author:Have Knives, Will Travel. This is the basis of my culinaryexperience. I love to move from place to place and cookinteresting foods, with interesting people. I like to teachculinary basics to people who find cooking challenging and alsoteach chefs how to find jobs if they want to make their careersmore exciting by traveling. Ultimately, I want to do both as Icontinue traveling around the country/world.http://www.chefmartyrich.com/