A faithful blog reader recently made this comment,
“There are so many conflicting “facts” out there it is often hard to know what is right. Maybe you could do something about organic foods sometime. That label seems to be everywhere.”
Look no further than today’s post (and the following one) for what you need to know about organic food.
The idea of switching to buying and eating organic food really intimidated me at first and wasn’t something I thought I could do or needed to do. But who knew that if you looked hard enough you could find pretty much eveything you’d want, in organic format, like organic drinking chocolate australia!
Did it really matter if something was organic or not? What did it mean if something was labeled “organic”? How could I afford it?
Trying to overhaul everything at once was overwhelming, so I made changes when I was ready over a period of time. A great place to start is getting your own chickens, take a look at these backyard chicken coops if this is something you’re considering.
In today’s post, I’ll be clearing up what “organic” means and why eating organic matters. I’ll also share some helpful tips and guidelines that I wish I had known years ago! Check out this video for the scoop or scroll down for a written summary.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvabMxTPd48
In addition to what I learned through my health coaching training, one of the key drivers for why I started embracing organic eating was the documentary Food, Inc. It’s powerful and eye-opening. You won’t look at food the same way again after watching it!
Order it on Amazon or check it out on Netflix or Amazon Prime!
Before I delve into what organic means, I want to make one point super clear. Don’t let lack of access to organic fruits and vegetables deter you from eating them. Dr. Micheal Greger, found of NutritionFacts.org and author of the book How Not to Die drives this point home time and time again. He advocates for doing whatever it takes to “stuff your face” with as many veggies as possible, even if they are not organic. His research highlights the lack of evidence showing a significant difference between the vitamin and mineral content of organic vs. conventional produce but does reveal higher antioxidant activity in organic vegetables.
The main reason consumers purchase organic food is due to concerns about the health and safety of their family. Much of our food supply (especially produce) has been raised and grown with the help of man-made pesticides, herbicides and insecticides that kill off creatures, critters and other environmental threats that would otherwise harm our crops. Companies can use proper storage means (like those from Storemasta) to help with this, but even so many people want to do more.
People who live or work in areas with high pesticide exposure tend to have higher rates of a variety of chronic health conditions, including brain anomalies, with children being the most susceptible. Unfortunately, long-term clinical studies about the effects of pesticides and genetically modified foods on humans are lacking, so we are a little in the dark at this point.
Because these synthetic chemicals haven’t been around that long and we haven’t studied their long-term health effects on humans, I choose to eat organic as often as possible as a precautionary measure.
Despite the mounting evidence to do so, even thinking about “going organic” can be overwhelming and confusing. Want to see what organic foods are available? Wholesome Hub are an organic food store you should definitely check out if you’re going organic. Here are a few tidbits of information that should help!
In my next post, I’ll share my top tips for eating organic without going broke!
Joelle
I am really interested in many of topics you discuss on your blog and I would love to be added to your email list!
racheldruck
Thank you, Joelle! I’m happy to hear that. I will add you to the email list, so check your inbox for a confirmation email from Rachel’s Nourishing Kitchen.