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Organic demystified
By Cathryn D. Blue
ORGANIC: of, relating to, yielding, or involving
the use of food produced with the use of feed or
fertilizer of plant or animal origin without employment
of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants,
antibiotics, or pesticides. Organic foods are real foods
that come from nature without artificial processes and
flavors.
Now that we know what organic means, let’s explore what
organic means to you. The food that we eat today is
exponentially different from the food our parents and
our grandparents ate. In the past 30 years, the United
States population has grown in size and in consumption.
With the American ideology of “more is better,” our
collective waistlines are expanding, our consumption is
becoming greater, and food production industries are
taking advantage. In order to keep up with the demand,
chemicals, pesticides, and hormones have been infused
into our foods to make our buffalo wings more buff, our
apples more ample, and our barley more burly.
If these inorganic means of growing and raising food
affect what we eat to this extent, what does this mean
for our health? Let’s explore some of the following
facts:
• Factory farm animals are much higher in fat than the
pasture-raised animals of 30 years ago because they get
very little exercise and their feed is designed to
intentionally fatten them as quickly and cheaply as
possible. Higher fat in the animals means higher levels
of saturated and unsaturated fats in our food.
• The use of hormones to make animals larger for
consumption has lead to increased levels of early onset
puberty in young men and women.
• There is overwhelming evidence that pesticides cause
cancer and are extremely dangerous to humans and the
environment. Pesticides are not only used on produce,
but factory farm animals eat great quantities of feeds
that are often grown on land heavily sprayed with the
most dangerous pesticides. Therefore, these chemicals
are not only in our fruits and vegetables, but they are
also in our meats.
• In 1900, cancer was responsible for only 3% of all
deaths in the United States. In 1987, cancer was
responsible for 20% of all deaths. Today, 35% of deaths
in the United States are caused by cancer alone.
• Foods highly processed and infused with chemicals are
designed to keep you hungry. The more you eat, the more
money food production industries make…but the wider and
unhealthier you become!
Your health is your main priority. Taking care of
ourselves by eating real foods will prevent us from
having to spend thousands on medications, surgeries, and
hospital visits. Today, unlike 80 years ago, there are
enough resources for us to be able to choose what we put
into our bodies. What we do now influences not only our
well being, but the well being of generations to come.
Make everything count, and your body will be there for
you and for those to come.
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| Food Facts and Statistics obtained
from: Robbins, J. (1987). Diet For a New America. NH:
Stillpoint Publishing. |
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