Benefits of Organic Food

When considering whether or not to add organic foods to your diet, you may wonder if it is worth the extra cost to add these fresh items to your grocery list. For many people, the answer is yes, absolutely! The benefits of organic food are widely believed to outweigh the added costs, not just for our bodies, but for the environment as well.

According to proponents, the most common and important benefits of organic food include:

It's healthier - What makes organic food different from any other item you would buy at the store is that they are guaranteed to be free of harmful pesticides, chemicals, and fillers and haven't been subjected to complex processing. Organic food and organic baby food is said to be as pure as nature intended, and are believed to be much healthier for you than non-organic products. This is the main aspect that makes organic food what it is.
It's highly regulated - While the FDA does a good job of monitoring where our food comes from, organic food is subjected to a much higher standard. On top of meeting all other required standards for non-organic food, farms and other places that produce organic food must be certified by one of the approved USDA organizations in order to sell and label foods as "organic."
It's environmentally friendly - Since organic farms don't consume or release harmful toxins, they produce far less waste and little to no pollution into the ground, water, or air.
Production of it is more energy efficient - Organic production is about quality, not quantity, so most organic farms don't use wasteful machines or harmful products. Many also choose to run on solar and wind power, adding to the organic appeal of the product, and are thus much more eco-friendly that other producers.
It's more nutritious - Since organic food is free of pesticides and unnatural chemicals, the food is allowed to develop the way it is supposed to and there is nothing to interrupt or interact with the nutritional value of the product. It is believed by many that organic fruits and vegetables have more vitamins and antioxidants than non-organic products, and meat from livestock is more lean and healthy.
It tastes better - While there is no scientific way to prove that organic food tastes better, it believed by its proponents to be and it consistently wins blind taste tests with participants stating that the organic product is sweeter, richer, or has a more pleasant flavor than non-organic products.

These are just some of the supposed facts and benefits of organic food. While it's true that organic food does sometimes cost more than non-organic (this is because the natural fertilizers and costs are higher during production), even simply adding a few organic items to your grocery list can help make a difference in your family's health.