Why Eat Organic?

We've all seen the signs for organic produce and foods. And with few exceptions, organic produce is more expensive than regular produce. So what's the deal - is organic food better than regular food? And is it worth the price?

I have to confess, while I try to eat organic as much as possible, I don't always enjoy the price tag that comes with organic eating (which is why we have a garden!) But when I think about the alternative, I have a hard time thinking that organic isn't better.

A lot of people don't actually know why organic food is cool or important. So what is "organic"  anyway? "Organic" refers to a couple of different, important things. First, organic food is food raised without the use of toxic chemicals like herbicides and pesticides. Second, organic food is food that is in its original form, free of genetic modification. 

Genetic modification is what certain companies do to try to improve the hardiness of various plants, using little changes to the DNA of the plant. For example, Monsanto once put some frog DNA into the genetic makeup of a strawberry plant to make it resist a certain weed or insect. The problem with genetic modification isn't just that it creates freakish, live Frankenberries, but also that we don't honestly know what the impact of such genetic modifications does to our bodies. And without that knowledge, I think GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) are a bit creepy and scary.

Now, one of the biggest problems with organic foods is that they've tried to keep the foods GMO-free, so that people are able to choose not to ingest GMOs, but because many plants are "cross-pollinated" (meaning the wind carries pollen from one plant to another, as in the case of corn or apple trees), these days it's getting harder and harder to guarantee that any food is GMO-free.

Most think that you can wash an apple and get the toxic chemicals like pesticides off, but it's quite difficult to get all of the pesticides off, and you can't wash off the GMOs, because they're in the building blocks of the food - the DNA.

So here's my thinking: if I can afford to avoid toxic, carcinogenic chemicals like herbicides, pesticides, GMOs, and the hormones they give to cows to help them produce more milk....why wouldn't I?

And that's where the price tag comes in. Next week, I'll talk about how to make organic produce more affordable - stay tuned!