In Favour of Organic Food
Local organics provide more than short-term health benefits.
There is really only one major disease in the world, and that’s malnutrition. All ailments and disease can be linked to this basic deficiency. Doctors, naturopaths, nutritionists, and almost every other health guru out there widely accept the idea that a healthful diet leads to a healthful life. You are what you eat!

Consuming fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy oils, and antioxidants is key to preventing chronic diseases and improving quality of life.

Chemically processed foods will ultimately lead to problems biologically with our bodies and ecosystems.

In 1939, Dr. Weston Price published his monumental studies on indigenous cultures and nutrition in Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Dr. Price captured photographs of what was then called “primitive” cultures around the world and documented the decline of their health as adulterated foods entered their diets. Eventually, inferior genetic traits were passed on to their offspring. In his conclusion, Dr. Price wrote: “Nature has been making normal birds, butterflies and animals for millions of years. If wild animals can do it, why cannot we? Is it because they, by their instinct, select the right foods and do not meddle with nature’s food by changing them?”

infavouroforganicfood
British Columbia has the largest proportion of land devoted to organic fruit and vegetable production in Canada.
We are in the middle of an economic and financial crisis. One can survive with little money but not for long with poor health. How do you act preventatively without breaking the bank?

Let’s face it, good health comes at a cost, but so does illness. Should you buy organic or conventionally grown foods? What is more important, preventing illness or treating it? Are exotic superfoods such as goji and açai berries better for you than the local treasures we have in Canada such as raspberries and blueberries?

Making the right choice is neither clear nor easy.

However, if we are going to make it through these times, everyone must evaluate their spending habits and look at the long-term effects of their lifestyles.

Think globally, buy locally?

Visiting local farmers’ markets can be a lovely way to spend the afternoon. Meeting the farmers and hearing about their land and how their crops are grown can be an empowering and educational experience. You’ll soon discover that many local producers farm organically but aren’t certified organic due to the costs involved with becoming officially certified.

The significance of supporting your local economy is very important to consider as well. Small-scale farmers and producers often struggle to compete with the corporate agriculture industry. London’s New Economics Foundation found “that every £10 [$17.90 CAD] spent at a local food business is worth £25 [$44.75 CAD] for the local area, compared with just £14 [$25.06 CAD] when the same amount is spent in a supermarket. That is, a pound (or dollar, peso, or rupee) spent locally generates twice as much income for the local economy.”

Supply and demand is one of the most fundamental concepts of economics and the backbone of a market economy. Indications from the media and other sources show that consumer interest and demand for organic products and health foods is still growing.

British Columbia has the largest proportion of land devoted to organic fruit and vegetable production in Canada, with 8.7 per cent of their land devoted to total vegetable area, while 3.2 per cent of fruit area is organic.
Theoretically, if we apply these principles to the organic food industry, availability should increase and prices decrease. This would lead to more farmers becoming interested in switching their production practices, helping to shift the agriculture industry to a more sustainable model.

How important is it to choose organic over conventional foods?

It’s more important to choose organic now than ever before. Supporters of the organic movement will tell you that organic farming practices are better for your health and the environment. This process involves rotating crops, composting, and companion planting. It’s time consuming and labour intensive.

The same can be said for treating cancer.

Healthy plants require healthy soil. N-P-K fertilizers are widely used with conventional farming practices. However, there is a wide array of trace minerals that are also necessary for healthy soil, including magnesium, zinc, copper, iron, boron, manganese, cobalt, chromium, molybdenum, and calcium. If the soil is missing nutrients, the plant will be missing the same nutrients.

For example, if inorganic cobalt is absent in the soil, plants cannot absorb and convert it to organic cobalt. If our food is deficient in cobalt, the body cannot manufacture vitamin B12. Without B12, the assimilation of iron is compromised and we become anemic. Anemia can lead to depression, fatigue, and weakness, thus making us more vulnerable to disease.

Organic farming practices help to enrich, preserve, and maintain our soil integrity. Conventional farming has a much different approach and we primarily made this agricultural shift to produce higher crop yields, thus leading to more profits. But at what cost?

Does organic food always cost more?

Many organic producers are able to command a price premium from the consumer. This is likely due in part to the perceived health benefits consumers believe they are buying.

From an agricultural perspective, most organically grown crops have reduced yields. Farmers must experiment to overcome pests and other problems. All this extra time and energy costs money. Ask yourself what foods you should buy and at what time of the year?

If you purchase seasonal organic produce, the price is often comparable and is sometimes even cheaper than that of its conventional competitor. I first noticed this three years ago while shopping at a local health food store. It was the peak of berry season and organic strawberries were $2.99 a pint. A large chain grocery store was selling what I call “steroid berries” for $3.99 a pint—the same weekend! That’s when I began to notice the price trends with organics and started following more of a seasonal diet.

For many Canadians, however, a major hurdle is the fact that fresh, organic produce is not available all year round.

The solution? Canning, drying, freezing, and storing particular foods throughout the year. Buy a case of organic berries when they’re in season and freeze what you cannot use before they spoil. You’ll have nutrient-packed berries until winter. Squash and most root vegetables keep well in a cold room or the basement through the winter months.

This results in spending less on organic foods and reaping the health benefits for a longer stretch of time—but I choose this lifestyle for other reasons too.

The environmental consequences of agriculture chemicals cannot be overlooked. Many of these chemicals are known carcinogens and mutagens, proven to cause cancer, genetic, nerve, and brain damage. Rainwater washes them into our water table and from there whole ecosystems are affected. You want proof? DDT was banned in the early 1970s but can still be found in the livers of ocean fish and tissue of penguins in the North Pole.

The environmental effect of transporting our food is another popular argument presented by local food advocates. The farther food has to travel to reach your plate, the more fossil fuels, carbon emissions, and other pollutants are created, contributing to climate change, acid rain, and air pollution.

The nutritional argument comes from the concern about the nutritional differences between produce that can be enjoyed the day it’s picked or produce that travels thousands of miles to sit on the grocery store shelf. The problem with some fresh fruits and vegetables is that the vitamin and enzyme content is depleted by light, temperature, and time. Produce that has been imported will have a lower nutritional value due to the time spent in transit and while sitting on store shelves under fluorescent bulbs. Foods that are transported long distances will often be preserved with waxes, irradiant gases, and synthetic chemicals such as sprout inhibitors and fungicides. Some produce is picked too early, so it ripens on store shelves instead of trees, never reaching its full nutrient potential.

Yes, that is rotting food you’re eating.

The Mayans thrived for 1,500 years—we know this from the magnificent temples, pyramids, and monuments they left behind. Many have speculated about why this and other civilizations met their demise. Some experts say it was their lust for food and fuel, thus exhausting the land they lived on. If this is true, let us learn from the mistakes of the past and work together to preserve the integrity of our bodies and our future.

I now live by this mantra: “Buy locally when I can and import when I must. Eat organically when in season and conventional within reason.”

About the Author

Jenelle Kitto is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. She offers nutritional coaching at BodyPrint in Calgary. She recently started co-hosting customized nutrition/yoga parties and retreats, which focus on using whole foods and eating seasonally inspired cuisine.
 

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