WHAT IS “ORGANIC”?
You may have heard of it, you may have even eaten it, fancied worldwide as probably the safest form of food believed to have health benefits – organic food! Long before humanity became very scientific in its approach to living, people planted crops, cultured the farms, fertilized the lands, and harvested the crops without the use of synthetic chemicals. It is a common belief that this system of agriculture was the reason why older generations lived healthier, had fewer diseases to deal with, and had better environments. If you existed centuries ago, you can be sure that your meal was organic without synthetic compounds believed to have health concerns. However, things have changed since the 1940’s¹ and most of our food today has undergone one or more processes that make them unfit to be called ‘organic’.
We all have an idea of what organic food should mean but in our innocent ignorance, there may be some important facts we may be missing out on in defining what is organic or not.
What is Organic Food?
They are food substances that are produced without the use of synthetic materials such as pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers during any of their farming procedure and are usually not processed with the use of irradiation, synthetic food additives, or industrial solvents.² Although in the general sense of it, the garden in your backyard which is tended to by natural means only can be said to produce organic food, only an authorized government body can label food produced organic or not especially when it has to be sold in a market place. Several countries like Japan, Australia, India, and Mexico have their respective bodies that are authorized to label foods. In the United States, however, the Department of Agriculture has mandated the National Organic Program with the task of certifying organic foods.³
The importance of these bodies in the definition of what food in the market is organic or not is not far-fetched. They are farm produce that did undergo natural treatments such as being treated with tobacco dust which contains nicotine sulfate and is regarded unfit to be called organic foods. Also, some foods are treated with organic pesticides such as mixtures containing soaps and hydrogen peroxide, yet are eligible to be regarded as organic food.
As you have seen earlier, several nations have their respective regulatory bodies so what is organic or not differs between countries, and these regulatory bodies are not only concerned about on-farm activities, even processing methods could determine if the food product is organic or not.
Why the hype about organic foods?
In many climes, a return to organic farming is seen as the solution to several health and ecological challenges. For instance, many people walk around carrying unhealthy doses of heavy metals from pesticide residues in their body systems. No, they are not cyborgs; rather, they have consumed foods with pesticide residues for a long time and these heavy metals have accumulated in their bodies. Such people have a high risk of getting weak immune systems, brain damage, or even cancer.
With the health problem posed by conventional and ‘chemical farming’ as Lord Northbourne called it in his 1940 book “Look to the Land”. It is only expected that experts and people, in general, show a preference for organic foods. If you are a parent or you hope to be a parent someday, the health of your children would be of concern to you. Research has proven that certain residues from pesticides ingested at different levels of exposure by children affected the development of their cognitive abilities adversely. Animal models have shown neurotoxicity when treated with residues from pesticides and some of these residues which can accumulate from eating conventional foods treated with pesticides have been shown to cause an imbalance in the endocrine system.⁴
We cannot separate our health from what and how we eat. What we eat may affect our health directly such as inducing illnesses or indirectly by weakening our immune system which is supposed to help our bodies fight foreign disease-causing substances or organisms. Could it be that our deviation from organic feeding to synthetic agricultural methods is the cause of our plummeting general wellness? There are also certain effects conventional farming causes to the environment and if we continue at this rate will end up reducing the quality of our health, shortening our life span, and making our environments unsafe for healthy living.
Impact of Organic farming on the environment
From imbalance to the soil ecosystem to fertilization of our water bodies, conventional farming with the use of synthetic chemicals has caused serious environmental problems on a global scale. When water runs from fertilized lands into river bodies, it causes eutrophication. Eutrophication is the fertilization of water bodies beyond normal quantity. This kills our fish, blocks our waterways by making floating plants grow on boat passages. This is not to mention the increase in toxic heavy metal content in agricultural soils. There are speculations that when we shift from conventional ways of farming that use chemicals to a more organic approach, there would be long-term benefits in the areas of soil health, ecosystem sustainability, and preserving micro biodiversity.⁵
Final thoughts
Our food choices can either affect us negatively or help our cells in positive ways. They can make our cells age faster or retain youthfulness.⁶ The health benefits of organic foods cannot be emphasized enough. Other than giving us food without disease-causing pesticide residues, organic foods help us strengthen our immune system. For many people, the reason they purchase organic foods is for their health benefits and their nutritional value.⁷ Judging by the reasons we have seen so far, their preference is cogent enough. As a person who believes in general wellness, I believe that you can enjoy a life of consistent health if you take your feeding more seriously, especially in the consumption of foods of organic origin.
In holistic, the environment also plays a role in keeping healthy. Organic methods of farming promise a better state of our soils, water, and even greenhouse emissions. You may want to borrow a leaf from my book Lead A Horse To Water and explore interesting ways to keep your body healthy, your mind cheerful and your spirit enriched. With what we do at Holistic Live Younger, everyday people like you and me can truly live a life of total health consistently. Together, let’s all live Forever Young.
Bibliography
- Drinkwater, Laurie E. (2009). “Ecological Knowledge: Foundation for Sustainable Organic Agriculture”. In Francis, Charles (ed.). Organic farming: the ecological system. ASA-CSSA-SSSA. P.19. ISBN 978-0-89118-173-6.
- “Pesticides in Organic Farming”. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
- “National Organic Program”. Agricultural Marketing Service, US Department of Agriculture. 12 December 2018.
- Mie, Axel; Andersen, Helle Raun; Gunnarson, Stefan; Kahl, Johannes; Kesse-Guyot, Emmanuelle; Rembialkowska, Ewa; Quaglio, Gianluca; Grandjean, Philippe (2017). “Human health implications of organic food and organic agriculture: a comprehensive”. Environmental Health. 16: 111.
- Pieper, Maximillian; Michalke, Amelie; Gaugler, Tobias (2020). “Calculation of external climate costs for food highlights inadequate pricing of animal products.” Nature Communications. 11 (1):6617.
- Sakr, N. (2021). “Lead A Horse To Water. Pp.13.
- “Deciphering Organic Foods: A Comprehensive Guide to Organic Food Production, Consumption and Promotion”. Novapublishers.com.