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Organic FoodsThe current interest in organic foods is a part of the holistic health movement that started back in the 1990's and swept the world. Now it has become more an issue of health than simply a 'back to nature' element and more people are seeing the value of not adding the chemicals and additives to their foods. For instance, the everyday apple you see sitting on your grocer's shelf probably has been hit with at least 30 different types of pesticides during its growth cycle. Knowing that often gives people a reason to sit up and take notice of the possibilities for danger they are creating when they eat foods without concern to how they are grown.
For some people there is a mistaken impression that organic foods are any foods not prepared in ways that are detrimental to health such as frying, or adding creamy sauces. Unfortunately simply skinning the deep fried coating off of a piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken does not make it 'organic'. Organic foods are pure from the very source. That means the above mentioned chicken not only shouldn't be cooked in an unhealthy way, it shouldn't be grown in an unhealthy way, or created in an unhealthy way. Organic chicken or any other meat product must be bred without the use of hormones, raised without feeds that have been grown using pesticides and other chemicals or genetically engineered through scientific measures to produce bigger yields or make them what they were not originally. All organic products can be verified if they have a 'certified organic' seal on them. This is an indication that the farm that produced the food product whether it is grain, vegetable, or meat, has been inspected and uses no forms of chemical processing in the creation of their produce. This makes the cost of these products quite high as they must undergo these rigid testing inspections on a regular basis. Even something as simple as an egg is often mislabeled as organic when it is not. While you would think an egg is pretty hard to 'modify' through the use of chemicals and it, in itself is, what many people fail to realize is what makes an egg 'organic' is how the chicken that laid the egg was raised and fed. True organic eggs come from chickens that are fed feeds raised organically, and better yet, are 'free ranged'. Free ranged meats and dairy products differ just slightly from a simple 'organic' label as they go a step further and require the animals in question not be housed in tight confines and fed only processed feeds, but rather are allowed to roam a pasture of rich grasses, which for organic purposes must not be chemically treated with any herbicides or pesticides. There are a lot of great places to find organic foods besides scouring your local supermarket for the few 'certified' products they may carry. Natural health food stores carry a good supply of many non-perishable items and some even have a good selection of fresh foods available. Don't stop there. Look around for farmer's markets and even take a trip to the surrounding countryside where you are apt to find some wonderful local farmers growing food naturally and willing to provide you with the food you and your family needs. Not only will you be living healthier, you'll make some interesting new friends along the way. |
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Most organic foods contain as much as
50% more nutritional value than its commercially grown counterpart.
That makes them a very valuable asset to a healthy diet. Still,
a lot of confusion remains surrounding the issue of 'organic'
foods and what that really means.