1. Pesticide exposure from eating non-organic food stays in your body, however, eating organic food avoids pesticides altogether!

A European study, that received widespread media attention, showcased a family who never ate organic food, testing the pesticide residues in their urine at the beginning of the study. The urine samples contained multiple harmful pesticides in each of their bodies. After switching to an organic diet for a two-week period, the families took another urine test and the results showed that all of the pesticide levels lowered drastically or disappeared entirely!¹

 

2. Organic keeps GMO’s out of our food

Genetically engineered products (GMOs) are prohibited in organic production. They are dangerous to the health of the earth and life. Some consequences of using GMOs in agricultural production includes altering the DNA of the soil and plants, wiping out beneficial crops due to mono-cropping, creating harm to insects and pollinators and therefore creating a risk of decreased biodiversity.2 Organic agriculture addresses all of this as GMOs are banned in organic production for the very reasons listed above.

 

3. Organic farming maintains healthy soil

Healthy soil is important. With healthy organic soil, plants and microbial life can thrive, more water is retained nourishing the plants, and soil organisms can grow which prevents pests, and reducing run-off. Weak soil matter, often made less fertile by pumping it with chemicals for short term growth spurts, will become depleted of core nutrients needed for long term fertility. Soil will become dirt if soil health is not respected.3

 

4. Organic farming supports pollinators

Pollinators act as natural predators and can help organic farmers reduce their need for sprays or other inputs! Researchers compared bean pod plants on conventional farms and organic farms, surrounded by different habitats. Pots of beans were placed all over the fields and monitored for indicators of successful pollination. Organic farms had more pods per plant than the non-organic field! This means that pollination was more successful using organic techniques that respects pollinator health at the same time.4

 

5. Organic supports a healthier farm lifestyle and a healthier community

Farm workers deserve to be protected from chemical spray as well as the farm animals and surrounding wildlife. There many health benefits of organic including safer pregnancies and child health as organic does not use chemical pesticides and GMOs5, avoids the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones in livestock6 and organic has also been linked to preventing cancers like thyroid cancer. With these reasons and more, it is hard to understand why someone wouldn’t want to consume an all-organic diet!7

 

6. Organic foods are often more nutrient rich

There are so many studies available on how organic foods contain more antioxidants! Organic cranberries, organic milk, and even organic meats have all been proven to show higher levels of antioxidants, polyphenols and flavonoids!8 #healthiswealth

 

7. Organics are typically not a monocrop

Monocropping is a farming technique that is harmful towards the environment as it involves planting the same crop year after year without rotating the fields. This process makes the soil less fertile and due to this, farmers often turn to using chemical fertilizers and inputs to help their plants grow. Creating a quick fix agricultural system is at the detriment to our earth and health.9

 

8. Organics don’t cost taxpayers millions of dollars

Farming is hard work. Organic doesn’t cost taxpayers millions of dollars for clean-up from nitrogen run-off and algae blooms and dead-zones in the oceans that cost governments to clean up. Loss of productive land and clean water costs everyone!11

 

9. Organic keeps our oceans cleaner!

Studies have shown that organic agriculture results in less water pollution! Common organic production methods such as crop rotation, use of composted animal manure, foraging green legumes and use of green manures result in cleaner water due to less run off!10

 

10. Organic foods are often more flavourful

Organic agriculture has strict standards farmers and ranchers must abide by, many of them are in the interest of animal welfare! A study by Emory University and The Organic Center, reports findings of banned antibiotics, growth hormones, and controversial pesticides in non-organic milk! These residues were not found in organic milk. Organic cows eat non-GMO feed and must have mandatory grazing time outdoors! There is no need to inject animals to force them to produce milk and grow larger.15 Organic lets nature take its course all the while ensuring the animals have a peaceful life without stress. A study has shown the connection between stress and taste. Conventional animals and plants are under more stress due to the conditions and use of GMOs, chemical pesticides, and contaminated waterways and grasses/plants on which they depend. This stress can cause a different taste. Therefore, organic foods literally taste12 different due to decreased stress and is often said to be more flavourful! Many people find organic foods to be more flavourful. It turns out that a healthy amount of natural stress that plants experience strengthens them (wind, insects, diseases and weed competition). The defence mechanisms they use create antioxidants, polyphenols, and flavonoids, which strengthens the immune systems of humans that eat these plants. Plants that are prevented from developing their own responses to these natural stressors do not develop as much innate immunity and this is also not passed on to the people eating these foods.

 

11. Promotes biodiversity

Organic farming supports biodiversity! Having a mix of animals, plants, microorganisms and pollinators, allows for a healthy ecosystem and soil. A strong agricultural system is able to naturally prevent pests rather than using harmful chemicals to do so. By ensuring there are no synthetic chemicals used, plants, animals, and insects can flourish in organic agriculture and result in a biodiverse system.13

 

12. Mitigates Climate Change

That’s right, you read that correctly! Organic systems can actually mitigate climate change. Since organic makes soil health a priority, farmers produce cover crops to add more nitrogen into their soils, rotate their crops in order to avoid soil erosion, sequester more carbon, use less energy intensive inputs and release less carbon emissions!14 As climate change has reached its tipping point, choosing organic is a fantastic way to do your part on reducing your impact on the planet. Organic systems help reverse climate change since organic makes soil health a priority. Healthy soils equals soils rich in carbon. Organic farmers grow cover crops to add more nitrogen into their soils, rotate their crops in order to increase biodiversity, while sequestering more carbon. Also, organic uses less energy intensive inputs and release less carbon emissions!

 

13. Better for the animals:

Organic agriculture makes animals welfare a priority! This involves having truly-free range animals that are encouraged to roam with lots of space, fresh air, and an environment that enables the animals to express their natural behaviours!17

 

14. Organic agriculture is built on the principles of:

Health, Ecology, Care, and Fairness! Organic is a holistic way of producing healthy food for all, protecting the earth by caring for the soil, water and air as well as the growers, consumers, and wildlife that are part of the organic ecosphere.16 Organic cares about all actors in the system are treated fairly. Who wouldn’t want to support something with these four tenets as the foundation of your food system?

 

15. Non-organically raised animals are raised routinely on antibiotics or growth hormones!

Organic agriculture has strict standards farmers and ranchers must abide by, many of them are in the interest of animal welfare! A study by Emory University and The Organic Center, reports findings of banned antibiotics, growth hormones, and controversial pesticides in non-organic milk! These residues were not found in organic milk. Organic cows eat non-GMO feed and must have mandatory grazing time outdoors! There is no need to inject animals to force them to produce milk and grow larger.15 Organic lets nature take its course all the while ensuring the animals have a peaceful life without stress.

 

16. Organics do not enable dangerous fungi’s to grow stronger

Researchers have found that spraying synthetic chemicals to get rid of pests are actually making the pests stronger! IA fungi has become resistant to the harmful chemicals and are not dying. They have adapted and are slowly spreading around the globe becoming superweeds. Organic agriculture does not use synthetic chemicals to kill weeds. Instead, it promotes biodiversity, and lets the ecology regulate itself! This way, organic doesn’t help dangerous superweeds to develop. This way, organic doesn’t help dangerous pests evolve into resisting super strains!18

 

17. Organic is healthier for our children!

Organic reduces the amounts of chemical pesticides our children absorb, which can prevent major health issues, like mental agility, from starting at a young age. It is also healthier for newborns. When a pregnant mom eats conventional food, there are traces of harmful pesticides that get into the embryo, which they cannot properly digest or protect against.20

 

18. Local and organic are even better together!

By reducing the need to ship and transport food from long distances, you are helping reduce the global CO emissions and ensuring that ou rCanadian waters and lands are benefitting from your organic purchases.21 Organic rewards the additional labour needed to produce organic with a premium, building vibrant rural communities and employing twice the labour pool of conventional farms due to the different agricultural methods. Let’s continue to build a strong economy that supports excellent environmental practices by buying Canada’s organic local products.

 

19. Organic products are certified and inspected:

The Canada Organic claim and logo is your assurance that the prod- uct bearing it has met the Canadian government’s standards for organic. The standards are rigorous and inspections must occur to ensure that products are compliant on an annual basis. Only products containing 95-100% organic ingre- dients may use the logo. Products containing 70-95% organic ingredients may claim “Made with Organic Ingredients”. Those with fewer than 70% may only identify organic ingredients in the ingredient list, but not make an organic claim on the rest of the packaging in order to not mislead consumers that the entire product contains organic ingredients.18

 

20. There are lots of organic options out there!

From food to clothing to soap and natural health care products, organic products are available across Canada at hundreds of different stores across the country! Find products in your location using our locator: organicweek.ca/where-to-buy

 

21. There are ways to make organic more affordable on a tight budget

There are many ways you can make organic affordable on a tighter budget! Some suggestions include planting a garden, buying frozen, looking out for coupons, buying in bulk or in season and preserving, and planning your meals ahead of time.19 Another way to make organic affordable is through our 21 Days to organic packs!

 

The research

1. Curl et al., 2015.Estimating Pesticide Exposure from Dietary Intake and Organic Food Choices: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), Environmental Health Perspectives. 123(5). https://bit.ly/3kjnSxa
2. Szekacs, Andras. (2012). Environmental and ecological as- pects of first generation genetically modified crops regard- ing their impacts in a European maize producer country. International Journal of Environmental Protection. 2. 9-15.
3. Oldfield, E.E.; Bradford, M.A.; Wood, S.A. Global meta-analy- sis of the relationship between soil organic matter and crop yields SOIL 2019, 5, 15–32, doi: https://bit.ly/3pOss82
4. Georg K.S. Andersson, Johan Ekroos, Martin Stjernman, Maj Rundlöf, Henrik G. Smith, Effects of farming intensity, crop rotation and landscape heterogeneity on field bean polli- nation, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, Volume 184,2014, Pages 145-148,ISSN 0167-8809, https://bit. ly/3koyon1
5. Cynthia L. Curl, Jessica Porter, Ian Penwell, Rachel Phinney, Maria Ospina, Antonia M. Calafat, Effect of a 24-week randomized trial of an organic produce intervention on pyrethroid and organophosphate pesticide exposure among pregnant women, EnvironmentInternational, Volume 132,2019,104957, ISSN 0160-4120, https://bit. ly/2ZMoK42.
6. Welsh, J., Braun, H., Brown, N., Um, C., Ehret, K., Figueroa, J., & Boyd Barr, D. (2019). Production-related contaminants (pesticides, antibiotics and hormones) in organic and conventionally produced milk samples sold in the USA. Public Health Nutrition, 22(16), 2972-2980. https://bit. ly/3aMzV2W
7. Lerro C, Freeman LB, Koutros S, et al O25-1 Pesticide use and thyroid cancer incidence among spouses of pesticide applicators in the agricultural health study Occupational and Environmental Medicine 2016;73:A47
8. Bara ́n ski, M., ́S rednicka-Tober, D., Volakakis, N., Seal, C., Sanderson, R., Stewart, G. B., … Leifert, C. (2014). Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses. British Journal of Nutrition, 112(5), 794–811. https://bit.ly/3unDG6S
9. Oosthoek, Sharon. “Pesticides spark broad biodiversity loss.” Nature, June 17, 2013. Retrieved May 29, 2019, from https://go.nature.com/37JvunE
10. Cambardella, Cynthia, Delate, Kathleen, Jaynes, Dan. 2015 Water Quality in Organic Systems. Sustainable Agriculture Research, 4(3). ISSN 1927-050X E-ISSN 1927-0518
11. https://econ.st/3aOhQBI
12. Bara ́nski, Marcin et al. 2014. «Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops: a systematic literature review and meta-analyses». British Journal of Nutrition 112 (5): 794–811. https://bit.ly/3qIPmil
13. S.M. Smukler, S. Sánchez-Moreno, S.J. Fonte, H. Ferris, K. Klonsky, A.T. O’Geen, K.M. Scow, K.L. Steenwerth, L.E. Jackson. Biodiversity and multiple ecosystem functions in an organic farmscape, Agriculture, Ecosystems & Envi- ronment, Volume 139, Issues 1–2,2010,Pages 80-97,ISSN 0167-8809)
14. Elham A. Ghabbour, Geoffrey Davies, Tracy Misiewicz, Reem A. Alami, Erin M. Askounis, Nicholas P. Cuozzo, Alexia J. Filice, Jennifer M. Haskell, Andy K. Moy, Alexandra C. Roach, Jessica Shade,Chapter One – National Comparison of the Total and Sequestered Organic Matter Contents of Conven- tional and Organic Farm Soils,Editor(s): Donald L. Sparks, Advances in Agronomy, Academic Press,Volume 146 , 2017, Pages 1-35, ISSN 0065-2113, https://bit.ly/2ZLRkT7
15. Sciligo, Amber and Shade, Jessica. 2019. The Benefits of Organic Dairy. The Organic Centre. https://bit.ly/3dLCUe8
16. https://bit.ly/3qNNDbJ
17. Sciligo, Amber and Shade, Jessica. 2019. The Benefits of Organic Dairy. The Organic Centre. https://bit.ly/3smCRt4
18. Ritchtek, Matt and Jacobs, Andrew. May 6, 2019. A Mysteri- ous Infection, Spanning the Globe in a Climate of Secrecy. The New York Times. https://nyti.ms/2NUUUaO
19. https://bit.ly/3dHuBjo
20. González-Alzaga B, Hernández AF, Rodríguez-Barranco M, Gómez I, Aguilar-Garduño C, López-Flores I, Parrón T, Lacasaña M. Pre- and postnatal exposures to pesticides and neurodevelopmental effects in children living in agricultural communities from South-Eastern Spain. Envi- ron Int. 2015 Dec; 85:229-37. https://bit.ly/2ZGyE7m
21. Food and Climate Change, David Suzuki.org. https://bit. ly/3aMSfsT

 

Learn more about 21 days to organic packs here.