Thankfully, organic foods are coming down in price because of demand and interest in organic produce and products, and the growing farms who can supply us.  It's best to buy seasonally for optimal taste and best price.

 

Organic foods are produced without the use of chemicals, herbicides, fungicides, petroleum-, sewage- or sludge-based fertilizers or chemical pesticides.  Organic food is not bio-engineered, genetically modified, nor is it irradiated.  Poultry and Beef are fed only organic feed, are grazed on organically maintained pastures, and are not given antibiotics, hormones or animal by-products.  Organic farmers are leaders and innovators at protecting our environment while protecting the crops naturally.

Conventional farmers use millions of pounds of pesticides each year, much of which ends up in our drinking water and oceans.  Pesticides and chemicals kill off living things - bugs and animals that may eat the food as well as parasites and microorganisms.  Pesticides deplete the soil so more chemicals are needed to fertilize and so the cycle continues.  Pesticides are poisons.  Most have the potential of causing cancer and are endocrine disrupters that mimic or interfere with our hormones.  Pesticides cannot always be washed off the food, even with soap, as they are "ingested" in the plant through the roots and are actually in the body of the food.

Pesticides have a well documented and serious impact on our health.  Among the many adverse effects, pesticides:

• compromise our liver's job of cleaning toxins from our body

• compromise each cell's ability to produce energy and do their respective jobs in our body

• compromise our nerves and their job of sending important messages in our body

In short, pesticides cause disease and death.  That's their goal, to kill off the bugs and pests.  But they are having serious impacts on the lives of humans and especially children.  This is particularly important in the amounts and combinations of these pesticides that the children are eating since they are such picky eaters.  The long-term effect of these pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and chemicals and the effect of the 'cocktail' of pesticide combinations effect fertility, development, health, and longevity.

Organic farmers work with the natural ecosystem to improve the soil and deter pests.  They rotate crops between fields and have diversity in their farms; the conventional farmer limits crops and farming practices which depletes the soil's nutrients and leads to a real risk of crop damage from disease.  Organic farmers plant certain flowers and bushes to attract helpful insects who will then eat or deter pests that might otherwise eat the crops; conventional farms kill off insects and pests, helpful and hurtful to the farmer.  Organic farmers work with nature to replenish the soil, do not use toxic pesticides or fertilizers and maintain a biologically sustainable investment in our future.  At home, our own yards can be maintained the same way.
Choosing organic produce and biodynamic products supports local, generally smaller, organic farms and the families who work those farms.  Paying organic farmers in other countries a fair wage allows them to create strong communities, schools and help children and their families.  In addition, and as you would guess, conventional farmers and the people that work in and around the fields (including the people that crop dust and spray the chemicals and pesticides) have a much higher risk of cancer than organic farmers.  Pesticides can cause birth defects, cancer, nerve damage, impact our immune system, and disrupt our hormonal balance.  Whenever Possible, Organics are the way to go!!

Top 10 Must eat Organic foods:
1. Baby Food
2. Strawberries
3. Rice
4. Oats
5. Milk
6.Bell Peppers
7. Bananas
8. Green Beans
9. Peaches
10. Apples

Thanks to WWW.DeliciousOrganics.com for the above information!