Health Benefits of Organic Food

The health benefits of organic food are more perceived than real. However, the public opinion that organic food is healthier than conventional food is quite strong and is the sole reason for about 30% growth in the organic food industry since the past 5-6 years.

Organic Facts is a strong proponent of organic food; however, the website believes in putting across the facts right to its visitors.

There is little scientific evidence to prove that organic food is better in quality than conventional food. Scientific research conducted so far on various organic food items have not been able to give strong signals about the superiority of organic food over non organic food. As a result, even the FDA and the USDA clearly mention that non organic food is as healthy as organic food. However, there are some scientific studies that have proved organic milk and organic tomatoes to be better than the non-organic ones.

Organic Milk: Recent research conducted on organic milk has shown that it has more anti-oxidants, omega 3, CLA, and vitamins than non organic milk. According to the researchers at the Danish Institute of Agricultural Research, University of Aberdeen, and the Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, organic milk is healthier than non organic milk as organic cows are pasture grazed which results in better quality milk.

Organic Tomatoes: According to a 10 year study conducted by the University of California, Davis, organic tomatoes are produced in an environment that has lower nutrient supply as nitrogen-rich chemical fertilizers are not added. This leads to excessive formation of antioxidants such as quercetin (79% higher) and kaempferol (97% higher) in organic tomatoes. As we all know, antioxidants are good for health and help in reducing heart diseases.
These studies have increased the hopes of numerous people who strongly believe that mankind should stop using chemical fertilizers and pesticides and shift to the more sustainable organic farming practices. There are many studies that prove that there is some pesticide and fertilizer contamination in non organic food, and there are others which claim that organic food is not healthy (they contain harmful bacteria and viruses) because of non usage of strong chemicals. However, none of these studies (showing chemical contamination or presence of bacteria/viruses) do not show any impact on health of individuals.
In general, organic food consumers, manufactuers and farmers strongly believe in organic food having following benefits over non organic food:

• Better health: Since organic food is not prepared using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it does not contain any traces of these strong chemicals and might not affect the human body.
• Better taste: People strongly believe that organic food tastes better than non organic food. The prominent reason for this belief is that it is produced using organic means of production. Further organic food is often sold locally resulting in availability of fresh produce in the market.
• Environment safety: As harmful chemicals are not used in organic farming, there is minimal soil, air and water pollution; thus ensuring a safe world for future generations to live in.
• Animal welfare: Animal welfare is an important aspect of producing organic milk, organic meat, organic poultry, and organic fish. People feel happy that the animals are not confined to a miserable caged life while eating organic animal products.