Why We Need To Eat Organic Foods

Going to the grocery store and picking out which produce to buy – organic or non-organic – is a daunting task; do you buy what’s cheaper and take the risk of ingesting chemical residues, or do you take the safe route and spend a little more? The big problem with how we eat lies within a diet commonly known as “The Western Diet”, which includes a lot of fatty, processed foods and very little fruits and vegetables. Without even the option of fruits and vegetables, we don't have the option to go organic; we automatically put the processed food into our bodies and become unhealthier with every bite. By going organic, we cut out the unhealthy processed foods and take away the possibility of being poisoned by pesticides at the same time. With our agricultural resources taking up 70% of our water supply (as noted by the pie chart on left), we need to be mindful about how we use our water and where it goes; a treatment facility in Kuwait already recycles 100 million gallons of wastewater a day for irrigation (houndstudio). We can actually plant our produce on natural bodies of freshwater, without the use of pesticides, and save the time it takes to treat and transport it, thus creating more water for daily use/consumption and reducing our water footprint. You should make the switch to eat organically because it will be healthier for your body than the Western Diet, easier on the environment, and will encourage the reduced use of water.

Cutting the Western diet out of our nutritional vocabulary would open us up to eating healthier and incorporating a wider variety of organic foods. The Western diet that much of the population has grown accustomed to includes a lot of processed foods and very little fruits, vegetables, and whole grains which in turn excludes the option of organic foods. While it is an exaggeration that nearly all obesity and various diseases stem from this diet, the fact still rings true – though the exact data could be skewed no matter where you choose to find your information. Michael Pollen, the author of Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual states that while doing research for his other book, In Defense of Food, “I realized that the answer to the supposedly incredibly complicated question of what we should eat wasn’t so complicated after all, and in fact could be boiled down to just seven words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” (xv). Whether or not it is beneficial to eat plants that are grown organically, however, is still an important question.

Eating plants that are grown organically can be beneficial if you are leery of lingering pesticides slowly poisoning your body. Food that is grown using traditional, non-organic means are treated with pesticides to discourage pests from eating away at the plant, while organic food is grown in such a way to attract pests and birds that are beneficial to the growing process. Organic food is significantly more expensive than non-organic due to the fact that it is more labor intensive (Zelman, p. 2 par. 4), but it is definitely worth the extra expense. Marion Nestle, PhD, MPH, a professor at New York University, expresses her concern by stating: “…how can anyone think substances, such as pesticides, capable of killing insects, can be good for you” (Zelman, p. 1 par. 2). Eating organically cuts out this risk, ensuring the health, and safety, of the food you eat.

Both Pollan and Kathleen Zelman, the director of nutrition for WebMD agree: Eating organically can improve overall health and nutrition. Eating processed foods, according to Pollan, can deprive you of essential nutrients that are removed during processing and introduce you to toxic chemicals (xviii). Eating organically assures that your body is not introduced to those harsh chemicals because it is against Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules that organic foods are treated with synthetic pesticides (Zelman, p. 1, par. 7). However, locally grown foods, whether they are organic or not, are just as beneficial because you are not increasing your carbon footprint by purchasing imported organic foods; at the same time, you are supporting local farmers. Keecha Harris, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association, states that the “environmental footprint [for buying organic foods] includes lots of petrochemicals used in transportation, whereas if you buy produce from your local farmers market, it may not be organic but it is farm-fresh and less impactful on the environment” (Zelman, p. 1 par. 6). Finding a local farmer who grows organically, however, is always an option. Eating organic foods is an important factor in maintaining our health, but it is also important to encourage the use of our natural resources.

Our natural freshwater resources, such as lakes and rivers, can be used as an agricultural resource to grow fruits and vegetables instead of planting them in the soil and using pesticides to ward off insects. Plants grown using aquatic means use less water because of the fact that you are growing the plant on a body of water rather than in soil. The water is not being transported from one location to another and does not risk being possibly tainted with harsh chemicals that would hurt the plant rather than help it grow. A perfect example of useable bodies of water would be the lakes of Africa, which occupy more than 150,000 square kilometers, or 37,000 acres of land. Ricardo Radulovich, a professor of water science at the University of Costa Rica who also heads a team of scientists conducting prototype projects on Lake Nicaragua, growing fruits and vegetables on floating rafts asks, “Why not use that water surface to grow food and aquatic plants…” (Tran, par. 4). Using water that is already available to us would reduce the need to transport it from one location to another just to feed our plants, thus reducing our water footprint.

Reducing our water footprint increases the likelihood of fresh drinking water becoming more readily available. If we reduce the amount of water we use on an everyday basis, the water that we would have used can go to someone who needs it more. According to a study done by the World Health Organization, “about 884 million people worldwide lack access to improved drinking water” (Gies, par. 4). Taking away the need to clean and desalinate water in order to water and feed our plants, takes away the extra chemicals that could possibly harm the fruits or vegetables.

Food grown on bodies of freshwater can survive successfully without the use of chemicals and are fed adequately enough without the need to desalinate the water, which would cause stress. Reducing the amount of water needed to water plants with increases the amount of water available to consumers for drinking; this is beneficial for the idea of growing organic and the idea of reducing your water footprint and helping the environment. David Henderson, a partner at XPV Capital, a venture capital firm in Toronto that focuses on water technology, comments on treating water, which is a process that unfortunately needs to be done in order to have clean drinking water, closer to its use, stating it’s increased efficiency and cost effectiveness. “You’re not pumping it, you’re not using that energy” (Gies, par. 40). Relatively, growing fruits and vegetables on water saves energy by reducing the need to pump it. Radulovich states: “You can have agriculture if you have water. If we use that lake surface to produce crops, aquatic plants, we won’t waste water” (Tran, par. 5). While growing organically on land has the potential to reduce our carbon footprint, it does not have the same benefits as growing aquatically does when it comes to the use of pesticides.

If we are to contribute to conserving energy and helping the environment, eating organic food is beneficial to this cause. Organic farmers are required to grow their produce without the use of harsh chemicals to keep pests at bay, and are encouraged to use more natural means instead. While it is true that both organic and nonorganic foods are subjected to the same quality and safety standards, nonorganic foods are still grown using chemicals that could potentially cause harm to your body. According to the Mayo Clinic, “When farmers spray pesticides, this can leave residue on produce. Some people buy organic food to limit their exposure to these residues” (p. 2 par. 2). While conventional farmers are allowed to use a limited amount of pesticides, organic farmers are forced to use unconventional means to keep their crop healthy.

Without the use of pesticides, food can be successfully grown by using birds and insects to your benefit. Birds either drive away or eat unwanted pests, as do certain insects. These animals and insects would be considered pests themselves on a conventional farm because they destroy the crop, thus the reason why pesticides are used. However, Kathleen Roberts, a graduate of the University of Florida with a Masters in Gardening and a Site Editor at LoveToKnow points out: “Crop loss due to birds that enjoy the occasional berry is far less than the loss caused by an insect infestation that can not only ruin the fruit, but can destroy the entire plant as well” (par. 4). Using birds to your advantage, along with cover crops and mulch, greatly reduces the need for pesticides and other chemicals that could cause harm to your body.

Crop rotation greatly eliminates the need for pesticides and encourages the growth, and consumption of organic food. Organic farmers do not use chemicals so they are not spraying those toxins into the air and contributing to pollution. They rely on crop rotation to encourage plant growth and discourage pests from destroying crops, rather than growing crops in the same place and using chemicals. “Crop rotation,” Roberts states, “avoids the buildup of insects and plant diseases. Similar plants tend to attract the same types of pests. By planting different crops in a field on a schedule, these pests are discouraged” (par. 3). Eating organic food is not only healthy for your body, but for the environment as well.

Spending a little extra cash out of your pocket to buy organically is definitely worth the expense because you are protecting yourself and your family from the chemical residues left behind on treated produce. By not following Western Diet rules, you are opening yourself up to fruits and vegetables and the idea of eating organically – which is already a healthy move unto itself. We’re cutting out processed, poisoned (by pesticides and other chemicals) foods, and eating fresh, organic food. By eating organically we are also telling the industries that we do not require them to use gallons upon gallons of water to overly water our food and they will find other ways to grow and nourish our produce – thus creating more water for daily life. Eating organically is more than just beneficial for our bodies and the environment, it creates a topic of conversation and educates people on the crisis’ we are facing in terms of both health and water availability. If you choose to buy and/or grow organic produce, you are making the choice to educate people and helping to better the environment at the same time.