You may have read or heard recently that organic food is better for you since it contains more of the vitamins and minerals your body needs and less of the dangerous chemicals your body doesn’t need. But have you considered the benefits organic food has on the environment and on its producers. In addition to the health benefits, organic products put fewer pesticides, fertilizers, and other dangerous substances into the ground and ground water thus making it beneficial for not only your family, but other families for generations to come.

One major advantage of reduced chemicals from agriculture is an improvement in soil quality. Organic farming works to build the soil naturally through companion planting and crop rotations. Organic farming uses a natural system to keep the soil healthy. On the other hand, traditional agriculture uses chemicals to supplement the soil, treating the symptom without treating the cause.

Think of all the chemicals that end up in the food we eat and our soil. Water from rain or irrigation doesn’t all stay on the fields. It runs off into our lakes, rivers, and streams. It can also seep deep into the soil and enter our underground water. And when this water leaves the fields, it takes all the dangerous chemicals with it. So even if you don’t eat the food produced by traditional agriculture, you could still be getting these chemicals through your local water supply. And while many places control the amount of these chemicals, others can’t. In many rural areas, the only available source of water is from the ground.

If you’re at all concerned about the effect these chemicals might have on your family, think of the consequences of working with them every day. People who work on traditional farms are exposed to fertilizers and pesticides more often and in higher amounts than your family will ever be. There are many cases every year of people being poisoned with agricultural chemicals.

Pesticides will affect wildlife as well. If you kill off all the bugs, the birds have nothing to eat. Then the animals that eat the birds will also have nothing to eat. If animals survive, but still have chemicals in their system, they can poison larger animals that eat them and so on up the food chain. Another factor is that not all insects are pests. Many pesticides also kill beneficial wildlife as well as harmful predators.

What may be the worst affect of traditional farming is that its other practices make the need for pesticides and fertilizers even greater. Planting the same crop year after year can make your plants more susceptible to pests. Failing to keep the soil from washing away makes the new soil require more fertilizers so plants will grow. Traditional farming is taking no steps to reduce its use of chemicals, in fact, it’s quite the opposite.

In addition to the benefits of chemical free agriculture, organic producers work with the environment as a system. They promote conservation of water and soil and strive to keep the land the way it is so future generations can work the land as well.

Be healthy, help the environment, eat organic!

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Filed under: Food, Organic by Healthman
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