Wellness by Ryan: Why Should I Buy Organic

If you've shopped for organic products before, you know that they can cost quite a bit more than non-organic items. So, why should you consider purchasing these more expensive products? What are the benefits of purchasing organic over non-organic?

Environment

Cleaner Water: With organic farming, there are no pesticides to leak into the water, potentially contaminating our drinking water.
Cleaner Air: Conventional farming requires chemicals to be sprayed, left to linger in the air for people and animals to be breathe.
Soil Erosion Prevention: In organic farming, the soil is built up with organic material, such as compost, which helps to enrich the ground and prevent erosion. Enriched soil also means more nutrient rich foods
Reduce Pesticide Reliance: Pesticides may kill off some pests, but, just as with antibiotics in people, pests can develop a resistance towards pesticides. This makes the use of increasingly stronger pesticides necessary to continuously kill off the pests. With stronger and stronger pesticides, the risk to the humans and animals becomes increasingly greater. Organic farming can help put a stop to the vicious cycle.

Animals

No Growth Hormones or Antibiotics: Animals that are raised organically are not given growth hormones or antibiotics, so you will not have to worry about these chemicals being passed from your meat into your body.
Humane Treatment: Organically raised animals live under much more strict guidelines, allowing them to live under better conditions than those not organically raised. I will not go into detail about these conditions, but it's enough to say that they cane be very, very poor.
Organic Feed: Organically raised animals are, of course, feed organic only. This ensures no build up of pesticides in the animal, and no pesticides being passed onto you. Non-organically raised cows may be feed ground up remains of their own kind, which can spread bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease. Contaminated beef can cause Creutzfeldt-Jacob Disease in humans, which is fatal. Organically raised cows are not feed animal remains.

Helping Farmers, Workers, and Their Families

Protecting Their Health: The daily exposure to chemicals used in conventional farming can increase a farm worker's risk of developing cancer.
Support Small Farms: Most organic farms are small, family-owned and run businesses. Purchasing organic can help ensure family survival.

Health Reasons

Chemical Free Food: Although there is conflicting research on the subject of whether or not organic foods are healthier, eating non-organic foods have not been proven to be completely safe. These items contain no more than an approved amount of chemicals, but no one knows how dangerous ingesting the chemicals in combination from multiple food sources can be, or the long-term effects of these chemicals on our bodies.
Clean Air and Water: As mentioned before, organic farming does not rely on harmful chemicals that can pollute our water and air, so we can breathe more freely and drink with less concern.

And As A Bonus

Taste!: If the above reasons aren't enough to convince you to at least try organic, consider the benefits for your taste buds! From personal experience, I can tell you that organic foods taste just as good, if not better than their non-organic counterparts. No sacrificing flavor!

The above reasons for purchasing organic also apply to non-food organic items, as well. Wearing organic clothing and makeup will eliminate the harmful chemicals that can be absorbed through your skin, and purchasing organic products for your home can make it a healthier place to live.

Here Are 12 Foods You Must Always Buy Organic

BEEF

For overall environmental impact, meat is the king of foods, even if it's not the most likely to have pesticide residue per se.

Contrary to a widely reported "fact," meat typically contains less pesticide residue than plant-based foods, according to Debra Edwards, the director of EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs. But raising animals with conventional modern methods often means using hormones to speed up growth, antibiotics to resist disease on crowded feed lots, and both pesticides and chemical fertilizers to grow the grain fed to the animals. Additionally, it takes many times the water and energy to raise one meal's worth of meat than it does one meal's worth of grain.

Consumers looking to avoid meats raised with these substances can seek out certified organic meat. To meet USDA standards, this meat can come only from animals fed organic feed and given no hormones or antibiotics. Searching out cuts from grass-fed animals ensures that you're eating meat from an animal that was fed a more natural diet, and looking for a local source of meats lets you question the farmer directly about the animal's diet and the farmer's method of raising it. It cuts down on the environmental cost of transportation, too.
CLICK HERE TO BUY GRASS FED ORGANIC BEEF HERE

MILK

Pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in human breast milk, so it should come as no surprise that they have been found in dairy products, too. While any residues detected have been rare, and of low concentration, milk is of special concern because it is a staple of a child's diets.
Organic dairies cannot feed their cows with grains grown with pesticides, nor can they use antibiotics or growth hormones like rGBH or rbST. The overall impact of the herd is lessened when you choose organic milk.
Cant Find Organic
Safe Alternative is to Cows Milk is Almond, Rice, Coconut Milk instead of dairy, learn how to make your own ask The Anytimeguy how to make your own milk with Vitamix.

APPLES

Apples have the highest levels of chemicals used compared to other fruits. Poisons are used to kill a variety of pests, from fungi to insects. Scrubbing and peeling doesn't eliminate chemical residue completely, so it's best to buy organic when it comes to apples. Apples are sprayed frequently due to their resistance to pesticide and peeling a fruit does little to protect you and it also strips away many of their beneficial nutrients.

Can't find organic?
Safer alternatives include watermelon, bananas and tangerines.

PEPPERS

Peppers have thin skins that don't offer much of a barrier to pesticides. They're often heavily sprayed with insecticides.
Can't find organic?

Safer alternatives include green peas, broccoli and cabbage.

CELERY

Celery has no protective skin, which makes it almost impossible to wash off the chemicals that are used on conventional crops.

Can't find organic?

Safer alternatives include broccoli, radishes and onions.

STRAWBERRY

If you buy strawberries out of season, they're most likely imported from countries that use less-stringent regulations for pesticide use.

Can't find organic?
Safer alternatives include blueberries, kiwi and pineapples.
CLICK HERE TO BUY ORGANIC BLUEBERRIES

SPINACH

Leafy greens are frequently contaminated with what are considered the most potent pesticides used on food.

Can't find organic?
Safer alternatives include cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts.

GRAPES

Imported grapes run a much greater risk of contamination than those grown domestically. Vineyards can be sprayed with different pesticides during different growth periods of the grape, and no amount of washing or peeling will eliminate contamination because of the grape's thin skin.

Can't find organic?
Safer alternatives include blueberries, kiwi and raspberries.
CLICK HERE TO BUY ORGANIC BLUEBERRIES

CARROTS

In Europe pesticides commonly used on carrots, parsnips and onions will be banned within the next decade. The U.S. has yet to catch up with its European counterparts, so organic is the way to go with carrots.

Can't find organic?
At least be sure to scrub and peel them. Safer carrot alternatives include sweet corn, sweet peas and broccoli.

TOMATOES

In a change that surprises some, tomatoes have moved from the previous dirty dozen list to the EWG's most recent "clean" list of safest conventional produce. According to Chris Campbell, the researchers aren't sure exactly why this is the case. "It could be any number of reasons," Campbell told TDG. "It could be increasing awareness, better washing, substitution with better pesticides, changes in weather patterns or something else."It's still true that the thin skin of tomatoes can allow pesticides to enter the fruit, so it's always a good idea to buy organic when possible, even if the popular food is no longer among the worst actors.

Can't find organic?
Safe Alternative consider peas, broccoli and asparagus.

CHICKEN

When it comes to meat and poultry, it’s better to choose organic

A study in the journal of Meat Science the nutritional content of organic and nonorganic chicken meat was determined. The researchers found that the organic samples contained 28% more omega-3's, essential fatty acids that are linked to reduced rates of heart disease, depression, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, inflammation, and Alzheimers disease. Animals raised organically can't be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed feed made of animal by-products (which transmit mad cow disease, e-coli)

CLICK HERE TO BUY ORGANIC FREE RANGE CHICKEN