Organic food—cause for celebration at every dinner table

From May to November - there is something magical about waking up on Sunday mornings and walk three blocks from my house and get a week's worth of organic fruits and vegetables from the Farmer's Market. After that, winter sets in and the outside market wraps up until next spring. For the next five months, I buy from either the supermarket organic section or the organic market called the Roots in my neighbourhood. We have been buying organic produce for over ten years now. Many ask me why I pay thrice the amount to buy locally grown organic vegetables instead of the imported varieties that are grown conventionally which come from Mexico and South American countries.
The answer is simple: The organic products are grown without any "synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, hormones or antibiotics". If one can avoid products devoid of such harmful things in order to maintain a healthy body, isn't the extra price worth it? Organic farming also plays a great role in protecting the environment.
From environmentally conscientious everyday citizens to heads of states like Sheikh Hasina have been campaigning for organic farming. According to a Financial Express front page report on January 07, PM Hasina during 'Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award 1420'emphasised the importance of growing organic products since it has become a global phenomenon and has a great global demand. In her speech, she encouraged the people in the agricultural sector to consider this global trend as a means to increase export. She believes Bangladesh could immensely benefit from organic farming as the organic produce fetch higher price in the global market, therefore, adding to the country's remittance. She urged the youth community to take up this opportunity as a means of employment. "A special demand for organic foods has been created across the globe. Bangladesh could exploit this opportunity as the prices of organic foods are much higher than the foods produced through chemical fertilisers, and the youth force could voluntarily take initiative to this end," she said.
Another environmentally conscientious and champion of organic farming is US First Lady Michelle Obama. She had an exceptional educational background and a very successful law career before entering the White House. Many thought like Hillary Clinton, Michelle will also be guiding the president in every decision that he takes. But to everyone's surprise, she opted for more of a traditional role of an American First Lady by doing things out of the limelight.
With a few seedlings in her hand, one spring morning in 2009 Michelle Obama started her little organic garden on the back lawn of the White House. Since then the conversation hasn't stopped. From 1,100 square feet, the garden has grown over the years and it supplies fresh produce to the White House kitchen. About one-third of the harvest is donated to a local organisation called Meriam's Kitchen that helps homeless people in the Washington DC area.
As an avid campaigner of childhood obesity prevention, Michelle Obama also uses her garden as an educational tool. Every spring, she opens up her garden for the city schoolchildren who never had a vegetable garden before. They come to help the First Lady to plant vegetables and fruits. They also get a lesson on healthy eating.
Other than Mrs. Obama, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt had her own garden called the World War II Victory Garden where vegetables grew and supplied the White House kitchen. Michelle Obama now is a celebrity gardener who is gracing the cover pages of magazines like Better Homes and Gardens; she wrote an in-depth piece about how she became a gardener, or a publication named Mother Earth News. Many city folks now have been planting vegetables in terracotta pots in their balconies, porches or in small patches behind their city homes as space is sparse. The health conscious suburban people are more and more growing their own food in their backyards and other vacant patches as well. By following the First Lady's example, health conscious people now have started to play a vital role about what each family eats.
In my state of Maryland, agriculture plays a dominant role. About 350,000 people are working in agricultural sector in some capacity. According to a 2014 census, some 12,300 farms and over 7,500 acres are certified as organic in Maryland.
THE BENEFITS OF ORGANIC PRODUCTS: The first and foremost benefit is that going organic will protect us against cancer that is often triggered by the pesticides that seep into our fruits and vegetables. Organic purity, without a doubt, reduces health risks as it has been proven to be a deterrent to many diseases. Most plants produce something called Flavonoids which protects the plants against several diseases and as a result, we become the direct beneficiary as it is high in antioxidants. Research shows that insecticides and herbicides interfere with the production of these protective compounds, thus exposing us to numerous harmful illnesses.
Antioxidants play a major role in keeping our body healthy. Antioxidants are a combination of minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. According to the 2005 State of Science Review (SSR) by the Organic Center, "antioxidant levels are about 30 per cent higher in organic food than chemically-grown foods produced under the same conditions. Most antioxidants are found in the peels of fruits and vegetables, but many people cut away the peel of conventionally grown produce to reduce their exposure to pesticides. Since it is safer to eat the skin of an organic fruit or vegetable, you get the maximum amount of antioxidants from your produce when you buy organic." Organic products are rich in Vitamin E, C and Beta-Carotene which help fight cancer cells and prevent other diseases.
A 2001 study showed, today's conventionally grown, non-organic fruits and vegetables have about half the vitamin content of their 1963 counterparts. Organically grown food is more nutritious than food produced using synthetic chemicals, as shown by a study published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition. "On average, organically grown food is 63 per cent higher in calcium, 73 per cent higher in iron and 118 per cent higher in magnesium, while being 29 per cent lower in mercury." By using only organic products, we can almost eliminate chemicals in our diet. Moreover, the food products which are free of dangerous chemicals and pesticides taste better.
Many people often think that eating healthy means cutting out only junk food from their diet. But healthy eating is more than that - the focus should be whether we are getting the most in nutritional value from our fruits and vegetables. In weighing the benefits of organic food in many health journals, the scientists have shown that now they have a better understanding of how disease and environmental toxins are interlinked. They have proven that exposure to chemical fertilisers and pesticides through food greatly affects our health. "Some pesticides have been shown to disrupt the human endocrine system (which regulates our hormones), while others have been linked to breast cancer, uterine cancer and asthma."
People who are sceptics should know that the organic food and vegetables that are grown here do adhere to international standards and is USDA (agriculture department) certified. Organic farming is planet-friendly because fertilisers, pollutants and chemicals cannot seep into groundwater and there is no risk of water contamination. Organic farmers only use homemade composts composed from organic matters and straws as opposed to any kind of fertilisers and pesticides that are used for plants to enhance rapid growth.
Organic farming also helps the local farmers by getting rid of the middle men, thus revitalising the local economy and creating a sustainable livelihood for them. By using traditional knowledge, the farmers can grow environmentally friendly products without using a lot of capital to do that. Throughout the world, the small farmers can hugely benefit by producing organic products which they can sell at a higher price because of the care that goes into it. Such small-scale farming can help reduce poverty drastically in the developing countries. In the USA, local harvests in abundance are sold in super markets and farmer's markets, thus providing a valuable service in bringing communities together.
No emotion is comparable while holding a fresh and a delicious tomato or a pumpkin that has been freshly cut from a vine or a patch. It is a very satisfying sensation knowing that the farmer in jeans overall himself has grown the fresh variety and the sugar-free blackberry jam that I'm contemplating to get for eight bucks was made by his wife in their kitchen without using any preservatives.
Only one per cent of US cropland is organic and organic farming is slower, harder and labour-intensive but these farmers are committed to supporting practices that respects our planet. We should remember that the organic producers use cultivation practices that keep the nearby water bodies free of contaminants. There is minimum loss of top soil and valuable nutrients.
Organic farming also creates harmony with nature by producing nutritious food that nourish our body and help the environment in the process. This method of farming has added to the holistic approach to food consumption and people are paying more attention to their wellness and way of life. To have a healthy body and to preserve the earth, it is a no-brainer why so many are opting for organic produce now-a-days.
Over the years, I have come to respect nature and food which contains natural ingredients. Hence, adding the extra 30 dollars to my weekly supply of organic fruits and vegetables that were not exposed to harmful agricultural chemicals is worth the extra amount. Eating conventionally grown fruits and vegetables will only increase my risks of getting an incurable disease. When we sit down to eat, I know that by buying organic products, I am helping my family live less toxically. This should be cause for celebration at every dinner table.
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