This entry was posted on Monday, September 29th, 2008 at 8:18am and is filed under Produce, Organic foods, Parenting, Meat, Labels, Health, Agriculture, Food Production. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Organic production standards are based on principles such as sustainability, reducing off-farm inputs and environmental impact and minimizing the use of synthetic materials.
Buying food labelled organic would seem to be an easy way to feed your family more healthy food, right?
Many of health benefits of buying organic are not necessarily due to the product being organic itself. The diet of those for whom organic is a priority is generally healthier than the average American’s. I speculate that the typical organoisseur’s daily fare contains much less processed food, less sugars (HCFS, cane or otherwise) and more fresh produce and meat.
Misconceptions about organic abound, such as the quote “organic food has no additives or preservatives“. Organic food is made with organic ingredients, but there are exceptions for ingredients that cannot be sourced organically. Organic cheese puffs can quite easily contain additives and/or preservatives.
Organic food is not necessarily more nutritious because it is organic. Organic junk food is still nutrient-poor. Organic candy is still sugar-laden. A person can shop at exclusively Whole Foods and still end up with a really poor diet.
I believe fresh traditionally grown food is usually better than processed food of any kind, organic or otherwise.
Organic has its value and its place, but “organic” is not a substitute for healthy food choices.
September 29th, 2008 at 9:30am
Thanks, Sara. Always such sage advice. These things should be obvious but seldom do we take the time to stop and “think”.
October 1st, 2008 at 1:16pm
Thanks, Sara, I’ll keep this in mind as I’m scarfing down 2,000 calories of free cheese samples at Whole Foods this weekend!