WHY ORGANIC

ENVIRONMENTAL REASONS:

Cleaner water and air
One of the main reasons people support organics is that they believe synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides to be potentially toxic to our environment. Not only are they potentially toxic where they lie but they may also eventually work their way down to the water level polluting much of the drinking water. And when sprayed, pesticide residues are left in the air for all creatures to breathe. These residues unfortunately stay around while others are continually being added. Many take years, decades and sometimes even centuries to break down.

Healthier soil
Others believe that healthier soil and the prevention of soil erosion is a good reason to support organics. In organic gardening, the soil is built up and enriched through the use of organic material such as compost, much in the same way that Mother Nature provides nutrients when she drops her leaves in the autumn, etc. Rather than depending on synthetic fertilizers which feed only the plant, the soil is actually fed so that our very earth becomes richer in nutrients and less prone to erosion. In addition, many organic growers routinely rotate their crops, plant cover crops and grow a more diverse range of plants on a particular plot of land. All of these practices help to conserve the minerals and nutrients in the soil.

Conserve water
Healthy, nutrient rich soils created through the practices of organic gardening also retain moisture more easily, reducing the need for additional watering.

Balanced ecosystem
There are still others that choose the effects on ecosystems as their basis for supporting organics. Though pesticides may kill a particular pest, eventually resistant strains can develop, ultimately creating an even more difficult pest control situation. Also in the process of aiming at a particular pest, competitors and natural enemies of other pests will inadvertently be killed off, leading to an increased population of other pests. It is also believed by some that many song birds have disappeared from our world, possibly because of, being at the top of a long food chain, they are ingesting highly concentrated doses of chemicals. These are just a few examples of how our ecosystem can be affected.

Conserve energy
Some believe that organic farming saves energy. They believe that it takes more energy to produce synthetic fertilizers than it does to cultivate, till and harvest crops. Also farms have changed so drastically over the years, from small, family based businesses that depend more on the energy of humans to large farm factories that depend on other forms of energy such as petroleum.

Increased bio-diversity
Because mono-cropping (the practice of planting the same crop on the same plot of land year after year) is less prevalent in organic farming, growing organically may help to preserve thousands of, otherwise lost, varieties of natural edible plants, ultimately providing us with a greater choice of fruits and vegetables.

Use of plants suited for environment
Organic growers generally use plants that are suited to their environment and disease resistant varieties therefore reducing the need for fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.

HUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS:

No growth hormones, etc.
Animals raised organically are not given hormones or growth stimulants and will not be given antibiotics routinely. Sometimes animals are given so many growth hormones that they literally live their whole lives unable to carry their own weight. In addition, when you buy organic these drugs will not be passed on to you as a consumer.

Better living conditions for animals
Unfortunately, along with the decrease of small family owned farms and the increase of the modern farm factory comes an appalling amount of animal abuse. For example, chickens are routinely kept in such crowded conditions that they are unable to form their natural social order. This results in extreme frustration and therefore they begin to peck one another. To solve the problem, they undergo the painful process of de-beaking. This is just one small example. Pigs, turkies and calves (for veal) undergo equally, if not greater, mistreatment. Under the new federal organic guidelines (as well as under many current independent guidelines) farm animals raised organically will not be allowed to live under such conditions but must be given access to the out-of-doors.

Organic feed
Animals raised organically will be fed only organically grown feed. This will ensure no build up of pesticide residues in the animal?s tissue, resulting in not only better health for the animals but also better health for those who consume them.

SOCIAL REASONS:

Safer conditions for workers
Because of the health risks involved when applying various pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, supporting organics will help provide for a safer working environment for field workers.

Support small business
About ten families eating organic food will support one small organic farm.

Leave a legacy for our children
Supporting organics will help to ensure a cleaner and healthier planet for generations to come.

HEALTH REASONS:

Keep pesticides off our food and out of our bodies
Everytime we eat something that has been treated with a pesticide, lets say an apple, we are injesting a government accepted low level of pesticide residue. And although research is conflicting and sometimes hard to weed through, many choose to buy organically grown food because they believe these residues to be potentially carcinogenic and perhaps even related to certain birth defects, nerve damage and genetic mutations. Also, some believe that pesticides are in higher concentrations the higher you go on the food chain. That is, ?pesticides don?t just affect the creature who ingests them first. They accumulate in the tissues of animals, and then, as one organism is eaten by another, they build up ever higher concentrations at each successfully higher rung on the chain.? In addition, consumption of livestock, poultry and dairy products that contain hormones and growth stimulants may possibly play a role in the pre-mature development of children. Most importantly, no one knows the effects of injesting all of these various pesticide residues in combination with one another, nor do we know the long term effects of injesting such pesticide residues and hormones over a period of a lifetime.

A healthier place to live
It is obvious that the health of our environment has a direct impact on our own personal health. Cleaner water to drink and air to breathe can only mean a healthier you.

Nutritious food
Healthier soil means a healthier plant. The healthy soil created through the process of organic gardening means soil full of nutrients. And soil full of nutrients means food rich in nutrients.

These are just a few reasons to support organics. There are many more.
Whatever we choose to believe, most organic supporters will agree that pesticides are poisons that are designed to kill and that whether through tactile means, breathing or ingestion of food or water, they are likely to have some harmful impact on not only the environment and the animals but on humans as well.
What we can do:
1. Support organic growers by buying organic food.
2. Grow organically at home (flowers, food and even the grass!) It is not just the organic growers of commercial food that can avoid using these potentially harmful chemicals. Today in a society with a "green lawn syndrome" we are heaping chemical upon chemical in our neighborhoods, towns and cities. We, as individuals use synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides at alarming rates in the very places where our children play, where our pets (and other wildlife) rest and even graze, and where we garden and have lawn parties. We are working, playing and eating among these chemicals.
3. Read! Subscribe to an organic magazine, read a book on the practices of organics or check the latest organic news on the internet. The more we understand it the more likely we are to support it and practice it!

Supporting organics is one way we can each make a difference. It is one way we can perhaps improve our environment and leave this world a better place for our children.