What’s the difference between organic and non-organic foods?

The difference between organic and non-organic (conventional) food has to do with how food is produced.
For example, organic food like vegetables, fruit, eggs, milk and meat is produced without:

● Synthetic (human-made) pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. Organic farmers may use natural
pesticides approved for organic food production.
● Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
● Antibiotics or growth hormones
● Irradiation or ionizing radiation (a way to preserve food with radiation energy)

Non-organic farmers may use some organic farm practices as well.

Negative effects of Eating non-organic foods.

In an attempt to feed people in a more easier and productive manner, the food has become full of
chemicals that are harmful to our health leading to many of the diseases we are faced with today;
obesity, cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
In brief, non-organic food by definition contains more traces of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides and
insecticides, compared to organic food (which presumably is regulated and certified to be 95% free from
synthetic fertilizer etc)

We think that eating well gives our body the essential nutrients that it requires when we consume fresh
fruits and vegetables. This might come as a surprise to some of the people but most of the foods contain
highly contaminated pesticides residue on them. Many people today put pesticides in foods.
Pesticides are used to protect the crops from insects, germs and rodents when the plants are growing up.
Residual amount of these chemicals are present on the food when it gets to the grocery store. The
pesticide residue cannot easily be removed with plain water. When you consume a fruit, the pesticide
residue goes into the body as they get stuck and can make you sick. Read on to find out the harmful
effects of pesticides.

How are Pesticides Harmful?

1. There are numerous health hazards linked to the use of pesticides. Pesticides can have grave
effects on the health of anybody consuming fruits or vegetables highly contaminated with
pesticides.
2. Several reports suggest that high levels of pesticides in food can lead to the development of
diseases such as cancer, kidney and lung ailments. Children have developing organs, prone to
catching infections and diseases. Any exposure to these high chemical residues can lead to
 childhood cancers, mental health problems such as autism and attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder.
3. If a pregnant woman eats a fruit containing pesticides residue, the fetus might get affected and
she may face birth complications. Some other health risks associated with these harmful
chemicals include nausea, diarrhea, abdominal cramp, dizziness and anxiety.
4. Most studies of the health effects of pesticides have focused on occupationally exposed people,
like farmworkers and pesticide applicators. Acute OP pesticide poisonings result in symptoms like
nausea, abdominal cramps, diarrhea, dizziness, anxiety and confusion, which can be quite
severe but are often reversible. There have also been many studies in groups of people who work
with pesticides but who have not experienced acute poisonings serious enough to result in these
kinds of symptoms. These studies have found that chronic, lower dose exposure is associated
with respiratory problems, memory disorders, skin conditions, depression, miscarriage, birth
defects, cancer and neurological conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

Benefits Of Eating Organic Vegetables.

Experts recommend people to eat organic foods as they are good for health. Organic fruits are becoming
increasingly popular and more available in the local grocery stores and supermarkets. Organic foods are
grown without any pesticides or other harmful chemicals.
People eat organic food for other reasons than nutrition. For example, those who eat an organic diet are
exposed to fewer disease-causing pesticides, and organic farming is more sustainable and better for the
environment.

1. Better overall health

2. Antioxidant content
3. Improved Heart condition
4. Antibiotic resistance
5. Better taste
6. Pesticide cutback
7. Stronger immune system
8. Organic products are poison-free
9. Consumption of highly nutritious food products
10. Organic foods are not genetically modified
11. Environmental safety
12. You have the certainty you are consuming fresh food
13. Lessened chances of food-borne illness
14. Lower levels of toxic metals

The benefits of organic food

How your food is grown or raised can have a major impact on your mental and emotional health as well
as the environment. Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their
conventionally-grown counterparts and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives often
find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods.

Organic produce contains fewer pesticides. Chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and
insecticides are widely used in conventional agriculture and residues remain on (and in) the food we eat.
Organic food is often fresher because it doesn’t contain preservatives that make it last longer. Organic
produce is often (but not always, so watch where it is from) produced on smaller farms near where it is
sold.

Organic farming is better for the environment. Organic farming practices reduce pollution, conserve
water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy. Farming without pesticides is also
better for nearby birds and animals as well as people who live close to farms.

Organically raised animals are NOT given antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed animal byproducts.
Feeding livestock animal byproducts increases the risk of mad cow disease (BSE) and the use of
antibiotics can create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Organically-raised animals are given more
space to move around and access to the outdoors, which help to keep them healthy.

Organic food is GMO-free. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered (GE)
foods are plants whose DNA has been altered in ways that cannot occur in nature or in traditional
crossbreeding, most commonly in order to be resistant to pesticides or produce an insecticide.

● Organic produce contains fewer pesticides. Chemicals such as fungicides, herbicides, and
insecticides are widely used in conventional agriculture and residues remain on (and in) the food
we eat.
● Organic food is often fresher because it doesn’t contain preservatives that make it last longer.

Organic produce is often (but not always, so watch where it is from) produced on smaller farms

near where it is sold.

● Organic farming is better for the environment. Organic farming practices reduce pollution,

conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy. Farming without

pesticides is also better for nearby birds and animals as well as people who live close to farms.

● Organically raised animals are NOT given antibiotics, growth hormones, or fed animal

byproducts. Feeding livestock animal byproducts increases the risk of mad cow disease (BSE)

and the use of antibiotics can create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Organically-raised

animals are given more space to move around and access to the outdoors, which help to keep

them healthy

● Organic food is GMO-free. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered

(GE) foods are plants whose DNA has been altered in ways that cannot occur in nature or in
 traditional crossbreeding, most commonly in order to be resistant to pesticides or produce an

insecticide.

Is Organic Food Better for the Environment?

Indeed, recent research by the Research Institute ofOrganic Agriculture (FiBL) found that organic crops

require up to 50% less energy than their conventional counterparts. ... Even factoring in the lower yield-

per-hectare of organic foods, they still use approximately 19% less energy than non-organic alternatives.

Organic farming accounted for 3 percent of the total sales within the country’s food industry. Even in

European countries like Finland, Austria, and Germany, governments have been busy implementing

plans and policies that aim to dedicate 20 percent of land area to organic farming. In South Asia, Bhutan

has ambitious plans of going 100 percent organic by 2020. Meanwhile, Sikkim, a state in north-eastern

India had managed to go 100 percent organic in 2016.

The gradual shift towards organic farming has been mainly because we as consumers have become

increasingly concerned about the health impacts of accidentally consuming pesticides and chemical

fertilizers.