Is Buying Organic Food “Worth It”? 4 Things to Know!

“Is it actually worth it to buy organic food?”

This is a question I get ALL the time! In all honesty, it goes to show just how disconnected the majority of people are from their food as there is SO MUCH MIS INFORMATION floating around about organic food and so many different beliefs about amongst the population!
On one hand, you have people who tell you organic is all a complete scam, and then those on the other end of the spectrum who swear by it whole heartedly, and don’t see any of the flaws within the organic food industry.

SO, in this post I am going to be sharing with you 4 very important things to know, in order to help clear up the ever so debated question of, “is it truly worth it to buy organic food?”

Pictured above: left is the Canadian Certified Organic label and right is the American one.

4 Things to Know About Organic Food

  1. Organically labelled food indicates that a given food has:
    – Grown without the usage of chemical based pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides
    – Organic foods are not grown with synthetic fertilizers or sewage sludge; nor does bioengineering of seeds or ionizing radiation occur within these foods, like it does within the farming of conventional food
    – Organic meats do not contain antibiotics or growth hormones.
    – Organic also always means Non-Genetically Modified.

  2. The organic certification is far from perfect for neither human health or the environment, here are a few of the reasons why:
    – There are still tons of packaged organic foods that are laden with refined sugars, poor quality fats and oils, and other additives.
    – Most industrially grown organic foods are much lower in nutrients than their full potential
    – Large scale organic farming still uses tilling which can be equally as harmful to soil health as pesticides are!
    – Organic foods grown on a large scale are often grown “mono-crop meaning these farms lack enough diversity to keep ecosystems thriving.
    – Although chemical based pesticides are prohibited, “organic pesticides” are still permitted and heavily used in organic farming.
    – Much organic food is often packaged with plastic. This is to help keep it “uncontaminated” from conventional foods, however it is still harmful to the environment – especially our oceans!
    – Since glyphosate, the worlds most commonly used pesticide is water soluble, it ends up getting into our waterways and rainwater. This means it is nearly impossible to keep glyphosate out of our food, even when it’s organic

  3. There’s a “step beyond” certified organic called, “Regenerative Organic Certified.This is a way of farming that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem services. It aims to sequester carbon from the air, brining it down into the soil, in order to decrease current atmospheric CO2 levels. Farmers who commit to Regen Ag are truly aware of the effect their growing food has on both consumers and the earth. This is the gold standard when it comes to farming practices and the kind of food we should all be seeking! Read about Regenerative Organic Certified food here.

  4. The best place to buy your organic food from is undeniably the farmers market! This way you can ask the farmer questions and talk to them more to see if they use regenerative agricultural practices. However, for things you can’t buy from the farmers markets – buying organic is DEFINITELY WORTH IT! You can read more about how conventional foods negatively affect our health in this post. Not only this, conventional farming is incredibly destructive to our dear planet – but more on that another day!

Alright so there we have it friends, all the points laid out to understand why buying organic food is in fact worth it, despite being an extra investment.

To Recap:

  • Buy your fresh organic food from a local farmers market whenever possible and talk to your farmers about regenerative agriculture
  • When at the grocery store, choose organic – it IS WORTH IT!
  • Finally, if you have the opportunity, start thinking about growing your own food. I always say it, but I’ll say it again – it doesn’t need to be a huge undertaking! Even a few small patio planters can do wonders!

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