Organic food is produced without the use of pesticides, insecticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals. Pesticides and insecticides are full of cancer-causing chemical compounds that must be avoided as much as possible. Using smart farming practices to produce organic foods and to promote the concept of “health is the new wealth” concept are the need of the hour. These include crop rotation, using animal and plant residues as manure, and mineral grade rock additives that serve as great methods of producing grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables.
Organic food has the same nutritional value as the regular food available in grocery stores, but it is safer and healthier to consume, and with no adverse effect on health. Some individuals might feel that organic foods are too expensive and out of their “grocery budget.” It is true that organic foods are available in a few and selective grocery stores and are highly priced, but if you think about the risks of consuming grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables that are overloaded with carcinogenic chemicals and hormone balance disturbing elements, you will agree that it is better to spend on maintaining and improving your current health rather than spending millions of rupees in the hospital treatment.
Advantages Of Consuming Organic Food
- Free of hormones. Maintains your hormonal balance and prevents the development of metabolic diseases, such as diabetes and polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Organic food cultivators and dairy farmers do not use antibiotics and hormones in their practices. Hence, there is no risk of developing antibiotic resistance in organic food consumers.
- It tastes fresher and better as compared to regular food.
- Organic whole milk has significantly greater concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids in comparison to milk from cows that are raised on regular dairy farms
- Organic fruits and vegetables have a higher antioxidant capacity and better antioxidant absorption in the human body.
- Food grown organically is richer in various nutrients, such as Vitamin C, iron, magnesium, as well as phosphorus, with minimal exposure to fertilizer components such as nitrates and free of pesticide residues, particularly in fruits, vegetables, and grains when compared to conventionally grown products.
- Organic tomatoes have a higher number of antioxidants as compared to conventionally grown organic tomatoes.
- Foods cultivated using organic practices are free of toxic heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic. The best example of this is fish that is available in organic grocery stores. Organic fish is safe for consumption and absolutely healthy.
- Prevents premature ageing of the skin and prevents hair fall. Organic food boosts skin and hair health.
- Animal welfare is a crucial concern while producing organic milk, meat, poultry, and fish. In the organic food farms, animals are not confined to a caged life and are treated well after taking into consideration the ethical code of conduct.
- Reduces health care and treatment costs by saving persons from visiting health care professionals to get cured of chronic diseases
- Using crop residues and plant wastes as manure is healthy for the environment since it reduces the use of harmful chemicals in farming practices and also lowers the amount of non-biodegradable substances in the environment and thereby contributes towards lowering soil pollution.
There are many urban Indians who have decided to explore the sustainability of this field and to work towards attaining a cleaner and safer ecosystem for human health and welfare. Several software engineers and entrepreneurs are working in this direction either by supporting farmers to yield fresh and unadulterated produce that is optimal for health, or by taking initiatives to create organic farms. Also, with a greater number of people preferring to choose organic food, and with the number of organic e-commerce stores emerging in some metro cities, it is apparent that more and more people are moving towards organic farming and following a healthy lifestyle.
