What Are Healthy Foods: The Case for Organic Food

Fri, 09/28/2012 - 10:32am -- Saladmaster
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In early September, Stanford University published a study concluding that organically grown foods were no more nutritious than conventionally grown foods. The study’s conclusions were based on the examination of many other studies measuring the level of various nutrients in foods, both plant and animal, grown using organic methods or conventional farming methods, the latter type of farming including the use of pesticides, genetically modified seed, and antibiotics. Many people concerned with eating healthy were compelled to re-examine what is healthy food, as many believed that the reason to buy organic lay primarily in the nutritional value. 

Notwithstanding the controversy surrounding the study’s conclusions, for the many that focus on eating healthy, there are some very compelling reasons to buy organic other than the level of nutrition found in the food:

1.  Pesticides.  Organically grown foods have up to 30% less pesticide residue than the average produce in your local supermarket. Although it is claimed by the pesticide makers and USDA that the pesticides used today are in amounts safe for consumption, there is evidence that these chemicals, in fact, build up in the body, with the health consequences as yet clinically undetermined. Furthermore, the chemicals linger in the soil affecting the food supply for years as is evidenced by the recent report on the arsenic levels in US-grown rice. 

2.  Anti-biotics.  More and more evidence is emerging that anti-biotics used in animals are contributing to the growing number of “superbugs”, bacteria resistant or immune to antibiotics. Although these same bacteria can be found in organically raised meats and poultry -- and meat should always be cooked to temperatures that reduce the risk of infection by these bacteria -- the antibiotics can be passed to people through the meats, exacerbating the problem already faced in the healthcare industry due to overuse of anti-biotic medicine. 

3.  Benefits to the EnvironmentOrganic farming has been shown in studies to produce agricultural lands with greater soil biodiversity than in those habitats found in lands farmed with pesticides. Although crop yields are lower in organic farms, the increased biodiversity helps to keep the soil more fertile from season to season.

4.  Benefits to Farmers. Organic farming, while producing foods for health, also provides benefits to the farmers themselves by limiting exposures to the very pesticides and chemicals that we consumers also wish avoid. This is even more important for the farmers as the exposures they face are significantly higher than those of consumers.

Whatever food you choose to buy, it is up to you as a consumer to make the healthy eating choices that are best for your family. And whatever those choices may be, you can be sure that the food and nutrition in what you buy will be preserved by cooking in Saladmaster®  316Ti Cookware. Our unique cooking technology allows you to cook on low-to-medium heat thus assuring that you won’t be cooking the nutrition out of your food. 

Sources:

Mestel, Rosie. “Organic Food – Better for You Or Not? A Study Takes A Look”. The Los Angeles Times. 3 September 2012.  www.latimes.com.

Maeder, Paul et al.  “Soil Fertility and Biodiversity in Organic Farming”. Science. 31 May 2002. Vol 296, pp. 1694-97. www.sciencemag.org.

“Arsenic in Your Food: Our Findings Show A Real Need for Federal Standards for This Toxin”. Consumer Reports Magazine.  November 2012.  www.consumerreports.org.