ORGANIC PRODUCTS: Tell me what you eat, and I’ll tell you if you’re healthy. What we eat has a direct impact on our health. Products from conventional agriculture can be harmful to the body in a context where quantity takes precedence over quality. Fortunately, there is responsible agriculture, including organic products, which, through production standards, can contribute to better health.
What is an organic product?
According to agence bio.orgOrganic food or products are the result of a global system of agricultural management and food production that combines the best environmental practices, a high degree of biodiversity, the preservation of natural resources, the application of high animal welfare standards and a production method that respects consumers’ preference for products obtained using natural substances and products.
Why choose organic?
The only valid reason for this is to have a healthier lifestyle. To prevent the body from becoming vulnerable and losing the resistance of its immune system. This is obvious, but a few points about its positive action may shed a little more light.
Differences between organic and industrial production according to Agence bio
Vegetal
For soil fertility and activity, preference is given to :
Appropriate multi-annual rotations,
Growing green manures and legumes,
Recycling and composting organic matter,
The contribution of organic matter from the farm itself, or from neighboring organic farms.
Animal
Animals must come from adapted and resistant strains and breeds, preferably indigenous or local.
Above-ground breeding is prohibited.
All animals have access to the range, and ruminants graze as soon as conditions allow.
Each animal has access to air, light and a minimum area of straw inside the buildings, enabling it to move freely.
Farm size is limited according to animal type
The use of GMOs in animal feed is strictly prohibited.
Young mammals are fed on breast milk or natural milk.
Force-feeding is prohibited in organic farming.
Reasons to eat organic food
Opting for organic products means opting for healthy foods
According to reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization(FAO), organic produce is now proven to contain lower levels of nitrates and pesticide residues than non-organic produce.
These chemical elements, inseparable from intensive, industrial farming, are easy to spot in agricultural products (fruit, vegetables, meat, cheese, fresh eggs and by-products such as wine). They remain in the body and accumulate over the years, unable to be eliminated naturally by the body.
These substances are often at the root of a decline in our immune system, fertility disorders (caused by endocrine disruptors) and serious illnesses such as cancer.
Organic products therefore have a long-term effect on the body, limiting the accumulation of these products in the body.
Opting for organic products means opting for better health
So-called conventional or intensive industrial agriculture uses a lot of chemicals, either to protect the field against insects… or to increase productivity… But the use of pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers, affects the quality and health of the soil and kills up to 85% of micro-organisms. Without micro-organisms, the soil is devoid of nutrients. Man is also a victim of these practices, since the health of the farmers who handle them is also compromised.
Certain cancers are recognized as occupational diseases for farmers: angiosarcomas of the liver, bronchopulmonary cancers and skin cancers (all three associated with exposure to arsenic, which was widely used in pesticides a few years ago).
Opting for organic products means boosting your body’s immunity
In fact, knowing the antioxidant power of certain foods – garlic, avocado, etc. – they contain antioxidants at perhaps 100% of their original essence, compared to non-organic foods.
Organic products contain more nutrients, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. (Untreated products are smaller and therefore more concentrated. For the same weight, organic products contain less water and more dry matter).
Organic products are tastier
A fruit, a vegetable, a chicken, a fish … in short, a product that has had time to develop, to reach maturity, to take advantage of natural resources, or that flourishes freely in a spacious natural environment is very rich in nutrients and tasty.
These foods have a much higher quality of taste, smell and texture than products grown with mineral fertilizers.
So opt for organic consumption and take full advantage of their nutritional benefits.
Tips for choosing organic products
The term organic is now a marketing tool for companies. It’s important to make sure that the food you choose is certified “organic agriculture ” to be sure of its quality (or that you know your supplier’s processes).
“Let your food be your medicine”! Hippocrates was right when he said this, because a quality daily diet is still the best way to prevent disease.