10 Reasons for Going Organic

Organic Foods are becoming more mainstream and our mission here at Organic Kingdom is to help promote the distribution of organic food online and through stores worldwide. According to the Organic Trade Association and other, there are numerous reasons for "Going Organic." Click Here to view the top 10.

1. Reduces Health Risks. Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Organic agriculture is one way to prevent any more of these chemicals from getting into the air, earth and water that sustain us. In addition, organic food contains higher levels of vitamin C and essential minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium as well as powerful antioxidants.

2. Benefits Wildlife and the Environment
Overall, organic farming supports more farmland wildlife than non-organic farming. It causes lower pollution from sprays, produces less carbon dioxide - the main global warming gas - and less dangerous wastes.

3. Reliance on Drugs Removed
Antibiotic additives routinely added to animal food to speed animal growth are linked with bacterial resistance in humans to the same or closely related antibiotics. Soil Association standards ban the routine use of antibiotics.

4. Tastes Great
Many people buy organic food because they believe it tastes better than non-organic. This could be because organic fruit and vegetables tend to grow more slowly and have a lower water content, which may contribute to the fuller flavor some people experience. A poll in 2005 showed that quality and taste of food are important to more people than low prices. In addition, its also common sense - well-balanced soils produce strong, healthy plants that become nourishing food for people and animals.

5. Organic Products meet Stringent Standards.

Organic food comes from trusted sources. Organic certification is the public’s assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs.

6. Organic Practices Lead to a Healthy Ecosystem The elimination of polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching, done in combination with soil building, protects and conserves water resources. Soil is the foundation of the food chain. The primary focus of organic farming is to use practices that build healthy soils. Organic agricultural respects the balance demanded of a healthy ecosystem: wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fence rows, wetlands, and other natural areas.

7. Organic farming helps keep rural communities healthy

USDA reported that in 1997, half of U.S. farm production came from only 2% of farms. Organic agriculture can be a lifeline for small farms because it offers an alternative market where sellers can command fair prices for crops.

8. Organic abundance - Foods and non-foods alike!

Now every food category has an organic alternative. And non-food agricultural products are being grown organically - even cotton, which most experts felt could not be grown this way.

9. Care for Animals
No system of farming has higher levels of animal welfare standards than organic farms working to Soil Association standards. Compassion in World Farming believes that the Soil Association's welfare standards are leaders in the field. (Joyce d'Silva, Director, Compassion in World Farming.)

10. GM-free
Genetically modified (GM) crops and ingredients are not allowed under organic standards. Over a million tons of GM crops are to feed non organic livestock that produce much, if not most, of the non organic pork, bacon, milk, cheese and other dairy products in our supermarkets.

11. Organic Producers Strive to Preserve Diversity

The loss of a large variety of species (biodiversity) is one of the most pressing environmental concerns. The good news is that many organic farmers and gardeners have been collecting and preserving seeds, and growing unusual varieties for decades.

Excerpts from the Organic Trade Association & The Soil Association