Organic Foods and Farms are Here to Stay

Thank goodness, as organic is so much healthier for us, organic food sales have gone up 11.3%, which doesn’t seem like much, but that number is increasing constantly. Also, many people are growing their own gardens and community gardens are increasing in numbers all over AND these are not included in the 11.3%.

One of the most popular reasons that people eat organic is to avoid the chemical poison cocktail that is in commercially produced foods. More than 600 active chemicals are registered for agriculture use in America. The National Academy of Sciences reports that 90 percent of chemicals that are applied to foods have not been studied for long-term health impacts.

If you spend any time talking to someone who eats organic produce, they will tell you how much better it tastes. If you struggle with the GMO debate and feel that organic foods are a pricey gimmick, wait until you’ve tasted a heirloom tomato. If statistics and research do not sell you, the taste of organic heirloom produce may convince you that it’s worth the money!

Eating organic produce shortens the distance that the food takes to get to consumers’ tables. Eighty percent of all organic produce is sold less than 500 miles from the farm. Which means it is fresher and healthier, it is also said that our bodies adjust and assimilate foods that are grown from the region we live in, so it is better to eat local foods.

California makes up the biggest slice of the country’s organic food market, California’s Department of Food and Agriculture produces half of all fruits, nuts and vegetables grown in the country. Coming in second is Washington State. California and Washington rank the highest for organic food sales in the United States! Other states that are part of the organic greats are Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Texas, New York, Colorado, Michigan and Iowa.

If you reside in any of these states, you are very fortunate and should find a bounty of organic produce. If you live in a state that is not included in this list, continue to advocate for your states organic farms. Organic food is here to stay. Spread the news and encourage and support your local organic farmers and also do some research to see if there are community gardens in your area and if not start one.

Eating healthy whole foods is one of our birth rights, and we need to find ways of giving this back to ourselves. Many countries outside of the USA have banned GMO crops and are miles ahead of us on this issue, in fact when you go to a healthy conscious food market and you go to the pasta section and read the labels you will see the pasta is not from the USA, which means it is GMO free; if you buy from a country you know has GMO free crops. The pasta I buy is from Italy and it is delicious, does that mean it is 99 cents…no…but I know I am not getting poisoned. It is these poisons that are creating all of our “designer” diseases that are plaguing us, so I encourage you to take charge of your food consumption.