Organic Or Conventional Food?

If you think that in the farm field, all foods are created equal, you need to think again. The nutrient quality of the food you eat will largely depend on the nutrient quality of the soil the food was grown in. Reality is that soils are depleted. Industrial agriculture—the type of farming that supplies the vast majority of fruits and vegetables in the supermarket—farmers usually feed a nitrogen-potassium-phosphorus (NPK) fertilizer to the farm fields. While the NPK fertilizer does supply the primary ingredients needed to make plants grow fast and tall, it does little to supply the nutrients needed to allow plants to grow RICH—that is, rich in macro- and micronutrients.

On an organic farm, soil quality is maintained through the use of organic matter like manure and field waste, which is digested and turned into useable nutrients by worms, nematodes, bacteria, mycorhizal fungi, and other organisms found in healthy soil. Furthermore, cover crops are often grown to improve soil quality and prevent loss of precious top soil.

This kind of care and nurturing of the "dirt" creates soil that is richer in nutrients than soil found on industrial farms. When the plants suck up sustenance from the organic soil, the nutrient mix results in a fruit or vegetable that is more densely packed with a wider variety of nutrients.

Not only do soils on conventional farms not get the broad-spectrum replenishment they need, the toxicity of the chemical pesticides and fertilizers used kill a large percentage of the beneficial organisms that are essential for good soil health.

Many of the beneficial micronutrients in the food fall into the group of "phenolics." Plants make these compounds to fight off pests. With industrial farming however, chemical pesticides keep insects off the plant almost completely. The plant has no need to defend itself, and therefore produces fewer phenolics, resulting in less-nutritious food for us. Journal

One more aspect to consider is the variety of toxic pesticides applied to conventionally grown crops. When you ingest pesticides, that just places more burden on your liver and kidneys. So, organic food not only gives you more nutrients, it gives you a lot less toxins, too.

Finally, organic farming produces same produce yields as conventional farms, but consumes less energy, one more aspect we should be concerned about.

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