We All Know Organic Is Better But How Much Better?

The benefits of organic food

The benefits of organic foods greatly outweigh those of conventional practices. While some industries will poopoo the benefit of organic food, you need only look to see who is badmouthing them in order to find an ulterior motive. Most companies like big agriculture, or monster food chains, will fight the rise of organics tooth and nail. But the numbers are out there, and you only need to read a report or infographic in order to see that the benefits of organic foods are much more than those of conventional farming and production.

To begin with some simple figures, think about the nutrition and costs associated with organic foods. It has been found that organic food has 25 percent more vitamins and minerals than standard. And while the price of organic is higher, it is actually only about 20 percent more, and when you factor in how much you will be saving on healthcare throughout your whole life, the price is significantly cheaper.

In non organic foods, the levels of trace minerals in produce fell nearly 76 percent from 1940 to 1991. And in conventional farming, over 400 different pesticides are sprayed all over the produce on a routine basis. Even a strong washing cannot rid the food of the poisons however, because by the time it reaches us, it is already in the actual produce.

The levels of antioxidants found in milk from organically raised and fed cows are 50 to 80 percent more than in the normal cows. Organic tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and lettuce have all been found to have 20 to 40 percent more nutrients than their non organic counterparts.

A grass fed cow has significantly less amounts of stress in its life, gets regular exercise as it is allowed to simply graze and eat at free will, and has higher levels of Omega 3 fatty acids. Grain fed cows are usually pumped full of antibiotics, have much higher stress levels, and have more Omega 6 oils which cause inflammation in humans. If you consume the average American amount of beef a year, about 67 pounds, if you switch to grass fed beef you will actually save yourself 16,642 calories per year.

That is just a small handful of the horrifying numbers tied to organic versus standard foods. I would say that that is enough to convince you to consider switching to organics. And you have not even seen the environmental effects behind organic versus non organic farms. Before you look for any more benefits of organic foods however, consider the change. Remember, it does not have to be all at once. That can be a hard transition to make instantly. But, as long as you make the promise and make the effort, you can make a difference.

The following two tabs change content below.

Francis Pitt

Francis Pitt has made a name for himself in farm-to-table organics, working at restaurants in Portland, Seattle and Burlington, Vermont. While he has a taste for the extreme, most of his restaurant’s top sellers are much more down-to-earth, regularly featuring mushrooms gathered from the slopes of the Cascades, and fresh wild-caught seafood from the Oregon coast. Inspired by trends in Portland, his latest restaurant offers the ultimate chef’s table: dinner begins in the morning at his island collective farm, and 4 lucky guests every week get to follow the food, literally, from the field to the plate! Francis is a firm believer that you are what you eat — do you really want to be a chemistry set?

Latest posts by Francis Pitt (see all)