Put simply, organic food contains more of the good stuff we need, and less of the bad stuff that we don't need.
Starting with the good stuff, no other food has higher amounts of beneficial minerals, essential amino acids and vitamins than organic food. Take organic milk – according to research carried out by scientists in Britain and across Europe, organic milk has nearly 70% more essential fatty acid omega-3 than its non-organic equivalent. Essential fatty acids are essential for maintaining normal bodily functions.
Studies have also shown organic milk contains significantly more vitamin E and beta-carotene, an antioxidant that our body converts to vitamin A. The scientists say one of the reasons that milk from organic cows is so good is because they eat a much more natural diet, grazing freely on fresh grass and clover. In comparison, most non-organic cows eat a more grain-based diet containing cereals, maize and protein supplements.
We all know the importance of getting our five-a-day, but eating five organic fruit and vegetables a day is even better. A non-organic apple can be sprayed up to 16 times with 36 different chemicals, many of which cannot simply be washed off. The latest Government tests, carried out in 2005, found pesticides in 80% of non-organic apple samples.
The British Medical Association say that some pesticides can be stored in our body's fatty tissues for years, raising concern about them being carcinogenic (cancer causing), mutagenic (causing birth defects) and neurotoxic (damaging to our nervous system). As organic farmers predominantly use natural methods to control pests, choosing organic is the best way to avoid pesticides in your food.
4 easy ways to eat more organic
1. Tell your local school about Food for Life – the Soil Association's practical programme of how to get more organic, local and unprocessed food into your schools. For more information contact us on 0117 314 5000 or go to www.soilassociation.org/foodforlife.
2. Buying direct from the producer is often cheaper and allows you to ask questions about where your food comes from, and find out how it was grown and made.
3. Box schemes are a great way to ensure you get your organic five-a-day, and many of them supply you with a wide variety of locally sourced seasonal fruit and veg along with recipes so that you know how to prepare them.
4. Find out where your food comes from – over 70 Soil Association organic farms in the UK are open to the public. Go to www.soilassociation.org/farmvisits to find out more.
Many of us don't have time to prepare our meals from scratch and rely on convenience foods like pasta sauces, so it's good to know it can make a difference choosing organic versions. Under Soil Association organic standards only 32 of the 290 food additives allowed by law are permitted in organic food carrying the Soil Association symbol. So choosing organic convenience foods means avoiding controversial additives like aspartame and tartrazine.
The health concerns relating to some additives are well documented, but research normally focuses on individual additives. Recent research, presented by the Soil Association, was carried out on combinations of additives that theoretically reflect compounds entering the blood stream after a typical child's snack and drink. Alarmingly, the research found the effects were up to four times worse when additives E133, a blue food colouring, and E621, monosodium glutamate, were combined than when tested individually. The additives interfered with nerve signals and stopped nerve cells from growing normally.
So if you want food that contains more of what you need, and less of what you don't need, isn't it time for you to go organic?
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