FIFTEEN GOOD REASONS TO BUY ORGANIC

Organic products meet stringent standards
Organic certification is the public’s assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs.

Organic food tastes great!
It’s common sense – well-balanced soils produce strong, healthy plants that become nourishing food for people and animals.

Organic production 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.

Organic farms respect our water resources
The elimination of polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching, done in combination with soil building, protects and conserves water resources.

Organic farmers build healthy soil
Soil is the foundation of the food chain. The primary focus of organic farming is to use practices that build healthy soils.

Organic farmers work in harmony with nature
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.

Organic producers are leaders in innovative research
Organic farmers have led the way, largely at their own expense, with innovative on-farm research aimed at reducing pesticide use and minimizing agriculture’s impact on the environment.

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.

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.

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.

Organic foods Save Energy
Organic farming requires more people-power. Weeding by hand and using green manures and crop covers rather than synthetic fertilizers to build up soil are the foundations of Organic agriculture.

Whereas, conventional farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country’s total energy supply. Did you know that most commercial fertilizers comes from petroleum? More energy is used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest all the crops in the US.

Organic farming protect farm worker health
A National Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had a six times greater risk than non-farmers of contacting cancer.

Organic Farming combats Global Warming
Data from The Rodale Institute’s® long-running comparison of organic and conventional cropping systems confirms that organic methods are far more effective at removing the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, from the atmosphere. Organic farming improves the soil unlike conventional farming which strips the soil of all nutritional substance.

Organic Farming can cure world hunger
The Journal, “Nature” reported that organic methods for growing rice, corn and wheat all produced significantly higher yields—and at less the cost—than monoculture farms (farms where only one crop is continually planted).

Organic farming is good for the family farm
Many organic growers are small, independently owned farmers who have found that organic farming is one of the few remaining ways they can stay competitive with larger-scale farms.

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