THE CASE FOR ORGANIC FOOD

ORGANIC FOOD IS BETTER TASTING AND
CONTAINS LESS ARTIFICIAL INGREDIENTS

www.northjersey.com - Will a growing number of people continue to pay extra for organic foods even if they offer no nutritional advantages, as found by a much-talked-about study published this week? For North Jersey shoppers drawn to the organic section of their neighborhood supermarket, the answer is simple: It's safer. Once found only in health food stores, organic produce and meats have gone mainstream as consumers choose to avoid the pesticides and growth hormones used in conventional food production. Researchers at Stanford University analyzed the results of 240 past studies on organic food, and concluded that these foods have no nutritional advantage. But their findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on Tuesday, did find that organic produce contained lower trace levels of pesticides and organic meat contained fewer antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Chensheng Lu, an associate professor of environmental exposure biology at the Harvard School of Public Health, told Reuters that “If I was a smart consumer, I would choose food that has no pesticides.” More and more consumers would agree. Nationwide, sales of organic food rose sevenfold in the past 12 years, to $26.7 billion annually, according to the Organic Trade Association (OTA). 

Heather Mallick a Toronto Star Columnist writes “I read the summary of the Stanford study, which the BBC didn't even bother to link to online, always a bad sign. Call me cynical but at no time have I ever thought organic food contained more vitamins or nutrients. Why would it? I do assume, however, that organic food contains fewer pesticides, which is why it's called “organic” I'm not impressed when non-organic food is lauded at “within acceptable contaminant levels.” Who decides those levels? Are they science-based or simply industry-friendly?,” Mallick says. Organics' move into the mainstream is due in no small part to Whole Foods Markets, an Austin, Texas-based company whose trademarked tagline is “America's Healthiest Grocery Store.” The region PR director of the company, Michael Sinatra, says “Organic food is grown in earth-friendly ways that support the environment, grown without toxic or persistent pesticides, and is often fresher and better tasting,” Mainstream does not mean less expensive, however. Organic foods cost more than non-organic, sometimes 40 percent to 50 percent more. Why the surcharge? Organic farmers have smaller yields and do not receive the federal subsides that large-scale conventional farmers do, said Paul Weiner, organics director for Fairway Market, which has stores in Paramus and Woodland Park. As demand for organic food increases, he expects prices to go down.

A recent report out of Stanford University that organic foods may not be much healthier or more nutritious than their conventional counterparts has caused quite a stir. Food is not just a delivery device for vitamins and minerals, as measured in the study. The term "organic" actually refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed and legally details the permitted use (or not) of certain ingredients in these foods. Analyst Robyn O'Brien explains that organically produced foods must be produced WITHOUT the use of: antibiotics, artificial growth hormones, high fructose corn syrup, artificial dyes (made from coal tar and petrochemicals), artificial sweeteners derived from chemicals, synthetically created chemical pesticide and fertilizers, genetically engineered proteins and ingredients, sewage sludge and irradiation. These “added ingredients” are actually what differentiate organic foods from their conventional counterparts, so the organic is better, not because of what's in it, but because of what's NOT in it.

WHAT DO THE VEDIC TEACHINGS TELL US? 

How can we be healthy if our world is being contaminated around us? Acid rain falls on our heads and the land; ozone levels are depleting where they are necessary and increasing where they are harmful; chemical fertilizers and poisonous insecticides are all over our food. ... Vedic Culture strongly promotes vegetarianism. The vegetarian diet has been followed since antiquity by those who have chosen the path of yoga, goodness, and purification. Today, there are also hundreds of reasons a person can help solve the conditions of the world by being a vegetarian.  No more junk food. Only buy pure organic ingredients and prepare nice food with love to offer to God and be purified by eating sanctified food, free of Karmic reactions. No more use of artificial colors, chemical flavoring, preservatives, which produce thousands of other horrifying illnesses which the Drug and Food Control Agency has not yet prohibited due to their ignorance. Always offer to Krishna the most nutrients to keep you and others healthy.

Śrīla Bhakti Aloka Paramadvaiti Mahārāja :
“Vaishnava Ecology”
“The Body - We are What we Eat”
http://www.vedic-wisdom.org/
http://www.vrindavan.org/English/about/VaishnavaEcology.html

Published by dasavatara das - "Vedic Views on World News"
http://www.vedicviews-worldnews.blogspot.com.ar/