When feeding your family, there are two main options, conventional food and organic food. There are differences, but is one really more nutritious than the other, and is it worth the higher prices at the market or nurseries? Both can be purchased at the local supermarket, often side by side, offering you two different nutritional and budget choices, but how do you know which to buy?
When a product is labeled "organic" it must fall into a certain category and refers to the way the products are grown, which uses less pollution, making it a cleaner way to garden. The main differences between the two methods are that conventional farming uses chemicals and insecticides to reduce the amount of bugs and to help the plants grow larger faster. Farmers also give animals medicines and growth hormones to help them grow faster and presumably healthier. Organic, on the other hand, uses only natural fertilizers and insecticides, crop rotation and mulching to get rid of weeds, and allows the animals to have free range grazing and a balanced diet, free of hormones. Anything that is sold as "organic" in the store must meet the guidelines set up by the USDA, which regulates how the growth and processing of the produce and animal.
These products come in several different levels. If they are sold as one hundred percent organic, they will carry the sale and are single ingredient foods, such as fruits and vegetables. However, if they have multiple ingredients, such as cereal, to be considered truly organic depends on how many products in them are. To be certified, the entire product must be seventy percent organic.
There are several reasons why someone would choose to purchase or grow organic food over conventional. These include, but are not limited to: the taste preference, the fact that they are pesticide and food additive free, and for reasons related to the environment.
However, there are some drawbacks of purchasing and growing food grown in this method: first off it costs more due to the way that it is grown, they may spoil faster because they are preservative free, they may be odd shaped, and are usually smaller than their conventional counterparts.
No matter which type of product you choose to grow, there are some tips that may be good to follow so that your family can still eat healthy. These include purchasing all your fruits and vegetables in the season that they are grown, such as from local farmers markets or nurseries, have different sources of food, read all nutrition labels, and wash them all well before eating them.
An important part of being healthy is eating healthy. Whether you choose organic or conventional methods, you can still follow guidelines for committing to strong and healthy lifestyles for your family.