Why Organic ?

The global scientific community has constantly acknowledged the negative and at times long lasting effects of small doses of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals on people, especially during the early stages of development as a fetus and during infancy.



These pesticides and other agricultural chemicals release toxins into our systems whose effects are still being studied and about which the scientific community finds little consensus due to the lobbying activities of some of the great multinational corporations, whose businesses might be negatively affected in case all the scientific evidence comes to light.

In order not to get caught up in this debate about how negative the toxins are, why not try to avoid them? As such, for all members of your family, you will find below some reasons (culled from Everything I Need to Know about Organic Foods) why you and especially your children should join the tide and get on the organic train.
Is organic food the best?

Yes, there is no doubt about it. Food that is grown organically is free from all the toxins that are used commonly in conventional farming practices. Examples of such toxins include pesticides (some of which have been classified by the federal authorities as carcinogenic), solvents such as benzene and toluene, and some heavy metals such as lead and mercury. Evidence from the scientific community has shown that:

* Solvents damage our white blood cells and in so doing reduce our immune system's ability to resist and fight infections;
* Heavy metals damage nerve function, leading to diseases like multiple sclerosis and the lowering of one’s IQ. They also block hemoglobin production leading to anemia.

As such, while eliminating our exposure to these dangerous substances, organically grown foods contain higher levels of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals.

How organic foods contribute to our child’s health?

In two separate reports, both the Natural Resources Defense Council (1989) and the Environmental Working Group (1998) found that millions of American children are exposed to levels of pesticides through their food that surpass limits considered to be safe. Some of these pesticides are known to contain neurotoxins. Neurotoxins have the ability to cause harm to the developing brain and nervous system. Additionally, some researchers feel that children and adolescents may be especially vulnerable to the cancer-causing effects of certain pesticides since the body is more sensitive to the impact of these materials during periods of high growth rates and breast development.

The concern for the effects of agricultural chemicals on children's health seems so evident that even the U.S. government has taken steps to protect our nation's young. In 1996, Congress passed the Food Quality Protection Act requiring that all pesticides applied to foods be safe for infants and children. Organic foods that are strictly controlled for substances harmful to health can play a major role in assuring the health of our children.

source : yummyspoonfuls.com