Five Reasons to Grow Organically

You Don’t Have To Handle Chemicals

When you grow foods in a non-organic manner you will be handling hazardous chemicals as part of the process. This will mean purchasing expensive, unflattering and simply unnecessary specialist equipment in order to protect yourself from said chemicals.

Not only that, but regardless of how many precautions you take, you will still breathe in some of the chemicals that you’re using. What’s more, the chemicals will be present in the atmosphere for some time after they have been used and may therefore be breathed in by wild animals, pets or even your children.

It’s Better For The Environment

Over 90% of pesticides sprayed reach places other than their destination. This means that they get into our air and water – and therefore our lungs and bodies. Pesticides also affect the quality of our topsoil. Topsoil is the uppermost layer of the earth’s soil and it is this that is so vital to the health of our plants and the foods we take from the soil.

Pesticides affect the growth of natural life forms within the topsoil and can reduce its ability to retain water – meaning that the impact of a drought is substantially more significant.In addition, many gardeners choose to purchase high quality topsoil from a local retailer or other source. The money spent is essentially being wasted if the homeowner then proceeds to contaminate it with an abundance of harsh chemicals. The nutrient content of the topsoil will begin to deplete, and fresh topsoil will be required much sooner than usual.

Organic Foods Taste Better

So perhaps this point is slightly down to personal opinion but many people do prefer the taste of organic foods. Experts have stated that this is due to the higher antioxidant content in the foods that enhance the presence of flavonoids. It’s these flavonoids that our taste buds detect. In addition, many top chefs have switched to using organic produce wherever possible, since they believe the flavour to be superior.

Perhaps part of the reason organic foods taste better is that the topsoil they are grown in is better quality than that which harvests non-organic equivalents. The increased levels of nutrients in the topsoil will help to harvest a healthier and tastier food.

They’re Better For You

When we eat non-organic foods we are ingesting the residue of the chemical’s they have been sprayed with. Of course, we can wash or peel them but water will never remove chemicals that have seeped through the skin, and even peeled foods may contain chemicals that have entered the produce through its root.

Unfortunately, pesticides and herbicides have only been used in food growth for a relatively short time, meaning that we are unsure of the long term effects on human health. However, it takes very little thought process to establish that chemicals designed to kill unwanted pests and plants will not be beneficial to human health either.

In addition, if you are growing your own organic produce at home, you are likely to be consuming the foods when they are very fresh. Fruits and vegetables begin depleting in nutrients the moment they are harvested. We have little idea how long the produce that lines our supermarket shelves has been there – however it is evident that food taken from your garden that day will have a significantly higher nutrient content than that bought from a local supermarket.