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If you are a health or culinary enthusiast, you may be following the controversy involving the Stanford University study that found organic food is not healthier than non-organic food. Before you cancel your membership at your local co-op supermarket or boycott your local organic farmer, please consider the following facts.
Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals not given antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic foods (unless otherwise noted on the label) are produced without pesticides, fertilizers, and synthetic ingredients and without genetic modification. (AKA Non-GMO). If you can’t wrap your brain around the importance of organic food think of is as I do. Organic food is the kind of food that I eat when I visit my tia in the countryside of the Dominican Republic. She grows her own platanos, and raises her own chickens and other livestock, in the same way that generations before her did. I am afraid that’s not how most of the chicken and platanos at our local supermarkets are produced.
What are the benefits of organic food?
The organic food industry is not less profit-driven than the rest of our food suppliers. Also, you may not really be too convinced about paying double the price for a tomato simply because it’s organic. But if you are on the fence, unsure but open to suggestions, about whether or not organic food is worth its price here are some reasons to consider investing in organic food:
Personal and Family Health: Organic means reduced exposure to toxins that may cause cancer, trigger allergies, produce neurological malfunction, inflammation, and compromise your immune system. This is most important for expecting mothers and developing children, as well as the elderly.
Environmental Health: The toxins used in conventional farming remain in the soil and leak into our water supply. These chemicals change the soil’s naturally occurring biodiversity. In other words, if you don’t want to do it for your abuelita, do it for your future children, grandchildren and great-great grandchildren.
The problem with organic food is not that it’s a “scam” because it’s equally healthy and more expensive. It is that it’s overpriced and thus rarely available in lower income neighborhoods. In reality immigrants who grew up in their motherlands eating traditional foods most likely grew up eating organic foods, we just didn’t call it that. First generation Latinos in the US are growing up (starting in the womb!) consuming a lot more pesticides, food additives, preservatives and genetically modified foods. This is undoubtedly affecting our current health and the health of our future generations.
How to move forward?
If you can afford organic foods think of it as a higher-priced substitute for your traditional foods. It’s what our ancestors in (fill in your home country here) ate. If you cannot afford organic foods yet (or simply refuse to pay more money for it), find and friend your local farmers and develop a relationship with them so you can get to know your foods’ family history. As a last resort, invest in produce was, or pure castile soap, and wash off the pesticides and moisture-protecting layer of wax, before eating your fruits and vegetables. You can always just eat whatever you want and take your chances, but then again, scam or not, who wants to play Russian roulette with her longevity and life expectancy.
not yet
Lolol i eat some organic items !!!
Organic still means it is sprayed with pesticides, just safer for those who work in the fields. Just buy from where you regularly buy your food and clean thoroughly.
Is it cheaper yet?
Unfortunately, the term “organic” has been co-opted by USDA, so it’s true, the standards for organic have been greatly loosened at the mass-produced, commercial level. The BEST option is to buy organic from a LOCAL farmer whom you can get to know and trust – or just grow your own food! I go to the farmers market in Austin every Saturday morning… it’s like church for me.
p.s. while it isn’t cheaper, it’s turned my health around. I used to get sick once or twice a year with a major cold and/or flu, and since I started eating local/organic, I haven’t gotten sick. So I save money on prescriptions/doctor visits that I can spend on food that tastes is better, is more nutritious, and keeps me from getting sick. (Therefore, I save time, too, because being sick keeps you from doing things you love!)
Organic doesnt just mean free of pesticides @veronica osorio true locally or home grown organic foods. Are free from GMOs which just today was shown to produce tumors in mice. I recommend everyone not just Latinos do there best to consume as much organic food as possible. Grow a garden, buy from your local farmers market and educate yourselves on what you are putting into your body. Put down the table salt, pick up the sea salt. Stay away from the fritura.
@Carlos – yes, and that’s another thing, currently in our country (unlike countries in Europe are starting to do) – we do NOT label GMOs. There may be genetically modified food we’re eating without being aware of it. But if you buy local, it’s easy to find out – just ask the farmer or gardener! Right now, Monsanto is saying GMOs are safe (of course they are, because they’re profiting from it), but all studies that have been done on lab animals are showing GMOs are NOT safe. And we have yet to find out how they affect humans! I know I’m not going to take the risk to find out. No GMOs for me, if I can help it!
If you live in California, you should know about – http://www.carighttoknow.org/ – because we DO have a right to know what’s in our food.
Or just grow your own veggies..
Not just Latinos/Hispanics, but humans as a whole.
And I’ll never go back
It’s a good option for anyone if u don’t mind paying a little extra for better quality.
Nope it’s not a good option, they prefer grandmas & mommas home deep fried everything under the sun instead
Yes, we buy from the local farmers market a couple times a week, use sea salt now, bake instead of fry our meats, and also try and go gluten free when I make baked goods. We also tried growing our own but we didn’t do too well with the tomatoes, next year we’ll do better!
There are several good food documentaries one can watch on Netflix. Very interesting.
Nope, I live in the US. Unless its from the Amish, its likely GMO (seeds) anyway.
…. and the soil has been corrupted from a century or so of chem spraying. That stuff doesn’t break down (soil) because someone else buys the farm. It takes decades …
Yes i eat organic,