The Skinny On Organic Food

Welcome back my fellow learners, today's blog is about organic food, and is it as healthy as they boast.

Once this food could only be found in health food stores, organic food can now be seen in supermarkets across the world. And because of this, it's created a great debate. On one side you have a standard apple. On the other, you have an organic one. Both are firm, juicy and red. Both give vitamins and fibre to the eater, and are fat free, sodium and cholesterol free, so the question raging today is “which to choose?”

normally grown produce is much cheaper, but is organic food really safer and more nutritious? Get the low down before you run out to stock your fridge.

Conventional versus organic

The word organic basically refers to the way food is grown and processed, such items as fruit, vegetable, dairy products, grain and meat. Organic farming is designed to encourage soil and water and thus reduce pollution. Farmers that cultivate organic produce and meat don't use normal techniques to fertilize, control weeds or stop livestock disease. For instance, instead of using chemical weed killers, organic farmers conduct sophisticated crop rotations, and spread mulch or manure to prevent weeds from growing.

Here are some important differences between normal farming and organic.

Standard Food	Organic Food
Add chemical fertilizers to encourage plant growth.	Add natural fertilizers, like manure or compost, to provide food to soil and plants.
Sprays synthetic insecticides to stop pests and disease.	Sprays natural pesticides, use insects and birds, or traps to reduce pests and disease.
Use synthetic herbicides to prevent weeds from growing.	Use environmentally friendly plant killing products, crop rotation, till, hand weed or mulch to control weeds.
Give antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to animals to stop disease and encourage growth.	Give organic feed to animals and allow them outdoors. Use preventive measures, like rotation grazing, a good diet and clean housing to stop disease.

So there's the skinny, I personally think it is all about preference, but I leave the decision up to you.