Being healthy and reducing future risks of disease and problems are completely worth spending the money.

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According to the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics the demand for organic foods are increasing due to consumers believing they are safer and healthier than conventional foods.

Even though there are still gaps and limits in scientific knowledge, what we do know is that fewer chemicals are used in small organic farming than conventionally grown alternatives.

It is well documented that residues remain on our conventional foods and consumed by us over decades, aids heavily to accumulating fatty tissue.

Organic food regulations prohibit hydrogenated fat, phosphoric acid, preservatives, colourings, hormones, antibiotics, GMOs and 7000 other artificial flavourings that are permitted in conventional food.

There is also the environmental issue to which the organic farming method lends its benefits. The use of drugs is restricted in organic farming which not only keeps animals healthy but results in cryptosporidium, listeria and almonella being a rare occurrence in organic foods.
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Lorrie
A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes
supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks,vitamin D3, and others.
Supplements
from Foods

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The most common benefit is that of taste. The example I always remember is that of comparing conventionally grown sweetcorn to the organically produced version.
The taste of the organic version was amazing and re-awoke memories of how it used to taste when I was a child. It seems the taste has been leeched out of conventional sweetcorn, along with the quality of its nutrients presumably.
Besides the obvious benefit of taste there are also environmental aspects such as fewer chemicals in the soil leading to less erosion of the countryside and pollution of our rivers with nitrates.
Besides the pleasurable benefits to your senses there are also environmental reasons to finding out what is organic food. There are also benefits to the animals and people who live and work on the farms.
Organic farms grow a mix of crops and therefore encourage a balanced Ecosystem.
Pest reducing insects are encouraged back to farms and help to protect crops.
Worms and other micro-organisms thrive in the naturally fertilized soil that can be otherwise sterile on intensive, chemically enhanced farms.
I hope that we have answered your question as to what is organic food and that you are encouraged to try some for yourself.
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lorrie
A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes
supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures,

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I have people tell me regularly that they can't afford to buy organic and don't understand how I, as a single mom, CAN afford to. I tell them it's an investment in my health and the health of my family!

I was diagnosed about a year ago with Lupus (an autoimmune disorder). I have opted to go completely natural with my "treatment" (organic food and as few all natural supplements as I can manage). I prefer to use my food as my medicine and think if more people start thinking that way and would buy/eat organically they would increase their overall health so much that they would see the cost of organic food as an investment. I agree with Heidi; our society, as a whole, eats too large a quantity of food. When you consider how much we really should eat (speaking to myself as well here), a fair number of us could probably switch to a 100% organic diet and end up saving money just by cutting the quantity.

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Organic farming is as efficent as conventional: More and more studies show that organic farming produces AT LEAST as much food as does conventional agriculture. And that without the toxins that poison our planet and as consequence us too!

For people concerned about cost: If you don't eat TOO much, you most likely can afford organic, esp. if you buy at a farmer's market or Coop. I had this discussion with our neighbors who say they couln't afford organic but that's because they eat much too much! Furthermore, customers decide what's on the market. If we decide to support/buy conventional products, we'll get them and organic producers will keep struggling. If we decide to pay slightly more for organic, organic producers will eventually be able to sell cheaper beause they can produce and sell more. As bonus we get more of healthful nutients and less toxins (not only those agricultural toxins and GMOs but also the toxins allowed for conventional food processing and manufacturing).

Another point: If you choose organic milk, that's great but if you really want to have the benefits of milk, I'd suggest choosing organic raw milk which is still alive and not pasteurized to death.

Seasonal organics: Thanks to demand there are many certified organic fruits and vegetables available in the freezer section all year round.

Heidi (...and her organic pet foods, I have a collection of blogs and articles about organic pet nutrition at www.onestaorganics.com :-)

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Hi Janet - You might be thinking about the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org) - they have a cosmetic safety database that scores a wide range of personal care products based on the safety of their ingredients, and lists those ingredients and what health dangers they may pose: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1

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My local chain market has now set aside an aisle in the produce section , calling it organic alley. Their prices are lower than whole foods and the weekly flyer now displays the organics on sale. This makes my life so much simpler!!

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I've seen the organic food list but, if I were a milk drinker in any volume- milk would be THEE food I would try to do organically. One of the national chain stores in our area is now offering their name brand dairy products with reduced chemicals; I don't think they are doing so in all markets.

It is easier and cheaper to eat organic produce if you live in a market in which it is being actively marketed and sold. Even so, you must live in an area, typically a more economically advantaged one, where it is stocked. That said, at least in our area, it pays to look at the organic produce section as often it is put on sale if/as it is going bad; sometimes it is cheaper than the "regular" produce. Also in our area, some of the stores have "green produce" which is not organic but, is touted to have been grown/tested with fewer chemicals.

In our area, we have a fair number of farmer's markets and even a few produce stands operated by the farmer's themselves. This produce is not formally organic but, is often grown relatively organically. At minimum it does not contain the shipping, import, and storage chemicals that even the organic produce can contain.

Our state has some regs about chemicals and chickens; I pay the slightly extra price for the locally grown. Often, I can get it on super sale for less than the other at regular or regular priced sale. You can see the difference in the color and texture of the fat, and the color of the meat.

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how can i make money

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In the last newsletter I received, you had a link to a site in which you could put in the name of a cosmetic,shave cream,eyedrops,etc. & it would give the product a number and tell you how dangerous the product is and why. What is this website??

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