Why I eat organic

Today I want to share with you some thoughts about why I eat (mostly) organic food...

... sometime soon I may make another post about why I only use organic cosmetics, since some of you asked about this. But let me start with this one :) 

First, I have to say that I grew up in a family where I only got organic food but I totally went away from it, when I moved out from home at the age of 17 and I pretty much ate everythig for a couple of years. I never ate much meat and I had several periods of vegetarianism in my life (before I went vegan) but I certainly did not eat the way I do now. I was always interested in organic food but I thought it was too expensive so I rather ate conventially grown plants. It was during pregnancy that I began to think more about the pesticides that I am giving the fetus when I eat conventially grown veggies and I began to buy more and more local and organic. Now that I am breastfeeding I am even more concerned about it and I eat mainly organic. This does not mean I am perfect in any sense and since I am living on a budget I am very conscious about what to buy organic and what not. There are plenty of lists in the internet showing which plants are the most loaded with pesticides and which one are least. I take this list into consideration when I go grocery shopping and I buy e.g. mangos, avocados and pineapples non-organic, whereas I eat only organic salad, tomatoes, apples, greens, etc. 

But let me tell you a little bit more about why organic foods are a good choice for you and the planet you live on :)

The one big argument that everyone can follow is as simple as it is important:  organic products have none of the over 300 pesticides used commonly in farming! These pesticides can produce allergic reactions, are said to promote cancer (The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides, and 30% of insecticides potentially cancer-causing) and pollute our drinking water. In a nutshell: Pesticides pollute our bodies and our environment. Since I do not want those pesticides in my organism and even less in my daughters little baby body I try to eat as few of them as possible. When eating organic produce I can also be sure that I am not eating any chemicals or synthetics and I am supporting a planet with less environment destruction through widespread use of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers which have already resulted in drastic environmental damage in many parts of the world.

Its not only the omit of pesticides which makes organic food a better choice for the planet, but organic farming also decreases soil erosion and increases the health and population of indigenous wildlife. Plus its supporting biodiversity, quite in contrast to non-organic food which is focused on high yield monoculture and is destroying biodiversity. 

Also, organic food is (in most cases) supporting family farmers and small farms instead of the big bad companies out there. Much food is grown locally and, hence, needs less energy to be shipped from one place to another. For me personally, the food also just feels more "real". I dont know if anyone can relate to this, but go and visit an organic farm and I think you will know what I mean (and look at some of the hyper farms that you can find on the internet... those are factories, not farms...). And finally, let me tell you that organic food tastes a lot better :)! 

I could continue with the list but I take this post more as a little food for thought for you and I hope that one or two of you will gather a little more information and think a little more about the topic... I could also go into more detail on each of those points and tell you more and about the damage pesticides make or the damage monocultures make. But also here I hope that one or two of you will go and find these details yourself and I will be more than happy if this post makes just some of you think about your choices as a consumer, choices for your body and for the planet you live on :). 

If this is the case please let me know and brighten my day with it :)!

Or maybe you already eat lots of organic food? Please let me know I would love to know your thoughts on the topic!