WHY ORGANIC?

WHY ORGANIC?

Organic foods are produced in fertile soil with rotation of crops, without the use of synthetic pesticides, chemicals or sewer sludge as fertilizers, genetically modified organisms, irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives.

Organic foods are widely considered to be superior to conventionally grown foods in terms of safety, nutritional value, and taste. One of the main benefits of eating organic is that there are no pesticide residues in your food. We maintain that organic foods are higher in vitamins and minerals than conventionally produced foods, because of a greater variety of living organisms and trace minerals.

Organic farming is less damaging to our environment for the following reasons:

Organic farms do not consume or release synthetic pesticides into the environment—
which often harm soil, water and wildlife.

Organic farms are superior to conventional farms in sustaining diverse ecosystems,
i.e., populations of plants and insects, as well as animals.

When calculated per unit area, organic farms use less energy and produce less waste.

Livestock animals raised for food enjoy a life that is relatively stress-free, free-grazing on the land and not being forced to live in crowded and often deplorable living conditions. Also, these animals do not create the high levels of methane that are produced in the industrialized Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).
 

WHY NO TO GMO FOODS?
 

What is a GMO?   
A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic, hence they are also known as transgenic organisms. This process may be called either Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM); they are one and the same.

What kinds of traits have been added to food crops?
Although there are attempts to increase nutritional benefits or productivity, the two main traits that have been added to date are herbicide tolerance and the ability of the plant to produce its own pesticide. These results have no health benefit, only economic benefit. Herbicide tolerance lets the farmer spray weed-killer directly on the crop without killing it. Crops such as BT cotton produce pesticides inside the plant. This kills or deters insects, saving the farmer from having to spray pesticides. The plants themselves are toxic, and not just to insects. Farmers in India, who let their sheep graze on BT cotton plants after the harvest, saw thousands of their sheep die!

What problems are created through genetic engineering of food and crops?
Genetic engineers continually encounter unintended side effects.  GM plants create toxins, react to weather differently, contain too much or too little nutrients, become diseased or malfunction and die. When foreign genes are inserted, dormant genes may be activated or the functioning of genes altered, creating new or unknown proteins, or increasing or decreasing the output of existing proteins inside the plant. The effects of consuming these new combinations of proteins are unknown.

What foods are genetically modified (GM)?  
In the U.S and in Mexico, three major commodity crops are raised predominantly from GMO seed: field corn (92 %*), soybeans (94%*), and cotton (94 %*).  *percentages are based on U.S. acreage as of 2015 (USDA)

Almost 98% of Canadian grown Canola is genetically engineered for herbicide resistance. U.S. sugar beet production is estimated to be over 95% genetically modified for herbicide resistance. GMO sweet corn, papaya, zucchini, and yellow summer squash are also for sale in grocery stores, but in far lesser amounts. Genetically modified alfalfa is grown for use as hay and forage for animals.

NEW:
‘White Russet’ brand potatoes, genetically modified to resist bruising were introduced to some grocery stores in 2015, but are not yet widely available.  Genetically engineered non-browning ‘Arctic’ apples have been deregulated by the USDA and are expected to be on the market in 2016.