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Choosing Organic
http://www.healthsentinel.com/org_ne...st_item&id=076
Meryl Barr, "Choosing Organic", Health Sentinel, January 29, 2006, An article in the February 2006 issue of Consumer Reports magazine reports that nearly two thirds of consumers purchased organic products in the past year despite having to pay higher prices for organic products. New studies show that by eating organic food you can greatly reduce your exposure to chemicals found in conventionally produced food. If you are a wise shopper you can save money by comparing prices and checking out supermarkets that now carry a large selection of organic foods and produce. There are many critics that argue that we are wasting our money because there is no proof conventionally produced foods pose significant health risks. However, there are many reasons to buy organic. A growing body of research shows that pesticides and other contaminants are more prevalent in foods we eat, in our bodies, and in the environment than we previously thought. As more consumers are turning to organic products, they should also be aware that some of the country's largest food producers are trying to chip away at what organic labels promise to deliver. While the organic label indicates that a product meets certain government standards, those standards are coming under pressure as big companies cash in on the growing demand for organic foods. H. Lee Scott Jr., chief executive of Wal-Mart stores, has described organic as "one of the fastest-growing categories in all off food and in Wal-Mart." During the past decade, U.S. organic sales have grown 20 percent or more annually. Organic food and beverage sales are estimated to have toped $15 billion in 2004, up from $3.5 billion in 1997. Sales are projected to double by 2009. "Consumer spending on organic has grown so much we've attracted big players who want to bend the rules so that they can brand their products as organic without incurring the expenses involved in truly living up to organic standards," says Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, an advocacy group based in Finland, Minnesota. Many of the large food companies lobbied to weaken organic rules that started when the U.S. Department of Agriculture fully implemented organic labeling standards in October 2002. Food producers immediately fought the new rules. A chicken producer in Georgia was ultimately able to persuade one of his state's congressional representatives to slip through a federal legislative amendment in a 2003 appropriations bill to cut its costs. The amendment stated that if the price of organic feed was more than twice the cost of regular feed, which can contain heavy metals, pesticides, and animal by-products, then livestock producers could feed their animals less costly, non-organic feed but still label their products organic. That change of standards was repealed in April 2003 after consumers and organic producers protested, but the fight to maintain the integrity of organic labeling continues. In October 2005, Congress weakened the organic-labeling law despite protests from more than 325,000 consumers and 250 organic-food companies. The law recently overturned a court ruling that barred the use of synthetic ingredients in "organic" foods. It mostly affects processed products such as canned soups and frozen pizza. If you decide that you'd prefer fewer chemicals and other additives in your food, the choice is up to you. New evidence shows that contrary to previous scientific belief, pesticides in a woman's bloodstream can be passed to a fetus in the womb. A study released in 2005 in which the Red Cross collected umbilical-cord blood of 10 children and test for pollutants showed that 21 pesticides crossed the placenta. Eating an organic diet can limit chemical exposure. A 2005 study supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) measured pesticide levels in the urine of 23 children in Washington State before and after a switch to an organic diet. Researchers found that after just five consecutive days on the new diet, specific markers for commonly used pesticides decreased to undetectable levels and remained that way until conventional diets were reintroduced. The study's conclusion, "An organic diet provides a dramatic and immediate protective effect" against pesticide exposure. My health and well being are my first priority and for me there is no question that organic foods are the way to go. I'll never forget those infamous words in the 1960's hit "Big Yellow Taxi" - "Hey farmer put away the DDT now, give me spots on my apples but leave me the birds and the bees, please!" SOURCE: Consumer Reports, February 2006 |
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