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We've all seen labels on foods at the grocery store: organic. But what does "organic" actually mean? Is the food healthier? Read on to learn more about the benefits and positive impacts of organic foods.

• ��are grown and processed according to federal guidelines addressing the following factors:

  • Soil quality
  • Animal raising practices
  • Pest and weed control
  • Biologically based farming methods including regular crop rotations

• Organic producers must rely on��

  • Animals are not given antibiotics, growth hormones��or fed animal byproducts
  • Only pesticides made with natural ingredients can be used

What are the benefits of organic foods?

• • Reduces pollution, conserves water, reduces soil erosion, increases soil fertility and health��and uses less energy

• Healthy soil is key to growing healthy food!

  • Treating soil with harmful pesticides and fertilizers makes the soil dependent on these unnatural chemicals
  • ��are far better than chemical soil management

• A recent study showed that an organic farm had, on average, eight more inches of topsoil than a chemically treated farm

• Buying organic food fights the effects of climate change

  • Soil has the ability to sequester carbon (for more about this topic check out my last article��Carbon Sequestration through Soil Health | Environmental Center)
  • ��shows that: “If only 10,000 medium-sized farms in the U.S. converted to organic production, they would store so much carbon in the soil that it would be equivalent to taking 1,174,400 cars off the road or reducing car miles driven by 14.62 billion miles.”

• Organic farming supports water conservation and water health

  • American Rivers notes that����that is a major water pollution threat
  • Organic farming also creates healthy soil that does not need as much water

• Note:��or healthy; labeling something organic is based solely on the agricultural field and/or farm practices

  • Studies, however, have shown that organic milk and meat can be richer in nutrients, including omega-3 fatty acids
  • Studies have also proven that��

• ������showed that switching to an organic diet decreased levels of cancer-causing glyphosate – the main ingredient in a common pesticide – by 70% in participants’ bodies in only one week!

  • By avoiding conventional foods, you could be ingesting an��

• An organically certified farm ensures farmers are conserving biodiversity on their farm and only using approved substances without the use of synthetic chemicals

• Organic foods create��

  • It is estimated that��. This is as much as the global transportation sector emits annually.

• ��to support the climate in our food purchasing decisions!��

  • Check out the������������ܱ���!
  • Fewer transportation costs reduce carbon emissions greatly