Organic sales topped ?1 billion in the UK last year, with three out of four shoppers buying some organic products in stores. If a product carries an organic seal, and says ?certified organic?, you can be assured that by law, it has been vetted to be what it says it is, and is subject to annual audit and inspection. Simply put, certified organic is always best ? for earth, animals and you!



Many think of organic farming as something new, but it was the only farming around before the 1940s. Before this time, all farming was organic. Allergies have also increased, as people veer away from natural foods. Although you need to respect any allergies, note that organic sunflower seeds etc are less likely to be coated in almond flavouring ? as organic laws are more stringent.

Organic farming does cost a little more for a farmer, which is why organic produce costs more, but this is a small price to pay for a healthy earth and (if you eat animal foods), a more compassionate food market.

If you drink milk, buying organic only costs around 14p more (amounting to ?35 over a year for the average family), and just this little action allows baby male calves to stay with their mothers for much longer, and when they are eventually removed from their mothers, at least they don't get transported abroad to live in veal crates.

So you see, just a little action of spending 14p more on your daily pinta can go a long way to helping animal welfare.

Why organic is better for the earth

Everyone has heard of global warming, and aside from revving our car engines and methane gas emissions from over-bred factory-farmed animals, one of the biggest causes is from pesticides in non-organic foods, so by buying organic, you help the polar bears (whose ice is melting due to the planet heating up). Going organic is far more helpful to the planet ? than turning off your lights!

An organic farmer sows his plants and then adds natural nitrogen (rather than artificial versions that run into our water supplies ? that we have to pay the tax bills for removal), and this natural nitrogen is made from ? you've guessed it ? good old horse manure!

When the harvest is over, farmers use a process called ?crop rotation?, which means the planting of different plants on the same land, which causes the land and soil to remain healthy, rather than becoming barren. This ?soil erosion? is what has happened in many parts of desert Africa due to over-farming (lots of African plains used to be green, lush and fertile land). It has been proven that organic soil has around 85% more nutrients than any other land.

Another way that organic farmers help the soil is by sowing a plant called clover, as this puts nitrate back into the soil, without any artificial additives.

Why organic food helps animal welfare

Certified organic farming treats animal welfare very seriously, and apart from shorter transport times to slaughter (if animals are used for meat), they are also fed proper grass and organic grains, and are allowed to roam free in their natural environments (and brought inside to proper housing of straw bedding) in winter time.

If an animal becomes ill, it is treated naturally where possible using herbal medicine, and antibiotics are only used if there is no other option.

Feeding animals naturally also means higher safety for humans who eat them too. One of the most fascinating facts about certified organic farming is that there has never been one case of mad cow disease in any cow that was born and raised on a certified organic farm.

It is not just farm animals that benefit from organic farming. Many forms of wildlife are near extinction (including the UK's own little dormouse), and many species of birds (including skylarks, lapwings and grey partridges), butterflies, bats and bees have been found to be far more abundant on organic farms. This obviously also benefits organic farmers, as all these creatures act as natural predators. Avoiding chemical spray also benefits all forms of animal (and human!) life.

About half of our butterflies and a third of our farmland birds have declined in the last 30 years or so, with half of all European-mainland birds also in decline. Organic farming helps bring them back, along with supporting an abundance of rare and blossoming wildflowers. Our own little endangered dormice also benefit from the ?wildlife corridors? created on organic farms.

The standards of certified organic farming are so stringent, that if a product carries this label, you can forget all the other confusing labels (like free-range, outdoor-raised, grass-fed etc). By default, an animal food product that is certified organic will be all of these things. Organic animals also get to sleep on solid floors (with bedding) inside too, an important difference from factory farming.

If you are a lacto-ovo vegetarian (you eat dairy and egg products), by looking for certified organic products, you can be assured that the animals producing these goods at least were treated better, something that most ethical vegetarians would be much happier about.

Why organic food is good for us!

Avoiding pesticides is very important, especially for parents, as studies show that some can be absorbed into our bloodstream (buy organic baby foods ? especially as some pesticides have been linked to fertility issues). Avoiding GM ingredients is also wise, and the good news is that in certified organic foods, both are banned!

Other ingredients that are banned in certified organic foods are hydrogenated vegetable oil (not friendly to your heart) and a good additive called monosodium glutamate. According to Joel Fuhrman MD (one of the USA's top nutritional doctors), if you see a product with even the tiniest amount of hydrogenated vegetable oil in the ingredients, you should ?treat it as poison, and throw it in the trash!? The artificial sweetener aspartame is also banned in certified organic foods.

It has been proven that certified organic foods contain less water (so have more nutrition), and also contain higher vitamin C and the minerals calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium. Organic foods also have more antioxidants (now known to be as ? or more ? important than vitamins and minerals). Researchers in California found that organic tomato ketchup had more lycopene (an anti-cancer ingredient) than normal tomato ketchup!

Finally, certified organic food is worth eating for a very good reason ? it tastes better! Try eating an organic tomato (that actually tastes like a tomato should), and you'll never go back to ?Frankenstein food?.

Copyright 2006 Ethical Village