Organic Foods

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  • June 06, 2013

When I see the words organic food comes up I immediately think about how food used to be produced before we industrialized farming. Man toiled with the soil working hard, up before sun rise and to bed at sunset. They meticulously saved their seeds for the next harvest allowing the evolution of the seed to determine their crop. Food was real it was natural it did not need to be called organic. Flash forward to today when most products not just food are poorly made, they break down, they crash or simply don’t work. We have created a situation where profit rules over what our body needs nutrition. Food grown organically has a smaller yield giving each plant or animal more space to grow. What is the significance? On a plot of land there is only so many nutrients to be shared, so a smaller yield gives each plant a greater source of nutrients. Now think about food grown with pesticides, synthetics and other harmful chemicals. Our food retains these chemicals and we ingest them. For one, I am certainly do not need to eat plastics and harmful chemical used to kill weeds and insects. Think about spraying weed killer on your lawn now think of the yellow grass being your stomach lining.

Cost

A big challenge with organic food today is the cost. It is far more expensive to purchase on the retail level. While I know this is true we have to look at all sides of the equation. What is the cost to the earth, our health and animals alike?

Crop rotation is a necessary farming practice but with these massive industrial farms we are quickly eroding all useable topsoil in North America. Conventional agriculture encourages the depletion of topsoil because the soil must be plowed and replanted each year. Sustainable techniques attempt to slow erosion through the use of cover crops in order to build organic matter in the soil. The United States alone loses almost 3 tons of topsoil per acre per year. This is of great ecological concern as one inch of topsoil can take 500 years to form naturally. On current trends, the world has about 60 years of topsoil left. Plants do not grow well in rocks and clay so the more sustainable farming can be the better.

Our health is a major concern, many studies and facts prove that our bodies are full of pesticides and that this is causing many challenges from ADHD, breast cancer, exacerbating the onset of autism and many other defects in people. If we were to factor in the cost of the medical system into our food cost I am betting organic food would come out at less expensive than non-organic food.

Not only are these pesticides affecting humans they are also affecting the animals around us through bioaccumulation. They are suffering from a wealth of defects and diseases.

When we are choosing our food think about the impact of the whole equation not just your wallet. As hard as it may seem that is the smallest challenge in the impact between non-organic and organic foods.

2 Comments

  • Dan says:

    Very well written, and I agree with everything in the article. Just curious as to whether or not SMAK chooses to use organic or conventional meats, produce and dry goods. Could you shed some light please?

  • SMAK says:

    SMAK is currently using organic coffee beans roasted by MOJA coffee in North Vancouver. We serve organic eggs from Rabbit River Farms. Our Quinoa is organic. We serve hormone and antibiotic free chicken from Rossdown Farms. We serve all-natural pork from Gelderman Farms. Some of our produce is also organic such as our blueberries (most of the year) and our arugula. There are many other produce items that vary throughout the year based on availability.

    In deciding where to source our products we are committed to choosing the local option, over organic. We are dedicated to supporting the local economy, improving food security, and we believe that the less time and distance that food travels, the more nutrients remain in the food. We serve BC Cucumbers instead of organic cucumbers, because organic cucumbers come from Mexico most of the year.

    We look forward to feeding you soon

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