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- Protect Future
Generations
Children receive four times the exposure than an adult to
at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in
food. The food choice you make now will impact your child's
health in the future.
- Prevents Soil
Erosion
Soil is eroding seven times faster than it is built up naturally
and it is the foundation of the food chain in organic farming.
In conventional farming the soil is used more as a medium
for holding plants in a verticle position so they can be
chemically fertilized. As a result, farms are suffering
from the worst soil erosion in history.
- Protect Water
Quality
Water makes up two-third of our body mass and covers three-fourths
of the planet. Despite its importance, the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), estimates pesticides (some cancer
causing) contaminate the ground water polluting the primary
source of drinking water.
- Save Energy
Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single
industry, consuming 12 percent of the country's total energy
supply. More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers
than to till, cultivate, and harvest all the crops. Organic
farming still mainly based on labor-intensive practices
such as weeding by hand and using green manures and crop
covers rather than synthetic. Organic produce also tends
to travel a shorter distance from the farm to your plate.
- Keep Chemicals
Off Your Plate
Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered
before extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer
and other diseases has been established. Now the EPA considers
that 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides
and 30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic. The
bottom line is that pesticides are poisons designed to kill
living organisms, and can also be harmful to humans. In
addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects,
nerve damage and genetic mutation.
- Protect Farm
Workers Health
A natural Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed
to herbicides had a six time greater risk than non-farmers
of contracting cancer. Field workers suffer the highest
rates of occupational illness. Farm worker health also is
a serious problem in developing nations, where pesticide
use can be poorly regulated. An estimated 1 million people
are poisoned annually by pesticides.
- Help Small
Farmers
Although more and more large scale farms are making the
conversion to organic practices, most organic farms are
small independently owned and operated family farms of less
than 100 acres.
- Support a
True Economy
Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional
foods, conventional food prices do not reflect hidden cost
borne by taxpayers, including nearly $74 billion in federal
subsidies in 1988. Other hidden costs include pesticide
regulation and testing, hazordous waste disposal and clean
up, and environmental damage.
- Promote Biodiversity
Mono cropping is the practice of place large plots of land
with the same crop year after year. While this approach
tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, the lack
of natural diversity of plant life has left the soil lacking
in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the nutrients,
chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.
- To Taste
Better
There is a good reason many chef's use organic foods in
their recipes. They taste better. Organic farming starts
with the nutrients of the soil which eventually leads to
the nourishment of the plant and ultimately our palates.
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Swift
Co. Ltd
