Walking through the grocery store, you may notice the different produce sections, mainly organic and non-organic foods. Advocates claim that organically grown foods are more nutritious and safer for humans and the environment. But what does this mean? Is it worth it to buy organic food?
What does it mean for something to be organic?
The word organic describes how food is grown, processed, and handled. To be organic, produce should be grown without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetic engineering, sewage sludge, and genetic notification. For meat to be organic, it should be raised without hormones or antibiotics. Produce can be different levels of organic and can be labeled differently. Here are the common organic labels and what they mean:
- 100% Organic: All the ingredients are certified organic
- Organic: 95% of the ingredients are certified organic
- Made with organic ingredients: 70% of the ingredients are organic
How do pesticides affect the human body?
Although it might be easy to think organic foods are pesticide-free, that isn’t necessarily the case. Organic farmers are allowed to use pesticides, but only from natural sources. Eating foods with synthetic pesticides can lead to short-term and long-term side effects, such as
- reproductive harm
- stingy eyes
The Dirty Dozen: Most and Least Contaminated Fruits and Vegetables
It can be difficult to know what products to buy to avoid pesticides, so here are the 12 most and least contaminated foods:
- Bell Peppers
- Imported Grapes
- Frozen Sweet Peas
- Frozen Sweet Corn
Is Organic Meat Better and Safer for You?
Ultimately, eating organic or conventional meat has equal potential risk to one’s health. With conventional meat, pesticides, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria can be harmful to your body. However, organic meat can be more prone to becoming contaminated, likely due to antibiotics not being used. So regarding your health, organic and conventional meat are roughly the same risk.
What is your best option when it comes to eating organic?
Ultimately, it is not necessary to completely go organic, but it can not hurt to implement some organic options into your diet. Organic foods can get quite expensive, costing as much as double the price of their non-organic counterparts. For this reason, it can be good to add in organic foods here and there, but not to make them your only source of nutrition.
Unapotembea katika duka la vyakula, huenda ukagundua sehemu tofauti-tofauti za mazao, hasa vyakula vya kikaboni na visivyo vya kikaboni. Watetezi wanadai kwamba vyakula vilivyokuzwa kwa njia ya kikaboni vina virutubisho vingi zaidi na ni salama zaidi kwa wanadamu na mazingira. Lakini hilo lamaanisha nini? Je, inafaa kununua vyakula vya kikaboni? Inamaanisha nini kuwa kitu ni cha kikaboni? Neno kikaboni hufafanua jinsi chakula kinavyolimwa, kusindika, na kushughulikiwa. Ili kuwa ya kikaboni, mazao yanapaswa kukuzwa bila dawa za kuua wadudu, mbolea za synthetic, uhandisi wa maumbile, matope ya maji machafu, na taarifa ya maumbile. Ili nyama iwe ya kikaboni, inapaswa kulelewa bila homoni au viuavijasumu. Bidhaa inaweza kuwa na viwango tofauti vya kikaboni na inaweza kuandikwa kwa njia tofauti. "Hii ni moja ya viungo vya ""biolojia"" vinavyotumiwa na bidhaa za asili: 100% Organic, 95% ya viungo vya bidhaa ni vyenye vyeti vya kikaboni, na 70% ya viungo ni vya kikaboni." Ingawa inaweza kuwa rahisi kufikiri vyakula vya kikaboni ni bila dawa za kuua wadudu, hiyo si lazima kesi. Wakulima wa kikaboni wanaruhusiwa kutumia dawa za kuua wadudu, lakini kutoka kwa vyanzo vya asili tu. "Kula vyakula vyenye dawa za kuua wadudu kunaweza kusababisha madhara ya muda mfupi na ya muda mrefu, kama vile ""kuzalisha madhara"" na ""macho ya kukosa"" - ""The Dirty Dozen: Wengi na chini ya kuchafuliwa matunda na mboga"" - ""Ni vigumu kujua nini bidhaa kununua ili kuepuka dawa za kuua wadudu, hivyo hapa ni 12 zaidi na chini ya kuchafuliwa vyakula: Peppers, mbegu, mahindi ya kuagiza, Frozen Sweet Peas, Frozen Sweet Corn, Is Organic Meat Better and Safer for You?" Hatimaye, kula nyama ya kikaboni au ya kawaida ina hatari sawa ya afya ya mtu. Kwa mfano, nyama ya kawaida, dawa za kuua wadudu, na bakteria zisizoweza kuambukizwa na viuavijasumu zinaweza kuharibu mwili wako. Hata hivyo, nyama ya kikaboni inaweza kuwa na mwelekeo zaidi wa kuambukizwa, yaelekea kwa sababu ya kutotumia viuavijasumu. Kwa hivyo, kwa afya yako, nyama ya kikaboni na ya kawaida ni hatari sawa. Ni nini chaguo lako bora linapokuja kula mboga za asili? Hatimaye, si lazima kwenda kikamilifu kikaboni, lakini haiwezi kuumiza kutekeleza baadhi ya chaguzi kikaboni katika mlo wako. Chakula cha kikaboni kinaweza kuwa ghali sana, na kinaweza kugharimu mara mbili ya bei ya vyakula vingine visivyo vya kikaboni. Kwa sababu hii, inaweza kuwa nzuri kuongeza vyakula vya kikaboni hapa na huko, lakini si kuifanya kuwa chanzo chako pekee cha lishe.