What Does It Mean to Eat "Organic"?

I recently saw "Food, Inc." a documentary about the food industry in America. I had danced around the idea of eating organic for a couple of years. As an environmentalist the idea of eating sustainably was very appealing. However, I, like most of you, thought that organic meant out of my price range, so I just lacked the proper motivation to do it. Then I read a Salon article about a couple who decided to eat organic/ethical food for one month on a budget. And as I said in my first blog post, my friends, Debthater and Vienna Teng, further inspired me to make this a full-time pursuit.

I'd been a vegetarian for a little over year because factory farming is one of the worst ways in which we're polluting our planet. So finally going organic didn't feel like as huge a step anymore.

Here are some of the reasons why I've decided to switch my gf, myself and our pets to organic diets.

1. Eating locally - Farmer's markets, which features produce grown by local farmers. The food is largely organic. It's cheaper, but supports and sustains the local economy. It saves the environment in so many ways I don't know where to begin listing, so I'll just send you here. To find locally grown food in your area go here.

2. Foodborne illnesses - The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 76 million Americans are sickened, 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die each year from foodborne illnesses. There was just another case of e. coli outbreak in a daycare. Checking the news once day and you'll find similar stories. Please also see Kevin's Law. No longer does the expression "What we don't know won't kill us," work when it comes to the food we eat. Whole new diseases have been created because of how food is now processed! Disease, where once there was none! How that doesn't blow more people's minds, I don't know.

3. Lose Weight - My gf and I are very active people. We play several sports, go to the gym and run. My gf also trains for marathons. We don't need to lose weight, per se, but the fitter we are the better we perform in our activities. We are competitors, so being able to perform at our top physical strength is important to both of us and eating healthier foods helps us keep those goals.

FYI, high calorie, sugar laden processed foods coupled with American's sedentary lifestyles is growing the country's waistlines and contributing to serious health issues like diabetes, heart ailments and cancers. One-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese.

4. The Environment - Approximately 10 billion animals (chickens, cattle, hogs, ducks, turkeys, lambs and sheep) are raised and killed in the US annually. Nearly all of them are raised on factory farms under inhumane conditions. These industrial farms are also dangerous for their workers, pollute surrounding communities, are unsafe to our food system and contribute significantly to global warming. Did you know that the average food product travels about 1,500 miles to get to your grocery store? And that transporting food accounts for 30,800 tons of greenhouse gas emissions every year? Reducing global warming begins with the food we eat.

5. Genetically engineered meat and produce just seems a little suspicious. It's a new technology, so there haven't been many long-term studies done of what effects genetically engineered food has on the human body. Are we meant to eat things created in a lab? What does that food do to our internal organs?

6. Cancer-free Please - Cancers, autism and neurological disorders are associated with the use of pesticides especially amongst farm workers and their communities. What pesticides are on your food?

7. Protect Farmers - I grew up in a small town in Iowa. Farmer's were a part of daily life and making sure they make a living wage and aren't pushed out by big corporations is the least I can do to protect the way I grew up and my family's friends and neighbors. Buying locally grown food encourages small farmers to stay in business and hopefully not be run out by multi-billion dollar corporations who only want what's cheap.

8. The Global Food Crisis - When the world eats, the more at peace we are in it.