Organic Food Production

Organic food production is a heavily regulated industry, distinct from private gardening. Currently, the European Union, the United States, Canada, Japan and many other countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as "organic" within their borders. Most certifications allow some chemicals and pesticides to be used, so consumers should be aware of the standards for qualifying as "organic" in their respective locales.


Organic certification is a certification process for producers of organic food and other organic agricultural products. In general, any business directly involved in food production can be certified, including seed suppliers, farmers, food processors, retailers and restaurants. Requirements vary from country to country, and generally involve a set of production standards for growing, storage, processing, packaging and shipping that include:

• avoidance of most synthetic chemical inputs (e.g. fertilizer, pesticides, antibiotics, food additives, etc), genetically modified organisms, irradiation, and the use of sewage sludge;

• use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for a number of years (often, three or more);

• keeping detailed written production and sales records (audit trail);

• maintaining strict physical separation of organic products from non-certified products;

• undergoing periodic on-site inspections.

Advantages Of Organic Food

There are many strong arguments in defending the purchase and consumption of organic food products. Organic farming does not pose the threat of pesticide and chemical run-off which could contamination watersheds and drinking water, while many traditional modern farming methods do just that. Organic farms also tend to maintain richer, more sustainable soil through the use of cover crops, crop rotations and composts. These organic farming methods have been shown to slow soil erosion and it vary the nutrient demands on the soil.


Organic farming methods often produce lower yields than modern intensive methods. This is why food grown organically can often cost twice as much as food grown on non-organic farms. If large farms started replacing modern farming methods with organic methods, the world may see a food shortage emerge.

"Organic" when used on the label of a food product means that the food has been grown on land that has been chemical free for at least three years. Food crops labeled organic must also be grown without the use of pesticides or other chemicals.

Are Organic Foods really therapeutic?

Is organically grown food therapeutic?

Antioxidant and vitamin formation is improved when pesticides are not utilised on plant life.

There is also the concern of small level contamination by pesticides in crops or plants which then enters the human body when the food is eaten. When animals are vaccinated utilising antibiotics they get small amounts of resistance to diseases and may be more expensive to rear.



What are the benefits to our surroundings?

It is considered that organic farming releases little toxins or synthetic chemicals into the surroundings resulting in cleaner groundwater and richer soil. Water contamination with pesticides is a specific problem in drinking water and is also known to kill underwater life. The net outcome is the interruption of the vital food web if pollution occurs.

It is also known that organically grown food demands little energy since it solely relies on natural methods to make. Little quantities of waste are created since overall little packaging materials are required. Genetically altered plants and animals are non-organic species which would genetically contaminate the naturally existing organic ones.

Although, the yields for organically grown foods are slightly small amounts of than for non-organically grown food they require substantially small amounts of fertilizer and pesticides.

Organic Farming

Organic Farming Delivers Healthier, Richer Soil and Nutritionally Enhanced Food.

Encouraging conclusions on the impacts of organic farming on soil quality and the nutritional content of food were reached by a panel of scientists participating in a symposium at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

A growing body of sophisticated research over the last decade has compared the impacts of organic and conventional farming systems on soil and food quality: Studies of apple production demonstrate that organically farmed soils display improved soil health as measured by increased biological diversity, greater soil organic matter, and improved chemical and physical properties.

Enhancement of soil quality in organic apple production systems can lead to measurable improvements in fruit nutritional quality, taste, and storability. Organically farmed tomatoes have significantly higher levels of soluble solids and natural plant molecules called secondary plant metabolites, including flavonoids, lycopene, and Vitamin C. Most secondary plant metabolites are antioxidants, a class of plant compounds that have been linked to improved human health in populations that consume relatively high levels of fruit and vegetables.

Studies of 27 cultivars of organically grown spinach demonstrate significantly higher levels of flavonoids and vitamin C, and lower levels of nitrates. Nitrates in food are considered detrimental to human health as they can form carcinogenic compounds (nitrosamines) in the GI tract and can convert hemoglobin to a form that can no longer carry oxygen in the blood.

Organic Foods - Do They Really Give Benefits

When switching to Organic Foods, it is very important to know the benefits. You need to get used to it especially if you want to avoid meat and replace nutritional foods as part of your daily serving.


Organic Foods provide better health as these foods are produced and refined naturally and do not undergo any processes that include artificial chemicals.

Organic Food also reduces certain type’s diseases such as the risk of Alzheimer’s, Cancer and some other serious diseases. Fruits and vegetables contain a big percentage of antioxidants and also possess a lot of nutrients such as beta-carotene and ascorbic acids. Other organic food benefits include the following: a better taste and environmentally friendly.

Before the rise of commercial and junk foods, people during the early ages tend to live a longer life.

Is Organic Food good for the environment?

It is considered that organic farming releases small amounts of pollutants or synthetic chemicals into the surroundings resulting in cleaner groundwater and richer soil. It is most-valuable to ascertain that drinking water is not contaminated and life in rivers, dams, seas and the oceans is not affected by pesticide use. The environment is disturbed when pollutants enter the food web.

It is also acknowledged that organic food demands small amounts of energy since it solely relies on natural ways to make. They also need small amounts of packaging materials and therefore overall they make little waste. Naturally existing plant and animal species are not prone to genetic contamination from genetically altered species if organically grown food is acquired only.

Well, there is some proof that genetically modified foods could acquire more yield per hectare than organically cultivated food. The utilisation of agricultural chemicals and substances is small for foods which are organic than for non-organic ones, even though the output per square metre is smaller.

Global Warming and Food Security

Food Security is in great jeopardy as the Copenhagen Climate control conference has not been a success. The developed nations are only interested in saving their carbon based economies and not caring about the effects and consequences of what global warming will do to the poorer nations and there peoples. Needless to say, this further increases world food security as weather patterns continue to be affected with no carbon emissions in sight.

Only a political and not a legal agreement has been reached. What this means is that developed nations can continue polluting the environment with no recourse. President Obama is currently trying to get legislation through the Senate that might just enable the US to increase its emissions target.

This should encourage China and every other country in the world to increase their emissions reductions. President Obama has also said he is personally committed to addressing climate change. We will see how true this is in the next few months.

The lack of a strong agreement means it is more risky for business to invest in green technology.

Artificial trees? Geo-engineering is becoming more likely the longer the world puts off cutting greenhouse gases. Engineers are already researching the best way to suck carbon out of the atmosphere if we leave it too late, for example artificial trees.

Since, the early 1990s organic food production has had growth rates of around 20% a year.


Demand for organic foods is growing at phenomenally high volume sales through supermarkets are rapidly replacing the direct farmer connection. For supermarket consumers, food production is not easily observable, and product labeling, like "certified organic", is relied on.

Foods that are organic, must be free of artificial food additives, and often, are processed with fewer artificial methods, materials, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients.

It is food production without the use of chemically formulated fertilizers, growth stimulants, antibiotics, or pesticides.

Organic food is produced to standards designed to keep the production more 'natural', and less, if any, chemicals are used and most pesticides are banned. If used, they are very carefully controlled.

The world organic market has grown by more than 20% annually since the early 1990s, with future growth estimates ranging up to 50% annually depending on the country.

Healthy organic Food

Organic food is the "buzz" word around the world today and is receiving unprecedented media coverage. There are numerous beneficial reasons why more and more people are raving for healthy organic, natural food. We are aware that conventional food has many downsides that eventually lead to various illnesses because of the toxins, and chemicals.


Farmers are increasingly changing from conventional to a more natural type of farming, such as organic and bio farming.

Global warming is a contributing factor in increasing crop failures, food security is threatened and because of a population explosion, farmers are unable to grow enough food.

Thousands of people on a daily basis are switching to healthier natural food, which offer better health and nutrition.

Organic Foods are produced according to certain production standards and are grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge.

Organic Foods are free from contamination by human or industrial waste, and processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. Livestock must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones, and generally fed a healthy diet. In most countries, organic produce may not be genetically modified and is a heavily regulated industry


Many countries require producers to obtain special certification in order to market food as organic within their borders and some certifications allow some chemicals and pesticides to be used.