Almost a thousand readers responded to the poll in the margin regarding whether or not they prefer organic foods versus those that are enhanced or otherwise tinkered with. Of the respondents, 62% answered yes, that they do prefer organic food and drinks. The other 38% answered no. The preference is mixed, but does reflect a growing trend today toward organically- produced food.

Grocery stores abound anymore that are 100% dedicated to offering organic foods and other sundries.  It used to be if you wanted organic anytime after say, 1950, you had to grow it yourself or join a cooperative with a dozen other families.

Now there are a lot of commercial producers of everything from dairy to meat to breakfast cereal that are marketing specifically to fears that unless you are going organic, you are at risk for chemical poisoning, genetic warping and innumerable scary effects.

But what is truth and what is fiction with this issue?  It is basically this: you are at risk whenever you eat or drink anything you don’t produce yourself, regardless of whether or not it can be considered “organic.” That’s because someone else is involved in the growth harvesting, and slaughter of what you are consuming.

I’m not saying that everyone should abandon grocery stores and farmer’s markets to go live the commune life growing their own foods. For a lot of people that’s just not possible…let alone practical.

The point is that an organic choice isn’t necessarily a better one for the simple fact that not all herbicides and pesticides are considered to be something that will harm you, unless you consume an entire barrel full of it. Consuming a barrel full of anything, chemical or natural, will harm you.

Skins of many fruits and vegetables aren’t permeable enough for many chemicals used now to even get to the part you eat.  It just keeps the critters from getting in and laying eggs there that you may bite into later.

This is assuming that you actually WASH your produce before you eat it. But you should be washing your organic produce as well, since dirt that it grows in is…well…dirty. Not to mention microorganisms and parasites that thrive in organic environments. Your digestive system isn’t going to kill all of those, and some can kill you.

However…that doesn’t mean that all organic items are just over-priced copies of the non-organic counterparts.  There are a lot of things that are on the market that it pays to go ahead and buy the organic version of.

We had talked before about milk and the by-products that will end up there. People with soy allergies can’t drink a lot of commercially produced milk products because elements of the soy in feed will wind up in it.

So with meat, dairy, and absolutely fish…it pays to know what the food sources themselves have been fed before eating them. The only way to know that is to get closer to the source of production.

I know a family who apparently built a chicken coop and are raising their own chickens for eggs…but they were originally city folks right to the core.  They moved to a suburb that apparently isn’t as restrictive with their covenants and it allows that.

The kids love it and are more “hands on” with chores and feeding all the animals they have (a cat to keep the mice out of the feed and a dog because, well, they love dogs.) And, they even recently started a little garden and ordered some ladybugs online to keep the aphids away.

They’re not hippies or purists or anything stereotypical like that…you don’t have to be to want more control over the food you eat.  They just thought it would be fun and they were apparently right.

The kids are also healthier because instead of video games and backtalk, they have outside activities and ownership of what goes on their dinner plates.

Some folks that prefer organic maintain that it tastes better than food that isn’t organically grown.  This may be, since organic food producers a lot of times aren’t going to try and tinker with something to get it to grow out of season.

Ripe fruits and vegetables grown in the right climate and in the right season are naturally going to be better than those forced to grow in areas or climates that aren’t ideal. That’s just a fact of nature.

And, as evidenced above, some properties of animal feed can make those animals later not very appetizing.  I suppose a good analogy of this is a nursing baby who gets gassy or won’t suckle well if mom has eaten Brussels sprouts.  Controlling the chemical makeup of the food that is eaten will undoubtedly affect its taste.

The final point that would need consideration is impact on the environment. Some fertilizers that are safe when they are used on crops might not be when a flood happens and they get washed into the water supply. This causes the groundwater to become polluted with nitrates and other harmful items.

So…is it better? The jury is out. It depends upon what issues matter to you. Like most of these controversies the ideal path is somewhere in the middle. Do your homework, consider the consequences of each choice, and go with your conscience. That’s what’s natural for you, anyway.

For more information on natural health alternatives, such as drug-free ways to alleviate high blood pressure, check out my programs today.

And please take part in this weeks poll “Do you count your calories?” Vote on the right hand side of this page.

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