It is hard to imagine now but once upon a time, all food was organic. Farmers had no alternative but to use natural methods in order to enrich the soil, control weeds and eliminate pests.
It wasn’t until the middle of the 20th century that this approach changed. The agricultural world started employing chemical-based fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, to increase yields.
Its fair to say that we have now done a full circle. Organic food is a growing market that has seen exponential growth in recent times, largely being driven by concerns about sustainability and toxin exposure.
Based on findings from the Organic Trade Association, organic food sales rose from $3.4 billion in 1997 to just over $45 billion in 2017. Why such growth?
It is believed that young families are hugely responsible in fuelling this change.
This will in turn only increase the market as the millennials, who are the largest consumer group of this market, become parents themselves and educate their own children about the importance of organic produce.
Organic farming's main efforts lie in building healthier soil and using natural methods to control plants and unwanted pests.
A great example of this is to use compost and green manure, which can be fed directly into the soil which increases it’s fertility. Another method of a more natural approach is to plant different kinds of crops together to increase the number of pest-consuming insects.
One of the major reasons why people buy organic is to avoid the residues often left on conventionally farmed food. Pesticides are not the only issue as evidence suggests that harmful strains of bacteria can be passed from animals to humans. Instead of grazing on grass, cows fed on grain may harbour harmful strains such as E coli in their digestive system, which ultimately has the potential to be passed onto humans.
Finally. it has been suggested that organically farmed soil has a greater potential to help the environment. This is due to organic soil having the long term ability to store damaging carbons; a key factor in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, we have seen over the past decade the numbers of bees decline. In contrary to this, it reported that organic farming may be a factor in stemming the level of such a decline.
**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
