Why Organic

There are many good reasons to eat organic versus conventional produce and foodstuffs. Organic foods are more flavorful and nutritious. By choosing these, you and your family will avoid foods laden with chemicals, known carcinogens and artificial stimulants. At the same time, you will be supporting farmers who try to do things right, for your benefit and that of the environment, which ultimately supports all life.

Let's start with taste. Organic food has flavor! You will enjoy what you are eating, instead of simply going through the motions of consuming something that is supposed to taste good. Some foods you thought you didn’t like, you will find tasty and satisfying for the first time or for the first time in a long while. With organics, a new world of pleasure and appreciation opens up to you!

Many people cannot appreciate healthy food.  Their taste buds have been desensitized from eating denatured prepared foods loaded with refined salt, artificial flavors, colors and stimulants (MSG). To compound things, there is a tendency to reach for these nutritionally-challenged foods because conventionally-raised fruits and vegetables are not a very appealing or satisfying alternative.

Eating denatured foods that do not satisfy the body's nutritional needs leads to overeating. What often follows are fad diets, weight loss and gain (yo-yoing), and guilt feelings with psychological and physical damage. By learning to enjoy simple, clean and wholesome foods, you can shed unwanted pounds and the guilt-laden dietary noose while establishing better health. There is a better way. You can win on all counts.

Does organic food cost more? Yes and no. Organically grown foods are generally higher in price, but you are getting far more for your money. The food tastes better, because it is better. It is more nutritious and more satisfying. You can eat less, you will waste less (placing greater value on it), and your body will respond positively to the better nutrition. What is your health worth? You can start weaning yourself off costly junk and restaurant foods. In the long run, it costs far less to eat wholesome organic food.  It is up to you. You can live (and die) expensively at the bottom, or inexpensively at the top.

 

"What you don't know won't kill you."

Simply not true!  If someone were to slip strychnine into your drink, it could kill you.  Especially if you drink the whole glass as if there is nothing harmful in it. The same principle applies to the food you eat, if you are not eating organically. You, and even more so your children, are being poisoned by conventionally grown foods. Don't think it isn’t so just because you do not see someone poisoning your food and water.  Groundwater on every continent is being contaminated by pesticides, endangering the world's most valuable supplies of freshwater. (See our water solutions)  Be part of the solution, not the problem. 

I guarantee that you would not let me come into your house and spray your foods with chemicals before you prepared a meal. So why should you let those who grow your foods do that to you?

 

Some startling facts about pesticides:

An Italian study estimated that those who eat non-organic produce ingest approximately two kilos of chemicals and pesticides yearly!

The body of the average Canadian is likely to contain at least 500 synthetic chemicals!  These include persistent organic pollutants or POPs, the most feared group of pesticides known (DDT is a POP which is still being used to grow the food you eat, if you are not eating organically).

DNA mutation effects are tenfold when chemical pollutants pass from mother to fetus.

EPA and USDA reports show that by the time the average child is one year old, the infant will have received the acceptable lifetime dose of eight pesticides from just 20 commonly eaten foods.

The medical journal, The Lancet, reports that people with high blood levels of pesticides are far more likely to develop genetic mutations linked with cancer. Among people 35 to 64, cancer is the number one killer in Canada.

It is estimated that up to 80% of cancer is caused by environmental factors. Cancer is far more common today than it was before the advent of chemical farming. Anyone over 50 knows this firsthand.

"We are highly appalled by the genetic effects of radiation ... How then could we be indifferent to the same effect from farm chemicals used freely in our environment?" Rachael Carson - Author of Silent Spring

If you think government guidelines for pesticide use will keep you safe while you eat chemically-grown foods, think again!  There is no allowance made in government standards for the synergistic effect when chemicals are combined which can amplify toxicity up to a 1000 times!

Government toxicity tests look only for short term effects, but ignore the often more serious effects from long term, low level exposure that include cancer, immune suppression, leukemia, Parkinson's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, neurological problems, and reproductive disorders, to name but a few.

 

An (organic) apple a day…

Our organic apples

When was the last time you ate an apple?  Was it organic?  If it wasn’t, that apple was sprayed with as many as 37 separate pesticide applications!  This changes the old adage, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," to, "An apple a day gives the doctor his pay." Sadly, everyone pays for the poor health of society.

And did you know that California strawberries have 234 lbs per acre of pesticides applied to them every year?!

In recent testing there were 40 pesticides found in strawberries including: 2,4-D, Captan, Carbaryl, Chlordane, DDT, Diazinon, Heptachlor, Malathion. (Alive Magazine, 2003)

Harvest Haven strawberries have NO pesticides, NO herbicides, and NO chemical fertilizers. Just taste them! You won't believe the difference; or will you? Would you truly consider the above-listed 40 compounds a recipe for delicious?

Some protest and say, "Oh yes, but without chemicals we could not grow enough to feed the world." The chemical companies would like you to believe that. But how well have pesticides worked at increasing the food supply since being introduced to farmers on a large scale in the late 1940's?

Crop Losses Due to Pest Damage for US:
1942 - 31.4%
1989 - 37%

Don’t be fooled into thinking that the chemical giants are interested in the wellbeing of humanity. From 2002-2004 four different class action lawsuits were filed against Dole, Chiquita, Del Monte, Occidental Chemical, DOW Agro Sciences and Shell by Nicaraguan banana plantation workers for the use of banned pesticides that caused sterility, miscarriage, birth deformities and a wide variety of cancers.

The agrochemical giant Monsanto is also being exposed for fraud. Many are unaware of the grave dangers of Roundup, now proven to be a lethal substance that does not dissipate, contrary to Monsanto "France Finds Monsanto Guilty of Lying" - Mercola.com.

This short account of growing strawberries organically gives much food for thought about the human and environmental costs of conventional agriculture: "California farmer proves you can grow organic strawberries without using chemicals" - NaturalNews.com.

Why contribute to poisoning your neighbors and the world by supporting conventional agriculture?  Why harm yourself and others needlessly?  Eat organic.  It is the easiest and biggest step you can take to reduce exposure to toxic chemicals for yourself, your children and your grandchildren (or parents and grandparents!). Why poison ourselves and our planet into oblivion?

 

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

To all of these troubles, add the GMO health issue. No one has any idea of the long term effects of GMOs on human health; however, the preliminary data already gives many serious warnings. Some scientists have lost their careers bringing these things to light and protesting the use of GMOs.

Roughly 75% of processed foods contain GMOs. The production of these unlabeled "Frankenfoods" is a massive experiment, without rules or morals, using the general public as guinea pigs. Many countries in Europe and Asia have completely banned GMOs. Recently in India, sheep and goats foraging on genetically engineered cotton, which they have traditionally grazed without problems, died en masse. In North America scientists have discovered that a type of GMO corn is reactivating herbicides inside your body!

GMOs are banned in organic agriculture. Harvest Haven never uses them nor do we sell any food grown with them.

 

Why Organic

It tastes good.

It nourishes, not kills, you. (According to a 1993 study in the Journal of Applied Nutrition, organic food had between 60% to 178% higher levels of certain essential nutrients and minerals than conventional produce.)

It sustains life, not destroys it.

It costs less than prepared foods.

It supports agriculture that does not hurt farmers, farm workers, or animals (both livestock and wildlife).  When you eat organic, you are not indirectly responsible for the mistreatment of animals.  At Harvest Haven, we treat our animals humanely.  The animal products we bring in are screened for proper compliance.

Factory farms are another subject altogether. If you are not aware of what is happening in this arena, you should be.

At Harvest Haven we offer the largest selection of organic groceries in the area, and strive to offer you the best in freshness and quality. Visit us, taste the difference and support something that is good for everyone!

For more comprehensive information and links on this important subject, visit:
http://www.ota.com/organic/benefits/health.html

For an entertaining and educational film, watch Store Wars.

Research by Mark Benson
Written by Paul Cohen

 

Customer Feedback

“I can really taste the difference in the quality of food (flavour). My girls and I have enjoyed the health benefits of switching our food to organic. I could never go back. I really enjoy coming here once a week. I also appreciate the integrity of the way things are run at Harvest Haven.”
- Renae Peterson