by Liz Sinclair

Created on: October 14, 2009   Last Updated: October 16, 2009

Organic food is the fastest-growing segment of the food market in the US. According to the Organic Trade Association, total US sales reached almost $25 billion in 2008.

The rise of large-scale organic farms is leading to a reduction in the price of organic foods and wider availability of organic foods in conventional supermarkets. 65% of consumers buy organic food occasionally, according to a recent survey, and 40% of Americans plan to start buying more organic food.

People often tend to look at cost alone when considering buying organic food, and forget other variables such as health, taste, nutrition and environmental impact.

BENEFITS OF ORGANIC FOODS

"Organic food tastes better, in addition to being more nutritious," says Susan Schenck, author of The Live Food Factor. "Organic foods appear to contain on average twice the amount of micro-nutrients as commercial produce, but in some cases three or four times as much."

"A four-year study begun in 2004 in Europe called the Quality Low Input Food Project has found that organic food contains 40% more antioxidants," says Schenck, "This is the biggest study yet done on organic food."

"There is plenty of evidence in the scientific literature about the damage pesticides and herbicides have on our personal health from food containing toxic residues, on farmland soil and on field workers," says Caryn Hartglass, Executive Director of EarthSave International, an organization that educates people about the environmental effect of food choices.

Non-organic foods grown overseas in developing countries, such as Mexico, may contain pesticides banned in the USA, such as DDT. "Even among the pesticides legal in the USA, over 20% have been linked to cancer, birth defects, developmental harm and central nervous system damage," says Schenck, "Even for adults, this accumulation of toxic pesticides can lead to horrific effects such as cancer, reduced mental function, decreased mental clarity, poor concentration, attention deficit disorder and Parkinson's disease."

"Keep in mind that toxins accumulate in your body. You wouldn't consider eating "a pinch of arsenic" on a regular basis," says Schenck. "Cultivate the same attitude with pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and all the more than 10,000 chemical additives in [conventionally grown] foods."

Organic farming doesn't use the pesticides and herbicides of conventional farming, toxins which are absorbed into the soil, and run off into ground water and contaminate lake and river systems.

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