Organic Foods
Organic food is broad term that varies from natural food to processed foods. But the main demand for organic foods is that it must not contain any chemicals, poison and it must not be genetically modified ( non-GMO).
Organic and Regular foods … What to prefer?
Regular foods are the foods produced by using regular fertilizers, pesticides and sometimes includes genetically modified organisms.
On the other hand, organic foods are free from GMOs and produced by GMOs. Organic foods do contain pesticides, but the residue is either due to the airborne pesticides due to polluted surrounding or due to the use of pesticides approved for organic farming.
So, if I were you, I would prefer organic food products or at least I would try to do so.
Pros and Cons of Organic foods
Pros
- Reduces the risk of health for farm workers and surrounding population
- Provides an option for buyer to choose less toxic food products for their family
- Due to less exposure to nitrates and other fertilizers and pesticides, the vitamins and minerals like vitamin C, magnesium and iron are preserved
- It is proved that milk and milk products from non-genetically modified animals has high level of healthy fats
Cons
- Due to increased present demand and awareness of organic food and food products, and low present growth, the price of organic products is expensive
- The standards for determining a product as organic is restrictive towards many products that are normally considered organic
Are organic foods free of pesticides?
If you think the organic foods and their products are totally free of pesticides, you are wrong. The organic foods as well contains pesticides, but these pesticides are made of pesticides that are specifically naturally produced
Shelf life of organic foods
The shelf life of organic foods is usually perceived to be less as compared to regular foods because organic foods are not treated with various preservatives to artificially increase the shelf life
But preservatives are not the sole determinants of shelf life but the time of their travelling from farm to store also affects the shelf life of foods
From where can I get organic products?
There are a lot of markets now a days that endorse organic food products. The one I personally follow is Reef’s Organic Box. This is a Lahore based company that sells organic products
Is kitchen gardening an option?
Kitchen gardening is a small-scale gardening that involves growing herbs, vegetables of daily use like tomatoes, chilies, radish, and cucumber etc. This is an easy and efficient way to ease the access to healthy and organic products in a budget friendly way.
From where to start organic food consumption?
There are various organic products you can purchase. But starting with minor changes the following are the organic products you can start adding in your daily food consumption for healthy lifestyle modification
- Desi chicken
- Pure herbs and spices
- Pure honey
- Home-made butter (makhan)
- Desi eggs
- Pure oil
- Home-made desi ghee
- Whole wheat (chakki) flour
- Pure oils
- Seeds like flaxseeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds etc.
Conclusion
Organic foods are an extensive topic. There are hundreds of books written on solely this topic. But talking about it concisely, these are health friendly foods that are need of our body in this world full of pollution, pesticides, and genetically modified products. You can start by modifying the foods of regular use like eggs, oils, and chicken etc. If you have a small garden, go for kitchen gardening. But do give it a go for a healthy life.