What are the Health Benefits of Organic Milk?

Milk is an important component of our diet as it offers several health benefits. In recent years there has been an increase in the demand for organic milk from health conscious consumers. This is due to the fact that there are significant health benefits of organic milk as compared to conventional milk. Let us take a look at some of the benefits of organic milk.

High level of fatty acid

Organic milk contains high level of the fatty acid omega 3. Omega 3 is essential for the body as it provides protection against various diseases and helps in the reduction of heart diseases, inflammation due to skin diseases, cancer and arthritis. Moreover, organic milk contains more beneficial ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids. As such, organic milk is helpful in controlling the balance between omega 3 and omega 6 in our body.

Devoid of chemical contamination

Organic milk is produced by cows that graze upon pastures grown through organic means. As a result, their milk is free from contamination from harmful chemicals like residues of pesticides, fertilizers, and hormones. Organic milk is also free from traces of antibiotics, urea and fertility hormones.

Contains more antioxidants

Organic milk has high concentration of antioxidants as compared to conventional milk. Antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin, that are present in organic milk, are important for eye health. Organic milk also has a higher concentration of vitamins such as Vitamin A and Vitamin E. These vitamins are essential for a healthy body.

The Profit Scale in Organic Farming

 

There is a wide misconception among those who intend to do farming that the industrial agriculture system aided with its wide array of pesticides and genetically altered crop varieties yield more and benefit more in terms of profit. There is also this belief that organic farming is not as profit making as industrial farming. However, it can’t be more wrong. Organic farming gives the farmer an opportunity to get more profit, yield and puts the energy spent on farming to efficient use.

The Rodale Institute conducted a study by comparing organic farming with industrial farming over a period of 30 years and found that the organic farming performed much better in terms of yield, profits, energy usage and greenhouse gases.

Profits

The profit is where the mathematics of economics tricks you into believing the untruth. The industrial farming brigade will keep projecting the huge profits they have landed in terms of revenue generated, comfortable hiding the input costs they had to invest for pesticides, fertilizers, oil and so on and so forth. Organic farming on the other hand requires you to spend a very minimal input in terms of fertilizers and pesticides and thus the profit you gain at the end of the day is much higher.

Yield

Yield is another area where the industrial farming people try and give exorbitant rates of success. But the 30 year Rodale study concludes that the organic farming even though it makes a slow progress initially, its yield became equivalent to that of industrial farming after a three year conversion period. It also suggests that over a period of time farmers were found to have increased agricultural productivity by conserving the resources and doing organic farming.

Energy efficiency

The industrial farming has an increased level of energy requirement as a lot of oil is used in transporting and applying the fertilizers and pesticides. On the other hand, the organic system of farming consumes about 45 percent less energy with a higher production efficiency of about 28 percent than industrial farming.

When Food is Genetically Altered!

The fascination towards modifying anything is a given in human nature. It has been an intriguing practice since time immemorial. For ‘genetically modifying’ food, the only resort so far was to do selective breeding. If you want to create a crop of rice which is resistant to a certain kind of disease, the traditional time tested practice is to plant a crop of rice and watch which among the plans are resistant to the disease. Once you arrive at a set of plants who are resistant to the disease, you will safeguard the seeds from the said rice plant and watch the performance of those plants created from those seeds over time, thereby arriving at a rice variety with high resistance.

This method of selective breeding has been successfully aiding mankind in identifying chickens with high resistance to diseases, creating gigantic pumpkins and so on and so forth.

While this was the story of yesteryears, genetic engineering techniques now help scientists to avoid all the difficult and time consuming rounds of trial and error selective breeding and help to add specific genes into any plant or animal to create any desirable effects. Even though it is possible to do things like creating a cross species in genetic engineering, an example being the plant that produces human insulin, it is only highly doubtful weather the science of it will almost always be used for very saintly purposes. The chances of using the technology to create profit minded genetic aberrations are but many.

The genetic methods of modifying food have reached a great level of produce enhancement that the local produce is reaching a crisis. Many slow yielding, yet highly efficient crop species are reaching a point of extinction in this madness of visually appealing mass production.

Organic Terrace Gardening – For a Healthier You

Organic Terrace Gardening is on a rise since more and more people are now realizing the health benefits of organic food and how it is definitely better than eating foods laden with insecticides and pesticides.

You don’t have to be an agricultural scientist to begin a small organic farm right in your terrace. Start with something small if you have your doubts.  Many people begin their farming journey by planting herbs such as mint, coriander, basil and lemon. These leafy herbs also grow rather quickly giving you immense pleasure at seeing your efforts bear fruits so soon. Plant the seeds of the herbs in small pots and once they start growing you can transfer them to bigger pots.

The mentioned herbs are important ingredients in every day cooking and are therefore, extensively required in our kitchens. Watching the herbs grow will also encourage you to plant other vegetables like tomatoes, spinach, green chilies and more.

Organic farming does not require high maintenance since one does not make use of chemicals to ward off infections. However, the plants do require protection and this can be easily done using a spray that is a mixture of neem, onions, chillies, garlic and tobacco. So in effect, while you eat healthy you also breathe healthy.

For your organic terrace garden to be a success you only have to ensure that your plants are kept away from seepage and leakage areas and that they get enough water and sufficient sunlight for growth.

Now you can forget about running to the market every time you require a handful of herbal ingredients for cooking.

Say No Genetically Modified (GM) Food

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Agriculture has always been a revered occupation irrespective to the economic status and development of the country. The least of the technologies can be tried on this occupation as it deals with human food and hence any new expertise is hailed with great fanfare. This happened when pesticides cured the farmers off their ‘agri-ills’ for a short span only to make them realise the cons much later. This has happened now with the Genetically Modified (GM) food too. The United States of America greeted the culture and the GM technology, which though denied and debated stands much lower in its intrinsic value that the standard nature given organic food.

Does the sound of ‘engineered’ food make it palatable for you? This sect of food has not really been well-researched on humans and whatever little research has been done shows no dearth of worrisome facts.  Research claims GM food releases toxins that could possibly lead to liver and kidney damage. If you are allergic to any category of food then bid farewell to GM foods as studies reveal that they hike up the intensities of the existing allergies in the body. It has also shown signs of affecting the reproductive systems with disturbing fertility factors. GM foods have also shown startling proofs on lab tested animals of the lowered functionality of the digestive system.

When food is what gives life energy, would people want doubts and worrying research findings around it? History has shown that food is best when it is absolutely natural, when it is organic. Thus, eat natural; after all, there is nothing more important than the food your body relies on.

Grow Organic Vegetables at Home

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Growing organic vegetables at home is not a big deal. If you are thinking you will need a plot of land to grow your own vegetables, you are wrong. Your terrace or your balcony is sufficient to do organic farming at home. You will eat healthy and experience a feeling of joy to see the fruits of your labour.

For those who are already into gardening, this is just the next step. Those are trying their hands for the first time can start with a few pots in the balcony. Mint, coriander and chilies are easy to grow and a beginner can start with these in a few pots in the balcony.  Moreover, these plants grow very fast and this fact will motivate you to grow more healthy vegetables. When you will develop a green thumb, you can try other vegetables.

When you start your own organic farming, ensure that the place gets abundant sunlight the area is free from seepage and leakages. Make compost with the skins of fruits and vegetables you eat and mix this with the soil. You can use dried cow dung as manure. Mustard cakes can also be used as manure. Make organic anti-pest solutions at home. You can do this by boiling neem or tobacco in water. Spray this solution on the plants to keep pests and bugs away. Onion, garlic and dry chili can also work as pest controller. Burn these vegetables near your farming area. The smoke will keep pests and bugs at bay.

Now don’t you think growing organic vegetables at home is easy?

Organic Farming and Its Role in Agriculture

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The green Revolution solved the problem of shortage of food grains to quite an extent but it also led to major utilization of water, electricity and chemical fertilizers. This has resulted in the shortage of water and electricity for farming and also affected the quality of soil since the naturally occurring organic matter has been depleted beyond means while causing an alarming increase in the chemicals in the environment.

Increase of chemicals in the environment including air, soil and water and resulted in increase of number of health hazardous diseases. These diseases affect human, animal and plant life.

Some common problems that are have arisen from the intensity of the Green revolution are soil degradation, air and water pollution, decline in soil fertility, depletion of ground water, flooding, increase in salination of water and stunted irrigation efficacy. For all these reasons, farmers are being asked to turn to organic farming on a large scale. Organic farming can help:

1. Cut down on the use and cost of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
2. Increase the biodiversity of insects and microorganisms that perform natural pest control thus decreasing the dependence on natural pesticides.
3. Reduce dependence on ground water and farm power for irrigation. Many organically grown crops do not need regular watering and can sustain themselves on the rain water itself.
4. Utilize crop residue for preparing organic fertilizers. This way one need not get into the hassle of buying expensive chemical fertilizers while giving providing complete organic care to the crops.

How Organic Farming Helps Establish Food Security

The many benefits of organic food have already been established and it is little wonder then that everything organic has taken the food world by storm. However, while the organic food is good for our health, how does it help the farmers who turn to organic farming?

There are many NGOs working at international level to help establish food security for the farmers and their families through organic farming. Aside from the health benefits, organic food is fast becoming a cost effective and sure way of helping many poverty stricken families get their three daily meals. Farmers are being asked to adopt the technique of organic farming to feed their families and reduce the expenses incurred on food. Organic farming also helps increase the yield of crop as well the monthly income.

The benefits of turning to organic farming are many for the farmers themselves.

The expense on costly chemicals, pesticides and insecticides is drastically reduced since all these are not used at all in organic farming.

The farmer can keep some share of the organic food for his family that will help in providing adequate nutrition to his growing children. In poverty-stricken families malnutrition is a major health concern in children as well as in women who have attained puberty and are of reproductive age.

The farmer growing organic crops benefits economically as well. The cost of chemicals is nil since they aren’t used and organic foods are sold expensive in the food market that helps the farmers increase their level of income.

How Organic Farming can Help Reduce Global Warming

Organic Farming has already been established as the better form of farming since it does not make use of pesticides, insecticides and other harmful chemicals for growing crops. Organic foods including organic milk and organic fish do not contain any traces of chemicals in them and are therefore, healthier and more nutritious than foods that are grown by injecting chemicals into them. Also, many people can vouch for the better taste of organic foods.

Apart from the health benefits, switching to organic farming can help reduce the environmental pollution as well. By reducing our dependency on chemicals we can make the air cleaner and fresher but more recently it has been proven that organic farming can help control and reduce global warming as well.

Organic Farming and Global Warming

Organic farming makes use of the conventional methods of farming that can rescue the world from the harmful effects of global warming.

While doing organic farming one can save up to 40 per cent of water alone since organic crops do not have to depend on water pumps for frequent irrigation. Many farmers have confessed that they do not need to irrigate their farms for 20-25 days at a stretch and that it doesn’t bother them much if the monsoons get delayed by 15-20 days. The summer crops grown by using organic farming techniques can go without water for up to 30-35 days.

By reducing dependency on water we can help global warming and also save enough water to help the drinking and cooking needs of an entire village for the next 20 years on an average.

Top 12 Fruits and Vegetables You Should Buy Organic

It is no secret that organic food is the most healthy option available to us in the age of pesticides and chemically treated fruits and vegetables. For those of us perturbed by the state of affairs, firstly availability and then prices on the organic produce act as a deterrent. So is there no middle ground? Well, one way out would be to pick those of the fruits and vegetables which are least contaminated. Studies have shown that pesticide exposure can be lowered just by avoiding the top twelve fruits on the list of ‘most contaminated’ and opting for the ‘least contaminated’ list instead. While the more heavily loaded fruits and vegetables may expose a person to upto 20 pesticides in a day, the ones least affected expose only upto 2 pesticides per day.

Some of these fruits, such as peaches, nectarines and raspberries are extremely toxic and have been sampled to contain upto 45 different pesticides. Some of the other most contaminated fruits are strawberry, apple, pears, cherrie, imported grapes (Chile, Mexico) etc. Fruits like apples and pears are pealed to rid them of the pesticide residues. Contrary to popular conception, the skin is not as beneficial as it is harmful. Note that pesticides dissolve in the water and can also be in the fruit. As for the vegetables, those that are the most likely to expose you to pesticide residues are celery, spinach, potatoes, sweet bell pepper, among many.

This is a handy list to memorize for a healthier life!