What is Organic Food?

Eating organic food has grown in popularity over the past few years; the word organic has become a bit of a buzzword, but what exactly is organic food? 

Quite simply, organic food is food as is should be. It means fewer pesticides, no artificial additives or preservatives, the highest standards of animal welfare and no GM ingredients. In our opinion food was not meant to grow drenched in hundreds of chemicals. 

1) Fewer pesticides: More than 300 pesticides can be used in non-organic farming. These pesticides are not allowed in organic farming and eating organic is a good way to avoid them. Organic food is also free of weedkillers, and many additives and preservatives. Organic farmers are permitted to use just 20 pesticides, derived from natural ingredients like citronella and clove oil. 

2) No GM ingredients: A genetically modified organism can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals) in which the genetic material has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination. Organic food is not genetically modified. 

3) No artificial colours, preservatives or antibiotics: Hydrogenated fats, food colours, and preservatives are banned under organic standards. 

4) Better for animals: Organic farms must be free range and Soil Association organic standards cover food quality, living conditions, the use of antibiotics, drugs, as well as transport and slaughter. 

5) Better for wildlife: Routine use of pesticides kills wildlife and natural eco-systems while organic farming provides homes for insects, bees, birds, and butterflies. 

6) Better nutrition: A large analysis of more than 300 existing studies, published in 2014, in the British Journal of Nutrition, found that organic crops - ranging from carrots to broccoli to apples and blueberries - have substantially higher concentrations of a range of antioxidants and other potentially beneficial compounds.

Stay Fresh Organics sell only organic food and we are certified organic by the Soil Association. All companies selling organic food should be certified by an organic certification body. This is how you know you are getting genuinely organic food. Read more here. 

To sum up, organic food is food as it should it be - it's working with nature and not against it. Organic is having confidence that what you buy is grown the way nature intended. Organic is a better world for generations to come. 

We love this quotation from the Soil Association website: 

“In the face of climate change, rising diet-related ill-health and widespread declines in our

wildlife, the need to produce healthy food, cut greenhouse gas emissions, and protect wildlife

 grows more acute by the year. There is no magic bullet to tackle the challenges that face us, 

but the buying decisions we make every day are a simple but powerful form of direct action.”

Thanks for reading and do get in touch if you have any questions. Article by David.