and you have a power house of healthy eating and healthy choices.  I know exactly what goes into my jars! I know whos hands have touched it.  I know what has or has not been sprayed on that food.  


I have a confession to make here.  I am not an expert on organic food and why it is good for you.  I just know instinctively that chemicals, hormones and much of the junk on the grocery store shelves can't possibly be good for our bodies. It is just common sense! 

Logic tells me that artificial additives and sprayed on chemicals wreak havoc on our systems.

The closer to nature the better.  I remember reading a rule that says the less ingredients a product has the healthier it is.... that makes sense to me.

I attempt to live as natural a lifestyle as I can given MY circumstances. The health of my family shows I must be doing something right.  We are generally healthy and have not had to see a doctor in years.  Literally.

I don't buy all organic foods... I can't afford it.  Instead I grow much of my own and make the wisest choices I can when I do purchase commercially.  Some organic and some not.  My kids drink very little soda, 90% of our veggies are from our garden, we eat our own wild meats, but we do buy junk food potato chips on occasion! (gasp!) No guilt.

This is meant to be a reminder of the advantages of organic foods.  Make the wisest choices YOU can where YOU are.  We are all in different places when it comes to choices about our food and health.

Community Supported Agriculture is a great way of finding locally grown organic produce in your area.

I was thrilled when Doris from Mom-Going-Organic-Sensibly.com agreed to explain some of the benefits of organic foods for us.

If you are not sure what all the fuss is about all the processed foods we consume... you really should check out her site.  

Benefits of Organic Food Choices

By Doris of Mom Going Organic Sensibly.com

Just one of the benefits of organic food, whether your are canning corn or canning fruits, is your control over eating healthy on a budget.

Organic food benefits are based largely on the organic food standards used in the production and the growing methods used.

When you buy organic food to use in your home canning, you are choosing healthy diet foods.

Let me explain...

Organic farmers must comply with the regulations of organic food to become certified organic producers.  Then they must maintain those standards in their day-to-day organic farming activities.

These are farmers that recognize the impact farming has on the environment.  Organic farmers have an environmental plan in place to limit the effect of the farm on the environment.  They use composting to both get rid of garden waste and to put nutrients back into the soil.

An organic farmer knows that the soil is living.  That the health of the soil is the most important factor in growing healthy crops.  He does not use harsh synthetic chemical pesticides.  These are not permitted.  They are far too damaging to the eco-system.

Pesticide residues can travel in a mist in the air.  They can end up in run-off water that contaminates our drinking water supply.  Residues can remain on the fruits you want to use for canning.

So, by choosing organic foods for your canning and preserving, you limit exposure to harmful chemical pesticides.

Another one of the benefits of organic food is that no genetically altered food may be labeled organic.

This deserves further explanation. Genetically modified food is food that has had its DNA altered.

Now, let me clarify.  This is a process that is done in a laboratory by scientists.  The scientists take the DNA from one organism and forcibly add it to another organism.  A process that would never ever happen naturally.

Genetic modification is not the same as breeding plants to bring out the best characteristics.  Genetic modification is a hit and miss proposition.  Scientists cannot control where the new DNA material will be picked up, or what further effects on the organism it will have.  They don't know the long term effects on the environment nor what the long term effects of eating this new food will have on you.

Organic farms must have a buffer zone around their farm fields to protect from genetically altered seeds contaminating their fields.  The buffer zone also serves as a barrier to pesticides drifting in from conventional farms.

Canning and preserving are great ways to be eating healthy on a budget.  And the benefits organic food ensure that it truly is healthy eating.

 
Author Resource
Doris Temple created www.Mom-Going-Organic-Sensibly.com to fill the need for unbiased information. The Website provides information about organic food, products and healthy eating.
(c) Copyright 2010 Doris Temple - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WORLDWIDE

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