1. PROTECT FUTURE GENERATIONS
"We have not inherited the Earth from our fathers, we are borrowing
it from our children." (Lester Brown). The average child receives
four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used
cancer-causing pesticides in food. The food choices you make now will
impact your child's health in the future.
2.
PREVENT SOIL EROSION
The Soil Conservation Service estimates that more than 3 billion tons of
topsoil are eroded from United States' croplands each year. That means
soil is eroding seven times faster than it is being built up naturally.
Soil is the foundation for the food chain in organic and biodynamic
farming. But in conventional farming the soil is used more as a medium for
holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically
fertilized. As a result, American farms are suffering from the worst soil
erosion in history.
3.
PROTECT WATER QUALITY
Water makes up two-thirds of our body mass and covers three-fourths of the
planet. Despite its importance, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
estimates pesticides - some cancer causing - contaminate the groundwater
in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than
half the country's population.
4.
SAVE ENERGY
American farms have changed drastically in the last three generations,
from family-based small businesses dependent on human energy to
large-scale factory farms highly dependent on fossil fuels.
Modern farming uses more petroleum than any other single industry,
consuming 12 percent of the country's total energy supply. More energy is
now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate and
harvest all the crops in the United States.
5.
KEEP CHEMICALS OFF YOUR PLATE (and out of your home!)
Many pesticides approved for use by the EPA were registered long before
extensive research linking these chemicals to cancer and other diseases
had been established. Now the EPA considers that 60 percent of all
herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all
insecticides are carcinogenic. A 1987 National Academy of Sciences report
estimated that pesticides might cause an extra 1.4 million cancer cases
among Americans over their lifetimes. The bottom line is that pesticides
are poisons designed to kill living organisms, and can also be harmful to
humans. In addition to cancer, pesticides are implicated in birth defects,
nerve damage and genetic mutation.
6.
PROTECT FARM WORKER HEALTH
A National Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides
had a six times greater risk than non-farmers of contracting cancer. In
California, reported pesticide poisonings among farm workers have risen an
average of 13 percent a year since 1973, and doubled between 1975 and
1985. Field workers suffer the highest rates of occupational illness in
the state. Farm worker health also is a serious problem in developing
nations, where pesticide use can be poorly regulated. An estimated 1
million people are poisoned annually by pesticides.
7.
HELP SMALL FARMERS
Although more and more large-scale farms are making the conversion to
organic and biodynamic practices, most organic and biodynamic farms are
small, independently owned and operated family farms of less than 100
acres. It's estimated that the United States has lost more than 650,000
family farms in the past decade. And with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture predicting that half of this country's farm production will
come from 1 percent of farms by the year 200, organic farming could be one
of the few survival tactics left for family farms.
8.
SUPPORT A TRUE ECONOMY
Although organic foods might seem more expensive than conventional foods,
conventional food prices do not reflect hidden costs borne by taxpayers,
including nearly $74 billion in federal subsidies in 1988. Other hidden
costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal
and cleanup, and environmental damage. Author Gary Null says "if...
you add in the real environmental and social costs of irrigation to a head
of lettuce, its price can range between $2 and $3.
9.
PROMOTE BIODIVERSITY
Mono-cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the
same crop year after year. While this approach tripled farm production
between 1950 and 1970, the lack of natural diversity of plant life has
left the soil lacking in natural minerals and nutrients. To replace the
nutrients, chemical fertilizers are used, often in increasing amounts.
Single crops are also much more susceptible to pests, making farmers more
reliant on pesticides. Despite a tenfold increase in the use of pesticides
between 1947 and 1974, crop losses due to insects have doubled -- partly
because some insects have become genetically resistant to certain
pesticides.
10.
TASTE BETTER FLAVOR
There's a good reason why many chefs use organic foods in their recipes --
they taste better! Organic and biodynamic farming starts with the
nourishment of the soil which eventually leads to the nourishment of the
plant and, ultimately, our palates.
("Top
Ten Reasons..." excerpted from an article by Sylvia Tawse, marketing
coordinator for Alfalfa's Markets in Boulder and Denver, Colo.)
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