A fresh start

Choose organic food for your child and you are choosing food free from pest icides and harmful additives. Melissa Kidd from The Soil Association explains why going organic is a simple and cost-effective option

Health is now the single biggest concern for us in the UK, topping job security, terrorism and crime – according to recent data. So is organic the healthy choice? Yes – because it’s not just what it does contain it’s also what it doesn’t contain – pesticides, harmful additives and GM.

Don’t panic it’s organic . . .

Over 86% of us say we don’t want pesticides on our food. Yet government tests repeatedly show that up to a third of non-organic food contains pesticides. Even food that we think is healthy, such as non-organic Cox’s apples can be sprayed 16 times with 36 different chemicals. Pesticides have been linked to many diseases such as cancer, decreasing male fertility, foetal abnormalities, chronic fatigue syndrome in children and Parkinson’s disease.

Children need organic food because their bodies are different to adults. Their developing organs are less able to eliminate harmful chemicals, and research shows that pesticides can have a more harmful effect on their health – especially their immune systems. The nervous, circulatory and reproductive systems are all developing fast and it’s vital that alien chemicals do not disrupt them during the growth phase. On top of this, until six years of age, a child’s body contains more water than adults, which makes it easier for water-soluble pesticides to circulate. Buying organic is one way to reduce the chances that you and your family’s food contain pesticides. This is because of the natural pest control methods that organic farmers predominantly use.

Food for children, whether it’s special packs of chicken nuggets, biscuits, or the “children’s menu” in a restaurant, often means over-processed, over-coloured, over-flavoured food that can be high in sugar, fat and salt. This means that you as a nutrition-conscious parent must become an avid-label reader, as well as a chemist-cum-nutritionist. Worryingly, some E numbers and other additives have been found to cause health and behavioural problems. If you want to avoid them but don’t want to carry long lists of colourings, artificial sweeteners, flavour enhancers, preservatives every time you go shopping then look for organic food. The standards have banned them.

Furthermore, genetically modified ingredients are also banned under organic standards. Mounting evidence suggests that there are many health problems resulting from this random, untested science. Eating organic food is the only way you can be sure that your food or drink doesn’t contain these ingredients. In a nutshell, organic food contains none of the nasties and more of the essentials.

More more more…

No food has higher amounts of beneficial minerals, essential amino acids and vitamins than organic food. On average, research shows more vitamin C, higher essential mineral levels – such as calcium, magnesium, iron and chromium – as well as cancer-fighting antioxidants. Not only that, organic vegetables contain less water so you actually get more carrot for your carrot. But it’s not just fruit and vegetables that are healthier.

Organic full-fat milk contains at least 64% more omega-3 essential fatty acids than its non-organic equivalent. According to experts, lots of us in the UK are deficient in these fatty acids, which are important in maintaining heart health and supple joints as well as improving brain and vision development in foetuses and infants.

Price

It may sound strange – organic food is produced without synthetic fertilisers and pesticides yet it’s more expensive. So what’s bumping up the price?

Well, extra special care of the environment and farm animals mean that the food costs more to produce. Organic farmers rotate their crops (growing different crops in a sequence rather than one crop all the time). This varies the demands on the land, builds fertility and helps overcome pests and disease. However, managing the land in this way is more expensive than applying artificial chemicals.

Animals raised to organic standards cost more to produce than the cramped inhumane conditions of factory farming. This is because they have more room, access to fresh air and are given organic feed. Organic methods of production often mean that the amount produced is less but the quality is much better. Organic food represents the true cost of production. Food which comes from factory farms is artificially cheap. In fact we actually pay for our food three times – once over the counter, twice in farming subsidies and finally in cleaning up the chemicals used in non-organic farming.

The good news is . . .

It doesn’t have to be beyond your budget. All you need to do is to make a few changes to the way you shop and cook and you could be in for a surprise.

• Sign up to a local vegetable box scheme delivery service: The idea is that you get a box of seasonal organic vegetables and/or fruit delivered to your door for a set price. What could be simpler? It’s easy and good value. Research has shown that, on average, organic fruit and vegetables are substantially cheaper when bought directly from the farmer compared to supermarkets. Many box schemes come with newsletters and recipe ideas and before you know it you’re cooking all kinds of things you’d never dreamt of. It also means you’re helping your local area. A study by the New Economics Foundation showed that spending £10 with a local organic box scheme results in a £25.90 investment in the local economy; compared to spending the same in a supermarket which only results in £14. So you can eat gorgeous food and feel virtuous. Please telephone 0117 9142444 or visit www.whyorganic.org to find your local scheme (you’ll need to register, but it’s simple and free).
• Shop at farmers’ markets: Buying food from a buzzing market is great fun. Meeting the farmer means you can ask questions about how the food was grown and get advice on the best way to cook it. Food from farmers’ markets is fresh and in season – so can contain more vitamins and minerals than food which has been imported over long distances. If you’re one of those people that cook the same thing week in week out, buying seasonal produce can be the best way to dig yourself out of a food rut. But these days it’s difficult to know what’s in season when we are faced with a huge range of fruit and vegetables on offer at supermarkets. At a farmers’ market, only seasonal produce should be on offer. Please call 0117 9142444 or log on to www.whyorganic.org to find your local market. Food bought from a box scheme or at a farmers’ market usually comes in far less packaging. So less waste going into landfills. Anything that we can do to reduce the amount of pollution caused by the transportation of our food is important in minimising our contribution to global warming.
• Plan and cook ahead: a two-hour cooking session is more efficient than two one-hour sessions. One organic chicken and £6 of other ingredients can provide four good family meals: one Sunday lunch, one Tuesday supper, and two meals for the freezer. This is for two hours work – or four hours if your kids are helping.
• Cook batches from scratch: Processed food can be convenient, but it’s not cheap. And it’s only convenient if it provides you with the nutrients you need. Take soup for example – a batch of vegetable soup may cost you around £3 to make yourself and see you through the best part of a week; whereas a shop-bought organic soup might cost you £2.50 and only give you one or two meals.
• Eat meat in moderation: Good organic meat will cost more than a Big Mac because it is better quality. So save eating meat for what it should be – a delicious treat – and it will help you save money too.
• Eat cheaper cuts of meat: Try to buy chicken thighs, for example, instead of fillets, or rump steak instead of sirloin. The fore-end of animals tends to be cheaper and can be very tasty when it is cooked slowly.
• Set up or get involved in Soil Association buying groups: This is a group of people who regularly buy organic food together. The group can be a handful of people, or much larger. It can buy fresh produce such as meat or vegetables, or dry or canned goods. Group members usually live nearby and share a delivery between them. They have an informal agreement between them about how things are organised, and sometimes have a formal legal structure such as a co-operative. For more information, please call 0117 9142425.

Feeding your family organic food is the best way of ensuring they get the best start in life. As Hippocrates said: “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food.”

 

 

 

 

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