The following are a few questions he had for me:

Richard: I am not convinced that organic food is a better choice than conventional foods. Why should I buy organic foods?

FE: Organic agriculture has numerous benefits to our health, that of the environment, and to the workers who produce these foods. For instance, the synthetic pesticides and fertilizers used in conventional farming are not used for organic agriculture. Residues of certain chemicals, including DDT, PCBs, dioxin and many pesticides can be found in concentrated forms in animals feed non-organic diets. 

As stated on the Georgia Organics web site, “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.”

Instead of controlling the environment with chemicals, organic agriculture strives for a healthy balance of the soil, utilizing crop rotation and other techniques that improve the soil’s fertility. 

Aside from the direct impact on the health of our bodies, organic agriculture has been shown to save energy, protect farm worker health, aid small farmers, prevent soil erosion, and protect water quality.

(to read more from Georgia Organics, visit http://www.georgiaorganics.org/)