I think there is some confusion as to why one should go through the trouble of finding food that is not processed in a huge factory, that is produced by a company that is fair to the environment, fair to the people that work for it and fair to the animals. I think the confusion arises from the fact that there is not a single reason for it, there is a number of reasons. Every single reason by itself is not enough to justify going through the amount of trouble and extra expense that it takes, but if we look at them all together than you understand that there is no other choice really. Here are my reasons, so please read them all and try to consider them as a whole before dismissing them or criticizing them one by one.
- It is better for my health
Organic food doesn't contain the chemicals, the antibiotics and the hormones that are used in most factory foods.
There is also some evidence that some organic foods may contain a higher ratio of nutrients than other foods. For example vegetables that have been recently picked and that did not travel across the country before getting on your table retain more of their vitamin content. Also by eating seasonally you get the best out of the crops, because natural sun ripening also boosts the vitamin and nutrients content of the plants. There is also some evidence that milk and meat from grass fed cows might have a higher ratio of the good omega-3 fatty acids, more beta carotene ( in the milk) and lower overall fat ( in the meat ).
Organic meat is also more expensive then the packaged one. This can help you realize that it is not necessary to eat meat everyday of the year, thus improving the quality of your diet which should be much more based on vegetables and cereals than the average american diet is. Also eating seasonal crops means eating whatever is available at the moment, this forces you to add more varieties of fruit and vegetables in your diet. For example I have been trying turnips, squashes and various roots that I never even considered buying in the supermarket before because other vegetables that were more appealing to me were available.This apparent extra amount of choice at the supermarket actually led me to eat always the same "favorites" instead of trying extra varieties. Variety is a key to good nutrition, since every vegetable or fruit has slightly different proprieties and a little bit of everything is a good rule when it comes to choosing a healthy diet.
Eating more vegetables and less processed food also results in weight loss and higher overall energy for exercising, which for me was a great perk.
- It helps reduce pollution and waste of natural resources
Factory farms have to dispose of large amounts of animal waste that ends up in our water and in the soil. This animal waste is often filled with bacteria resulting from the animals living in close quarters and with antibiotics that in turn make bacteria more resistant and people more allergic to antibiotics. Factories pollute the air. The packaging of processed foods is additional garbage that is not always recyclable and that ends up filling our landfills. Processed food also requires a multitude of ingredients being transported from far away locations, which means more greenhouse gases into the air, more oil wasted.
- I want animals to be treated humanely
I am not a vegetarian. I like eating meat and I think it is an important part of our diet. But I think that animals should not be seen as inanimate objects, a commodity like any other. You can see it from a selfish point of view: stressed out animals tend to get sicker and therefore need to be treated with antibiotics that you will end up eating too; besides, grass fed cows and free range chicken taste better than their industrial counterpart and have better nutrients. But there is also a non selfish reason. Even though I am not a vegetarian I do think we should respect the animal whose life we are taking. In Italy we traditionally have a culture of using all the parts of the animal. It was probably more due to poverty than due to respect, but I think it is a respectful thing, not to waste the animal's life. In the States people don't even want to think that their meat comes from what once was a live animal. That is why boneless or ground meat are preferred. I want to remember that my food came from an animal, and I want to think that that animal lived a normal life, ate the food he was supposed to eat, lived with his fellow animals as he was supposed to, before being killed ( in a merciful way) for my consumption. I know that vegetarians will say that if I really respected the animal I would not kill it. And vegans will say I shouldn't even exploit it. But I know I was born to eat meat as part of my diet, I am hardwired for it, and as much as I am willing to reduce the amount of meat that I eat, so that is sustainable and fair, I will not give up on it.
- I want workers to be treated fairly
It is interesting how this topic seems to be the one that strikes people the least, and there is no "produced fairly" official seal on any product. So this is also the trickiest one, because it is the hardest to verify. Many larger farms and food plants rely on the work of illegal immigrants that have close to no rights and get paid close to nothing. Even though the political debate on illegal immigration is very heated, the question seems to be mostly focused on how to get rid of them and not on how to punish the entrepreneurs that employ them. In the movie "Food Inc." they also mention how meatpacking has become one of the most unfair, underpaid and unsafe jobs in the country. There is no way for me to check that a plant is fair to its workers or that they don't employ illegal immigrants. But I know that if I am buying local produce directly from a farmer who owns and operate the farm with his family he won't be exploiting his workers. This topic has to be applied also to organic produce. When I buy it in a store, from a big brand like Horizon or Stonyfield, what guarantees do I have that it was produced without harming any human?
- I want diversity and competition in the food market, I want small businesses to survive, I want giant corporations to feel like they are accountable for what they do
By choosing to buy food consciously I also influence the industry to change their ways in order to keep selling their products. A perfect example is the use of the hormones in milk production. Since people has become more aware of the problem and started buying more milk that claimed to be hormone free, the main brands had to align in order to keep selling and now most of the brands don't use hormones anymore in their milk. This can happen with many other products. The good thing of capitalism is that the market regulates what is produced and how. Factories have to produce what people want or go broke. If we start making more informed decisions on our food then the industry will have to modify their ways in order to keep selling their products.
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