Going Organic!
Have you ever been to your local farmers market? If yes, than you are eating and buying organic food! When you eat these organic foods, they come from organic farms. An organic farm is a farm that does not use any nasty chemicals or makes and bad changes to the food you are going to eat. You will see that there is a big difference between organic farms and GMO farms. Want to know what a GMO really is? Well, a GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organisms. This is any plant or animals that some people change or put gross chemicals into to make them "better". But, these chemicals are not good for you, the animals, or the plants!
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| Figure 1 |
To Spray, or Not to Spray
Big farms that like to change their foods, also like to spray their foods. They spray their foods with herbicides and pesticides. Herbicides and pesticides are chemicals used to make sure no bugs go on your food, and no little plants get mixed in with your fruits and veggies. While it sounds like a great idea, it isn't very healthy for you! The big bosses in charge of these GMO farms know this too. So when they get their workers to go out and spray these plants, they usually make them wear masks! They know that if they do not wear masks, they will breathe in bad and smelly chemicals and hurt their bodies. These chemicals can really damage your body, and they can have many side effects when ingested or breathed in (1).But when it comes to organic farms, they do things a little bit differently. Organic farmers pride themselves on not using any type of chemicals, and only what the Earth gives them (figure 1). These nice and friendly farmers believe you do not have to use these bad chemicals to make food taste super yummy. You will find out that the fruits your mom gets at the super market do not look like the ones she may get at a organic farm...
Farming Brought to You
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Figure 2
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Instead of those huge strawberries you get at the big grocery stores, you can sometimes see that organic strawberries are smaller (Figure 2). There is usually a huge difference in how these look. Just like with the strawberries, you can typically see in other fruits and veggies! But when it comes to the meat you are buying, this can be a little bit trickier. To make this process of buying organic food easier, try using a game! The easiest way is to play eye spy. By searching for the logo USDA ORGANIC (figure 3) you can search through foods till you find those yummy (and healthy) snacks! Anything with this label is approved by the standards set for organic foods(2)!
Farm VS. Farm
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| Figure 3 |
When it comes to organic and non organic farms, they are so different! At organic farms, you will never find an unhappy animal or plant. All animals are fed super healthy foods, with no chemicals in them! This is the same for plants! Not only do animals get to roam around big fields, but are cared for by really nice people and live a good life. When it comes to the plants, you will never see a pesticide or herbicide in sight! For big GMO farms, animals do not get the same treatment as the ones at organic farms do. Most of these animals never even see the light of day. They are stuffed into big rooms with hundreds of the same animals. Most of these animals are even taken from their parents as soon as they are born! They are fed food that is not good for them too, which is all full of GMOs (3). This food can sometimes even make them sick! If the animal has an infection or is sick before you eat them, than that means the meat you are eating might be infected! If something is infected, it can get you infected too. That can make you sick, or cause funny stuff to happen in your body. This means you are not only putting into your body gross chemicals from the veggies, but gross sicknesses too!
What can YOU do About it?
Some things you can do to make sure you and your friends are eating healthy is spread the word! Let people know what they should and shouldn't be eating, and where and how to get it! Stores such as Whole Foods and your local farmers markets are great places to look for organic foods. Listed below are some links to videos to help you understand more about organics!
References
(1)"Pesticides and Herbicides." Pesticides and Herbicides. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Aug. 2016.
(2) "Organic Standards." Organic Trade Association. N.p., n.d. Web.
(3) "Concerns about Industrialized Dairy Operations - GMO Inside." GMO Inside. N.p., 23 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 Aug. 2016.
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