The idea of “organic food” has been around for many years. Of late, however, it’s getting more popular. And although it’s a bit more expensive than non-organic foods, it has turned into quite a hype that is drawing a lot of folk into it. But just like any new trend, the question must be asked: Is all the positive reviews of organic food true? Or is this just another way to try and get more money from consumers? Is the high price with regard to organic food acceptable?

To find the answers, we first need to realize exactly what “organic” means. The term organic describes something that has not been chemically modified or had chemicals added to it. Ionizing radiation, artificial hormones and chemically enhanced fertilizers are  not used to accelerate or boost the food’s growth or quantity. When it comes to the protein foods such as eggs, dairy and meat, antibiotics or Growth Hormone (GH) are not given to the animals.

If you want to sell organic food, it’s required that it has to be in produce for 3 years. The reason for this waiting period is to let the soil develop natural nutrients and minerals so that the new crop is completely free from chemicals when it’s grown. Obviously, a large amount of hard work  goes into organic food production, and it takes a lot more time. Therefore, it’s no surprise that organic food is  more expensive.

The good news is that there are numerous good reasons to buy organic food. First and foremost, organic food has far more nutritional value then the non-organic alternative. A sample of milk used by analysts confirmed up to twice as many natural antioxidants, 50% more Vitamin E and 70% more Beta Carotene then milk taken from regular cows.

Organic food is also free of chemical enhancers as described earlier, which could have a negative effect on your health. You won’t run the risk of taking in cancer-causing substances. And as a matter of opinion,  a lot of people say organic foods taste better than their non organic counterparts.

Primarily producing organic food is also beneficial to the environment. This is because organic foods are produced without  using any insecticides and pesticides when.  Although this does take a lot more time and effort, the chemical-free production process actually helps reduce environmental pollution and will not contribute to global warming.

Production of organic food additionally affects the way animals are taken care of. For example, free range chickens are able to roam free and eat when they like. In contrast, commercially grown chickens are usually crammed in cages with many of other chickens and force-fed  to fatten them up.

The facts are quite obvious: the benefits of organic food extend to environment, the welfare of the animals, and undoubtedly to your health.  But as with anything that’s good you’ll discover some disadvantages with organic food, and that is the higher production cost. This in turn makes organic foods a bit pricier than non-organic foods.

Now that you’ve known about both the benefits of organic food, and it’s slight disadvantage in terms of price,  it’s now up to you to make the final choice.