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by R. L. Wysong, B.S., D.V.M. |  |
 odern food supplies for both
humans and their companion
animals have become increasingly
polluted and nutritionally compromised.
Pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics, growth
hormones and other additives are common
contaminates. Factory farming (more like
mining) has led to a sharp depletion of soil
nutrients. The health of humans, pets and
the environment in which we all live is, as a
result, increasingly being put at risk.
Companion animals must rely upon
humans to make their food choices. Such
food is often comprised of scraps and waste
of human food production. Offering a
variety of whole, fresh, clean, organic, freerange,
environmentally-sound and "biodynamic"
foods for pets, although difficult, is
the most healthy choice pet owners have.
Factory vs. Organic Farming
When people think of farm animals they
tend to think of livestock roaming pasture,
freely grazing natural food.
In fact, farm animals are treated as machines that turn what they eat into dollar bills.
In modern farming each animal is considered a "food production unit." Antibiotics and growth hormones are used to produce bigger animals faster.
On the other hand, organic farmers practice humane husbandry:
- Readily accessible, clean water.
- A nutritionally complete and balanced diet.
- Appropriate shelter and comfort.
- Freedom of movement.
- Humane handling and transportation.
- Humane slaughter.
Animals raised free-range are also not allowed to have any of the following treatments used by commercial factory farms:
- Use of synthetic antibiotics or medications in absence of illness.
- Routine use of synthetic internal parasiticides.
- Use of hormones as growth promoters.
- Use of synthetic medications not approved by the Organic Food Production Act.
Factory farms abuse. They routinely grow the same crop in the same field each year, which depletes the land of important nutrients and does not give the soil time to rebuild. Pesticides, also used by factory farmers, have a deleterious effect on beneficial soil organisms such as earthworms and
microorganisms. The soil is a living thing—not an inert industrial resource.
Organic farmers rotate crops or leave
fields fallow to let the soil replenish itself.
Rotating crops is also a form of pest control
as it disrupts insect cycles and diseases that
prey on specific plants.
Plant cover crops are used by organic
farmers to prevent soil erosion, add nutrients
to the soil and prevent weeds. Effective
and proper management of raw manure
from livestock also provides beneficial
microorganisms and organic matter to
fertilize soil and retain moisture.
Organic farmers also protect surrounding
plants and wildlife as their benefits
to the soil and natural surrounding
allow the maintenance of beneficial
microorganisms and helpful animals,
such as birds and bees.
The practice of such ecological standards
allows organic farmers to turn their farms
into sustainable agricultural systems in
which diversity, recycling and respect for the
land are the main objectives.
Organic Foods are More Nutritious
Farming practices greatly affect nutritional
content of crops. Science has proven that an
organic, natural diet is beneficial to health
and that the use of modern, highly processed
foods depleted of the necessary nutrients can
lead to many modern chronic degenerative
diseases.
- Studies in the 1930s found that fourteen native tribes from Africa, New Zealand, Australia and South America that still consumed their native diet—consisting of natural foods such as sea oats, fish, plant crops, insects, and animal flesh—had great health. Once modern processed foods, such as white flour, white sugar, and canned foods were introduced, malnutrition resulted and even negatively affected DNA.
- A study examining the nutritional content of several different vegetables demonstrated that mineral and nutrient levels varied greatly depending upon the type of farming practice used.
- Tests show that organic produce has two times the nutritional minerals of regular produce on a fresh weight basis and fewer heavy metal residues such as aluminum, lead and mercury than commercial produce.
- Favorable fatty acid levels are higher in chicken egg yolks from wild and free-range fed chickens than in commercial supermarket eggs.
- A one-acre planting of tomatoes yielding one ton removes eight hundred pounds of the soil's mineral nutrients. Twenty-three elements are essential to human health and are being taken out of the soil. Fertilization with "NPK" (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) does not replace what is lost (16 elements are declared essential for crop growth according to the Soil Science Society of America). NPK also displaces absorption of other minerals and produces toxic nitrate. There are plenty of good reasons to buy organic products. I know the apparent cost seems high, but what price will you pay for good health and a sustainable world left to our children? Is it cheaper to buy tainted, nutritionally impoverished foods and then pay for medical treatment?
Organic is a good and right choice. If the cost bothers you, don't look at the price tag. Better yet, grow your own. You'll soon discover after gardening a bit that organic foods are not so expensive after all.
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