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buy organic Organic farming is a healthier, more sustainable way of growing. Organic methods focus on soil health. They replenish soil fertility, promote biodiversity, and protect our air, water, soils and wildlife from toxic chemicals. Organic farming is also a powerful tool in the fight against global warming. It reduces our dependence on fossil fuels and stores carbon in the soil, where it boosts soil fertility instead of releasing it to the atmosphere as a greenhouse gas. Organic farming just makes sense-for people and for the planet. Organic Cotton | Organic Skin Care | Children & Organics | Babies & Organic Food We have all been brought up to believe that cotton is a "natural" fiber. Of course it's natural in that it is grown in our environment and not synthetically derived, but that is as far as its naturalness goes. Conventional cotton is treated with a myriad of chemicals as it goes through the processes from plant to fabric. These residues remain in the fabrics even after multiple washes and remain in our environment for years to come.
Organic farming methods improve soil fertility, safeguard farm workers' health, and preserve the quality of our environment for future generations. In order to better understand why you should choose organic cotton, it is necessary to understand why you should not choose conventional cotton. Conventional cotton:
The problems with textile production do not stop in the field. During the conversion of conventional cotton into clothes and other goods, numerous toxic chemicals are added at each stage - silicone waxes, harsh petroleum scours, softeners, brighteners, heavy metals, flame and soil retardants, ammonia and formaldehyde - to name just a few. Each of these products impacts you as an individual using these products, the farmers and manufacturers who produce the products and the surrounding environment. As with our organic cotton, all of our organic body care ingredients have been grown without the use of chemicals or synthetics. Skin is your largest living organ and most chemicals can be absorbed through your skin directly into your bloodstream. In fact, research at the University of Pittsburgh shows that twice as much toxic chemical can enter the body through your skin as through your intestine. We worry about what we are eat - but it is time to start considering what we are put on our skin! Infants and children are especially sensitive to the health risks posed by pesticides and other chemicals used in non-organic products for several reasons:
(...looking for organic baby food?) Make the connection...pesticide and chemical-free products are imperative to a healthy life for your baby. While purchasing organic skincare and clothing are key choices, the food you and your baby consume are also key to better health - naturally. For your convenience, we have included a list of the "most important" foods to consider eating organic... 14 Most Important Foods to Eat Organic 1. Baby Food. The very young are extraordinarily susceptible to pesticides. Here are some organic baby food brands, Earth's Best, Tender Harvest, and Healthy Times, which are available for your baby's safety and health. Or better yet, make your own baby food by cooking and pureeing organic produce. See "Make Your Own Baby Food". 2. Strawberries. Enjoy them while they are in season from local organic farms or buy frozen organic strawberries from your local whole market. 3. Rice. Domestic rice is splattered with mega-doses of pesticides, and now, the chemicals companies are producing "pharm" rice used to produce and store pharmaceuticals. Buy organic rice where you can find it and store it in an airtight container. It stores very well. 4. Green and Red Bell Peppers. Super sources of Vitamin C, but wrought with pesticides. Buy organic, or, better yet, grow your own. Seeds of Change has a plethora of organic seeds, and pepper plants prove to be a hardy bunch! 5. Got Milk? We hope not, at least, not from conventionally raised cows. Today's commercial brands are loaded with antibiotics and growth hormones. Make sure your milk and other dairy is from organically-fed cows without the extra rBST, rBGH and antibiotics. 6. Corn. Corn is typically not a scale tipper when it comes to pesticide residues. But, take into account that 75- 90% of all domestic corn has been genetically-modified, that the average American eats 11 pounds of it, that most cooking oils include corn oil, and that most everything is sweetened with corn syrup, and suddenly, buying organic corn and corn products, makes more than a little sense. Eat local organic corn in season and freeze some for later, or, leave some kernels to dry, and plant them in the spring. 7. Bananas. This tropical favorite has a short window of ripeness and a very long distance to market (quick, how many local banana farms does your town have?). All of which adds up to a lot of heavy chemical dousing along the way. 8. Green Beans. Over 60 different pesticides are used on green beans. Even beans used in baby food have been found to be contaminated. 9. Peaches. Nothing beats a peach. Until you realize that they often have the highest rates of illegally-applied pesticides. 10. Apples. A decade after the dangers of Alar were exposed, apples are still soaked in pesticides. Put only organic apples in your pie. 11. Cherries. Cherries, so expensive, so rich, so fabulous, . . . so heavily doused in poison. Make sure that the cherries in your Cherries Jubilee or Bing Cherry Ice Creams are as clean and wonderful as they were meant to be. 12. Celery. Why would anyone think of spraying the heck out of that innocuous little stem vegetable?! But they do. Stay organic, the taste of organic celery will amaze you and make you a celery-nibbler once again. 13. Apricots and Grapes. Apricots, Peaches and Grapes, what would summer be without them? Less toxic! Keep conventionally grown fruits and veggies, and their pesticide residuals, out of your system or minimize them with a vegetable rinse, such as the one by Healthy Harvest. 14. Soybeans. Although the jury is still out on whether soy consumption, in general, is beneficial, or whether only fermented soy should be consumed, never, we mean NEVER, consume foods laced with poisons. Modified from: The Green Guide, a newsletter
published by Mothers and Others, 40 W. 20th Street, New York,
NY 10011-4211, phone:888-ECO-INFO, e-mail:greenguide@mothers.org
and/or log onto their website at mothersandothersforaliveableplanet.org.
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