When B was nearing the 1-year mark, I started reading up on the myths of cows milk. After all, it seemed strange to me that we are the only animals that drink milk past childhood AND from animals of a different species. After all, you don't see us drinking rats milk. Or a dog drinking cat milk. When I researched into it, I found that the average glass of non-organic milk contains considerable amounts of hormones (injected into the cows to help them increase their supply), antibiotics (to prevent against infections, since most cows develop mastitis from their bodies unnaturally producing such large quantities of milk), blood and pus. Yes. . . pus. From the infected milk ducts. As a nursing mother, just reading this made my ta-tas hurt. Not to mention calves being taken from their mothers within a day of being born so WE can have THEIR milk (while the calves are then fed an artificial formula) made this mild "lactivist"'s heart break just a bit.
So okay; Non-organic cow's milk is now a giant turn off. The Oprah came on with the episode about "Food, Inc." I'm realizing as I type that everything I have to say may really, really gross out some people. Because, lets face it. . . it's gross! The food industry has begun to mass-produce and in the meantime, has become irresponsible in their farming practices. I'll admit that I do [kind of] want to gross you out and inspire you to eat organic, but I also want you to keep reading. So instead of harping on why non-organic is bad, let's just list why organic is good. Why I'm going to try with every ounce of myself to only buy organic beef and dairy. And just know if it's on the list, non-organic does NOT do it this way.
1. Organic farmers don't feed their animals anything but organic foods; grains, grass, hay. . . things cows and chickens are MEANT to eat, free of pesticides and other chemicals. They receive NO animal by-products, (aka ground up remains of the same species). Because of this, when you eat organic you never have to worry about contracting Hoof and Mouth or BEC disease. Which, by the way, the USDA only tests one HALF of a percent of cows for this disease whereas most other counties (like Japan, Germany, and France) test nearly 100%.
2. Cows and chickens raised as certified organic are not confined to small pins, but instead (as a regulation) have free access to open pastures and sunlight.
3. Organic meats have no growth hormones. An organic chicken takes twice the amount of time to grow than a factory chicken. They are actually able to roam around, WALK, and just be a chicken.
4. Since organic-raised animals get to get out into the fresh air, they remain naturally healthy. They aren't crowded and standing in (and eating) feces. They receive no antibiotics to help "protect" them from their unsanitary, un-natural living conditions.
5. Organic farms use 70% less energy than factory farms. Because they don't use pesticides, our ground-water is preserved. An added bonus; organic farming practices also builds top-soil and prevents erosion.
6. Organic meat TASTES BETTER! I was a major sceptic to this. I though meat was meat. But it's not! The chicken is juicier and more flavorful. The beef is leaner and tastier. I'm not the worlds best cook, but my dishes taste good even if I screw it up!
Yes, because of these strict regulations organic meat does cost more, but by eating more nutritious & healthy food, we don't need to have it 5-7 times a week. We can buy 3-4 pounds to last us 2 weeks and not be out much more money. I can supplement our diet with many other protein alternatives, and in the meantime we will feel better because we are eating better. It's really a win-win.
So. . . when are YOU going to go organic?
No comments:
Post a Comment