Top 5 Reasons To Go Organic

Organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. While there are standard regulations but it varies from country to country, in India the standards ensure that the product or the raw materials used in the product were grown through organic farming, without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or induced hormones. The certification is issued by testing centers accredited by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the National Program for Organic Production of the Government of India. For organic livestock raised for meat, eggs, and dairy products must have access to the outdoors and be given organic feed. They may not be given antibiotics, growth hormones, or any animal by-products.

Here are 5 reasons why one should buy organic food.
1. Organic Food Is Healthy and Safe – Usually, the health and safety of the food products are confused with the nutritional value it offers. Here, healthy and safe refers to production methods. Organic food is much safer and thus translates to the absorption of more nutrients leading to a healthier you. Conventional food contains pesticides, hormones or chemicals that are designed to kill.

2. Organic Food Tickles Taste Buds – Organic food surely offers a fresh flavor as it does not contain any artificial preservatives or artificial flavoring agents. This reduces the shelf life of the products and leads to fresh consumption.

3. An Investment in Health - With an increase in demand the organic food is becoming more accessible and affordable. It costs slightly higher than conventional food but it is an investment in health.

4. Rich in Nutrition – Organic milk is richer in certain nutrients. There are many studies available to support the claim that organic milk contains higher omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients compared to conventional milk.

5. Not Modified - Organic food is not genetically modified. GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) are plants wherein the DNA has been altered or crossbreed to produce a plant that is resistant to pesticides.

In the modern era, folks are used to pesticide foods and they always wondering about the difference between natural foods and conventional food, Moreover, some people reckon that there is not any difference in organic food and conventional food, let alone that thought, many believes that organic food is just the same as conventional food with fancy label attached.

However, there are actual differences in organic and conventional foods that are not only evident from the health benefits on people but farmers’ first-hand testimony adds weight to our claim.

We have mentioned some logical reasons why organic products are costly? which shows you clear pictures of the organics food industry.

Labour Intensive Farming: Organic farming is quite labor-intensive compared to the conventional mode of agriculture as organic farmers don’t use harmful pesticides and insecticides to protect crops. Rather, they have to use other methods, often manual methods for controlling pests and infectious diseases. For e.g., organic farmers have to spend time manually to manage weeds rather than just spraying weed control chemicals on the crops. Hence, there are more hands per acre required in organic farming.
So, in a way, organic farming is great to increase employment in rural areas. Time Requirement: When a farmer transits from conventional farming to organic, the yields drop significantly. These transition periods last for about 5-7 years after which an organic farm reaches the yield of as much as 90-95% of their conventional counterparts. This decrease in the yield of the farm is compensated by the higher price of the crop. The organic price tag very closely reflects the true cost of growing the food.

Organic Certification: To get organic certified prerequisite for the farm is that it should have followed organic farming practice for at least 3 consecutive years. Above that, Indian Government approved agencies apply charges to the tune of 12,000/- to 15,000/- for the small farm of fewer than 10 acres. Apart from these, there are different charges applicable like transaction certification, etc. which adds to the overheads of an organic farm.

Special Facilities: One can not use the same facility for storage or processing of organic and non-organic food items. If used, then it has to be made sure that the machine is washed properly or organic food don’t get mixed up in any possible way in the facility. Hence, additional facility overheads place a burden on costs.

Logistics: Organic farming in India is very scattered and comparatively on a lower scale. Hence, a huge amount of cost is incurred in the logistics of organic food.

Unfair Subsidies: Conventional food agriculture is often subsidized by the government and hence, food prices are affected by these subsidies. From Mar-18 to Dec-18, the Indian government has already paid Rs. 60,383.79 crores as fertilizer subsidy. On the other hand, organic farmers have to pay more to the government to certify their lands and crops.

Education: Organic farming requires special skill sets and farming knowledge. Many organic farmers and companies spend on education to keep themselves up to date as an organic knowledge landscape is always changing.

Supply and Demand: Although the awareness and popularity regarding organic food are increasing each year, organic food sales are nowhere near conventional food sales. If more consumers will buy organic food, there will be more demand, empowering the production to go up which in turn will bring down the prices. As it is evident, in the last decade many organic food prices have had a steep fall from premium category to now affordable category.

Although organic food on glance appears to be costly due to significant price disparity, it is actually a lot cheaper than no organic food. Why? Because there are a lot of hidden indirect costs attached to non-organic food which we choose to ignore. Please find more in our next blog…