Organic
Organic
Organic
choice embraced by millions worldwide. The term "organic" refers to a holistic approach to agriculture
and food production that prioritizes natural processes and sustainability. Organic farming is the
production of food without the use of synthetic chemicals or genetically modified components.
Organic foods are not necessarily completely chemical free, but the pesticide residues will be
considerably lower than those found in produce manufactured with synthetic chemicals. Organic
food is grown without the use of synthetic chemicals, such as human-made pesticides and fertilizers,
and does not contain genetically modified organisms. Organic foods include fresh produce, meats,
and dairy products as well as processed foods such as crackers, drinks, and frozen meals. Organic
farmers employ techniques like crop rotation, composting, and biological pest control to nurture the soil,
conserve water, and promote biodiversity..
How your food is grown or raised can have a major impact on your mental and emotional health as well
as the environment. Organic foods often have more beneficial nutrients, such as antioxidants, than their
conventionally-grown counterparts and people with allergies to foods, chemicals, or preservatives may
find their symptoms lessen or go away when they eat only organic foods.
A whole range of fruits and vegetables are available organically in the markets. Apart
from the most commonly purchased organic foods such as fruits, vegetables, grains,
dairy products and meat, there are many processed organic products available such as
sodas, cookies and breakfast cereals. Organic milk and meat are richer in nutrients than
their conventionally grown counterparts.
The demand for organic foods began with fruits and vegetables given the evidence of
pesticide residues in them. However, the popularity of organic foods has now extended
to food grains, pulses, tea, spices and even oil seeds.
In all, following foods are covered under the current organic standards:
1. Vegetables
Organic vegetables account for the majority consumption of organic food. Spinach,
tomatoes, cauliflower, potato, bitter gourd, carrot, capsicum and green chilli constitute a
significant part of the offered organic vegetable option. These vegetables mostly have
the exposure of humans rather than toxic chemicals and fertilizers. They are hand
weeded and densely planted.
Organic fruits contribute a great deal towards the consumption of organic food products
in India. Fruits like alphonso mangoes, pomegranates, bananas, peaches
and apples are the most bought organic products. In such types of fruits, quick ripening
chemicals like acetylene gas in the form of calcium carbide are not used and shots of
ethylene hormone are also not given to the un-ripened fruits to fasten the ripening
process. The quality of organic fruits with consistent sweetness can be felt up to the
core of the fruit unlike chemically ripened fruits.
There is increasing preference for organic fruits juices these days. This includes
coconut water, orange juice, apple juice, pineapple juice, aloe vera juice, gooseberry
juice, amla juice etc.
3. Grains
Currently, organic food grains are in great demand as consumers are now becoming
increasingly aware and health conscious. Products in this category include wheat,
millet, corn, maize and rice. To grow these grains, mulches, organic fertilizers and cow
dung compost are used in place of synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, herbicides and
pesticides.
4. Legumes
Consumers are displaying marked preference for organic pulses including moong,
chana, toor, masoor, urad, arhar, kidney beans etc. It has been observed that
organically grown pulses are sweeter and enriched with high nutritional elements. In
addition to that, the aroma of cooked organic pulses speaks for itself and its elite level.
5. Dairy Products
Milk constitutes a popular item in the list of organic food products. In a simple language
organic milk means the milk obtained from cows that are not treated with growth
hormones and antibiotics and are fed on 100% organic products and allowed to graze
naturally. All this is undertaken to ensure that the produced milk is free from any
undesirable chemicals because the cattle’s produce is affected by what they eat.
6. Eggs
Organic eggs are produced from organic chickens that are kept on a natural diet and
grains devoid of any antibiotics, chemicals, egg shells or ground bones. These chickens
are not caged.
7. Meat
Organic meat is obtained from animals raised without treating, feeding and exposing
them to any radiation, herbicides, pesticides, sewage Sludge, additives, preservatives
or genetically modified organisms. Animals produced through organic means have
healthier environments than conventional farming where they are administered of
antibiotics, growth hormones and disease preventive medications. They are fed with
grass, grains, berries, seeds and green leafy plants. The organic meat thus produced is
enriched with Omega-3 and certainly is a healthier option than non-organic meats.
8. Beverages
Organic tea is in great demand at present. The reason for this is more flavoured leaves
and higher nutritional values of organic tea. Organic tea cultivation is based on the
conventional methods of farming to produce high-quality green leaves. In this method,
hand weeding is done to avoid herbicides and the weeded out plant material is mixed
with cow dung and used as fertilizer. Cow urine is used to protect plants from various
kinds of insects. Other popular organic beverages include coffee, jal jeera, aam panna,
nimbu pani, sugarcane juice, toddy and kokum juice