This week we’re counting down the top 12 reasons to dip into your pocketbook and buy organic food. Yesterday we discussed the importance to farmworkers and rural neighbors. Today we’ll continue on with the Organic Centers top 12 Countdown.
Dr. Greene
10. Maintain Healthy Soil. Healthy soil is the bedrock of all successful organic farms. Hundreds of studies conducted on multiple continents over the last 50 years have compared soil quality on organic versus nearby conventional farms and virtually every one has concluded that organic management substantially enhances soil quality.
9. Promote Biodiversity and Beauty in Rural Landscapes. Organic farmers not only encourage biodiversity, they depend on it – both above and below the ground. Experienced organic farmers have learned over many decades that combining multiple crops with livestock and other animals is the best way to promote soil health and fully utilize the rainfall and sunlight that falls on an acre in any given year.
8. Improve Water Quality and the Safety of Drinking Water. Rainfall landing on a field of crops will carry a certain amount of soil, nutrients, and chemicals downstream or into underground aquifers. The more chemicals applied per acre, the greater the challenge in preserving water quality. The Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico is the most graphic example of the enormous harm caused when farm chemicals flowing off of millions of acres congregate in the mighty Mississippi.
