Erika's Blog

Organically grown food is often more expensive than food that is conventionally grown, but many of us believe that it is of higher value to us, both from the perspective of what we are not getting as well from what we get. Conventional large scale farms and feedlots use large machines, chemical fertilizers and synthetic pesticides to minimize labor costs and maximize output. While more cost effective, there is a high long range price for our lowered costs.

Toxicity: Growing conventionally often involves the indiscriminate spraying, both on the ground and from the air, of chemical toxins to eliminate insects and control weeds. In 1994, at least 50 million pounds of pesticides and over one billion pounds of synthetic fertilizers were used to grow cotton in the our six major cotton growing states. Accidental pesticide poisoning causes 20,000 deaths and 3 million non-fatal poisonings every year, worldwide.

Water Contamination: Pesticides contaminate ground water in at least 32 states; half of the U.S. population relies on ground water for its primary source of drinking water. This means that taxpayers pay out billions of dollars in annual subsidies, pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and cleanup, environmental damage and higher health care costs to clean up their water supply.

Health Risks: Millions of children in the U.S. are exposed to carcinogenic pesticides through food, contaminated drinking water, household products and - for children who live near agricultural areas - pesticide drift. Originally formulated as nerve gases for warfare, at least 107 pesticide active ingredients are carcinogenic. Pesticides have been responsible for birth defects, respiratory problems, behavioral changes, infertility, sterility, hormonal imbalances and a variety of short-term maladies, and may be implicated in certain forms of cancer.

Poisoned Ecosystems: Besides killing pests, which eventually become immune to the chemicals, pesticides are toxic to an array of beneficial wildlife, including fish, birds, bees and other insects, frogs, crustaceans, and aquatic organisms.

Soil Erosion: Dependence on a single crop can cause problems because without crop rotation, key nutrients are depleted, resulting in topsoil loss; and without diversity, single crop farming is at increased risk for diseases, pests and other problems that can destroy the entire crop.Organic food is the fastest growing sector of US Agriculture. Organic agricultural practices provide:Agricultural management promoting biodiversity and eco-system health, using no genetically engineered seeds or crops, no sewage sludge, no long-lasting pesticides, herbicides and no fungicides. Livestock management promoting humanely treated animals fed organically grown feed, provided with fresh air and outdoor access while using no antibiotics or growth hormones nor fed other animal products. (No mad cow disease.) Food processing protecting the integrity of the organic products and not allowing irradiation, genetically modified ingredients or synthetic preservatives. Buy organic. At Bethel Botanicals, we are committed to organic, sustainable agriculture in how we farm, how we make our own products, and our choice of the products we sell.

The Best Reasons to Buy Organic (from the Whole Foods Shopping Bag)

• Organic farming meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations.
• Growing organically supports a biologically diverse, healthy environment.
• Organic farming practices help protect our water resources.
• Organic agriculture increases the land’s productivity.
• Organic production limits toxic and long-lasting chemicals in our environment.
• Buying organic supports small, independent family farms.
• Organic farmers are less reliant on non-renewable fossil fuels.
• Organic products meet stringent USDA standards.
• Buying organic is a direct investment in the future of our planet.
• Organic farmers preserve diversity of plant species.
• ORGANIC FOOD TASTES GREAT!

Written by Erika Keller Rogoff, inventor of Bethel Botanical's Healing Cream.