Organic Foods

A good deal of the food we sell at the Flatbush Food Coop is organic. Organic foods are foods produced without the use of any synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. By purchasing organically-grown foods you are contributing to a cleaner, less-polluted environment and increasing the long-term fertility of our soils.

Why Buy Organic?

There are many reasons to buy organic. Health is the major reason people initially turn to organic foods. Numerous EPA reports have documented the dangers of exposure to pesticides and herbicides. Their report Pesticides in Children's Foods pointed out that, due to pesticide exposure, the "average child exceeds the EPA lifetime one-in-a-million risk standard of cancer by his or her first birthday." More and more people are concerned about the increasing number of pesticides, chemical additives, irradiated foods, and artificial fertilizers in the nation's food supply. With the current move to deregulation, the number and range of additives are increasing. Unless you have your own organic farm, purchasing organic foods is the only way to avoid ingesting these chemicals.

Many folks say that organic foods taste better. They say that produce grown in well-balanced, healthy soils is tastier than that grown in chemicals applied to a dirt foundation. Do your own taste test and decide for yourself. Compare a vine-ripened organic tomato and a non-organic "super-market" tomato and see. More and more, chefs in the finer restaurants are contracting for their own supply of organic foods. The naturally superior flavor comes through.

Purchasing organic products helps the environment and the planet. Scientists estimate that nearly 15% of the globally warming gases are caused by the nitrogen fertilizers used in chemical agriculture. Organic techniques, such as cover crops and composting, reduce global warming gases by binding carbon into soils and plants. Also, agricultural chemical overflow gets into the water supply and contaminates our rivers, lakes, and even our drinking water. The EPA has found 98 different pesticides in the groundwater of 40 states, contaminating the drinking water of over 100 million people. Organic farming stops this overflow, and also requires less water in the first place, since soil rich in organic matter is more "sponge-like" and retains moisture for the plants' use.

Organic methods preserve biologic diversity and help safeguard the world's future food supply. Chemical farming methods usually rely on a single variety of a crop, planted on a huge amount of acreage. A single pesticide-resistant strain of a plant virus can literally wipe out an entire crop. Organic methods rely on diverse varieties, and are therefore less risky. Also, most organic farms are small family farms. Buying organic preserves a rural way of life, and the families that make up that way of life.

Purchasing organic products now ensures more organic choices, at more reasonable prices, in the future. Ten years ago, the prices on organic produce were much higher than today. As the organic movement grew, prices came down and will go down even further. In the long run, the more people purchase organics, the more they will benefit in reduced organic prices, lower health costs, lower environmental cleanup costs, etc.

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