Why We Are So Resistant to the Word “Organic”
Why We Are So Resistant to the Word “Organic”
When it comes to health, as a community, we take it seriously. We go for check-ups, we meticulously follow doctor’s orders, we do our own research. We care - for good reason - about keeping our bodies healthy. And we care about our families’ health more than anything, perhaps.
We’re skeptical, at this point, about diet fads and new perspectives. Rightfully so. We question. We don’t accept everything we’re ‘fed’.
I’d like to express how dangerous, however, this approach can be. Ultimately, we need to stay educated and in the loop. I’m not here to preach any diet. But I’d like to talk about the Organic Revolution and why it is so important to understand what it is about.
Behind the Organic Revolution lurks the thing it sprang out from: Genetic Modification of our food.
In the Torah, we are forbidden outright from “Kilayim”. We are forbidden to crossbreed seeds or animals. As our tradition is, each topic such as this has loads of literature surrounding it.
I’m only reminding us that we were forewarned in our ingenious Torah.
Once upon a time, not too long ago, a company called Monsanto began to modify foods to grow faster, bigger, sweeter. They did this by forcing genes from species such as bacteria and viruses into seeds. These are known as “GMO”, for Genetically Modified Organisms, or as “GE” for Genetically Engineered.
Monsanto also developed Pesticides and Herbicides to kill bugs and weeds in the gardens, and their GMO seeds were designed to be able to survive those chemicals.
Now, a chemical which kills bugs and weeds is not something you necessarily want to be eating. There are many issues with Pesticides & Herbicides as well as with GMOs, which I’ll just briefly introduce. Plants and Insects are more ancient and structurally sound than chemicals. Therefore, over time the bugs and weeds became resistant to the pesticides and herbicides, and became even stronger. Monsanto then created stronger poisons. So our food then became more pumped with anti-superbug & anti-superweed properties.
Today, studies have shown the grave effects of GMOs on animals to be: organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging and infertility.
I’ll pause to present a list of GMO crops: Corn, Soy, Cotton (for oil), Canola, Potatoes, Alfalfa, Squash, Sugar (from Sugar Beets) & Papaya.
So what does this have to do with “Organic”?
We’ve been sold mass-produced food that is either GMO or sprayed with these Herbicides & Pesticides for a long time. It was commonplace. As natural as anything else to us. But today there is a lot of information out. Awareness is rising. We are realizing:
“We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.”
Once upon a time, family gardens were as common as family kitchens.
Growing vegetables and herbs is actually simpler than we may think, most of the time.
All the washing and scrubbing will not remove pesticides or herbicides from food. It was sprayed on throughout the growing process and was absorbed into the food just like the rain and the sunlight. It is an inherent part of non-Organic foods.
Organic implies that a plant is both from non-GMO seed and that it was not sprayed with herbicides or pesticides. For dairy and meats it means there were no hormones or antibiotics given to the animals and that they were fed an organic diet. And since they are not sprayed with harmful chemicals, organic food contains higher supplies of vitamins and minerals without any of the toxins that conventional produce comes with.
This is very big news. This is very important news. We need to accept the Organic Revolution as redemptionary for our community. The potential for healing and growth through organic food is incredible. It is much better, as we well know, to eat a less of something healthy than to eat a lot of something unhealthy. Better to eat clean, nutritious food than larger amounts of conventional.
It is so difficult to accept this information. We have become resistant to this information. We have gotten used to the abundance and accessibility of conventional produce.
But we, as a nation, have also become less healthy. And we need to see that, too.
So let’s support each other in making the switch to amazing, healthy food.
Healthy food must be organic.
We can make the switch. It is not impossible. It is right under our noses.
We only need to embrace it !
Wishing us all vibrant health & happiness. Shabbat Shalom!