Organic Farming Information
Organic foods are in reality food that have been grown naturally just as how foods had been grown for centuries gone by.
In the fields the farmers are not allowed to use any of the insecticides, pesticides, fungicides or for that matter any modern day chemical on their plants. No use of human waste or sewage is allowed.
In the animal kingdom that we derive our foods from, animals are supposed to be reared on pastures free from the above chemicals, antibiotics and any other modern day drugs. The animals have to be reared without the use of growth hormones.
Today the term genetically modified applies to farms that tend to use seeds that have been scientifically tampered with in order that the farmer may yield a higher crop on harvesting.
How are organic foods produced?
The farms have to be free of any chemicals for a a specified number of years. Once the land has been certified clean then the farmer can operate as an organic farm.
The organic crops cannot be treated as modern day farms operate. Rather they have to follow more stringent methods to prevent infestation of rodents, insect, etc. from contaminating their crops or live stock.
How to grow organic foods?
Extreme care has to be taken to prepare the soil and keep it free from air borne insects as well as rats and mice. There are a number of plants that can be grown that will help to keep the insect population down.
The farmer must also spend a fair amount of time actually looking at each plant to see that its free from insect attacks. By rotating the crops around the farmer is able to put nitrogen back into the soil along with other nutrients.
As this is a time consuming job, organic farms are never very large. They normally are just big enough for the farming family to manage. Another disadvantage of organic farming is that as the fruit are normally plucked sun ripened they have to be taken straight to market.
So the farms cannot be too far away from the shops. Organic produce is supposed to be fresh and sold daily.
You will generally find organic foods small in size and brighter in color. The taste will be sharper and much more flavorful. The added benefit is the extra nutrient value you get in your food.
Unfortunately the price does seem to be higher as the farmers have to spend more time cultivating a smaller crop. Hopefully this may change as organic foods get more and more popular.
Organic farmers have to obtain certification from the local government in their areas that their land as well as their methods of farming abide by the rules of the organic association.
In the old days the farms were small and the produce was sold in the local markets. At one time organically grown produce was dominated by genetically modified foods.
In the last 10 years that has changed significantly with organic foods growing in acceptance world wide
Isabelle
