If you have not been in a grocery store lately, then you are missing a huge trend. You would have to be living under a rock to have not heard about the organic movement. Even the USDA has gotten into the organic farming trend and is pushing for more farmers to try this sensible and sensitive approach to farming. The benefits are far more than the vegetables that reach your table. You might be surprised to learn how beneficial farming organically can be to the environment and your health.

If you are wondering how organic farming differs from regular farming, then you should know that it is in two main areas. First, no chemical pesticides are used. Secondly, there is an agreement not to use genetically modified plants or animals. Agricultural research has advanced many different varieties of crops and has helped animals grow larger faster but not enough is known about whether or not there are lasting consequences associated with these advances.

The ban on genetically altered crops is fairly recent. The other ban on pesticides and chemicals goes back to the 1930s. Even then some researchers were discovering links to illness through the overwhelming use of sprays and chemicals. Many small growers stopped using these chemicals. It was not only beneficial to the people eating the crops but it was also beneficial to the environment. Chemical run off is a huge problem with fields. The chemicals are sprayed onto the crops and then the chemicals seep into the soil and are washed away. The polluted water makes its way into streams and lakes where it can affect millions of people. Local farmers who have chosen to grow their crops organically may lose a certain percentage of their crops to pests but they are saving the environment around them in a huge way.

There is a lot of information on the internet and in your local library about organic farming. You may never pick up a hoe in your life but you can still read all you can about this lifestyle. And it really is a lifestyle because you have to reexamine your life and eating habits completely. It is a way of life dedicated to helping people live longer and healthier without the use of chemicals or hormones in their food.