Eating organic is something that I have luckily done since I was young. I was fortunate enough to have parents who stressed the importance of eating organic meats and produce. & who also had the funds to buy them at the grocery store. Buying organic products has so many benefits for you and for the planet. It may seem like something that would not affect the global environment, but the difference between organic and non-organic agricultural practices is significant and impactful. Residue from pesticides stays on and in our food after we buy it, often leading to the consumption of these toxins.

The first thing to note is that pesticides are toxic and have been linked to many different illnesses and diseases. Non-organic meat and produce are most often grown with synthetic pesticides and fertilizers that cause harm to our bodies, as well as the biodiversity of Earth. Organic products, on the other hand, have been grown with only USDA approved pesticides and fertilizers that are natural. This seemingly small difference in growing processes is the reason that buying Organic is so important.

Let’s talk about the health effects of pesticides first. Pesticides work to disrupt our endocrine system. This is the system within our bodies that is responsible for regulating our hormone production and hormone signaling. Our bodies rely on the endocrine system to reproduce, grow properly, and communicate internally. The United Kingdom has done a lot of research on the harmful consequences of pesticide exposure; these effects highlight the importance of supporting organic agriculture.

When pesticides disrupt our endocrine system we can develop abnormal conditions. This disruption is linked to early puberty, ovarian cysts, decreased fertility (semen production reduced), diabetes, neurological disorders and brain development problems, Parkinson’s disease, and hypo and hyperthyroidism. Overall, the combined effects of pesticide exposure are maladaptive to our human genome, as these toxins are able to interfere with our bodies’ natural signaling and communication system.

Another terrifying fact about pesticides is that they are killing our pollinators such as bumblebees. Pollinators are responsible for producing 75-95% of all flowering plants on the globe. An even more shocking statistic is that every 1 in 3 bites of food that you take is thanks to pollinators. Basically, pesticides are working to kill the very food that we depend on for survival by threatening pollinators. Somehow in this crazy process of mass-agricultural production, people thought it was a good idea to kill off the insects which the Earth has put here for a very specific and important reason: to pollinate the food that humans, and millions of other animals, need in order to survive. This ill-informed practice of using pesticides must end if we hope to save the pollinators responsible for providing us with the delicious fruits, vegetables, and grains we consume on a daily basis.

Buying organic and local produce and meats helps to ensure that your money is not contributing to an unhealthy cycle (spraying of pesticides) that is increasing the severity of the climate crisis. Additionally, this will allow you to keep your purchasing power away from companies who choose to put profit over the heath of the planet and those who reside here. As consumers, we have the power to choose which brands and businesses to support, and therefore what production practices will continue. If enough people chose to forgo all non-organic products, the non-organic market would no longer be profitable, and the companies who are disregarding their blatant harm to the planet and its people will have to stop those evolutionarily maladaptive practices of spraying poison onto our food.