Organic farming can reduce every type of farm pollution through:

• Replenishing and maintaining soil fertility;
• Eliminating the use of toxic and persistent chemical pesticides, and fertilizers;
• Building a biologically-diverse agriculture.

Health Benefits of Organic Foods

Health benefits lead the list of many reasons for consuming organic foods. Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Now, the EPA considers 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides, and 30 percent of all insecticides as potentially cancer-causing. Unfortunately, because pesticides have been used on a widespread basis and linger in the environment long after application, there is no guarantee that foods produced organically are totally free of pesticides. However, a Consumer Reports study concluded that fresh fruits and vegetables labeled organic had either no pesticide residues or fewer, lower-level pesticide residues compared to those produced conventionally.

The issue of pesticide residues in produce is particularly pertinent to children, who consume far more produce per pound of body weight than do adults.

But with regard to children, the issue of pesticide residues in foods is not limited to produce. There's growing evidence that children are far more sensitive than adults to the effects of pesticides, due to their rapidly-developing nervous systems.

In the nutritional debate over organic versus conventional, perhaps Joan Dye Gussow, EdD, professor emeritus of nutrition and education, Columbia Teachers College, New York, sums it up best:

"Isn't the most important story that organic production conserves natural resources, solves rather than creates environmental problems, and reduces the pollution of air, water, soil and food?"