Are you concerned about pesticides, herbicides and fungicides in your food? Try eating organic.

Organic food certification requires that crops and livestock are grown and reared naturally, without artificial fertilisers, synthetic pesticides, chemical feeds, growth-promotion drugs or routine antibiotics. As a result, organic produce is chemical free, often higher in the nutrients and minerals our bodies require, and most importantly, it tastes better. You can also be assured that meat derived from free-range and organic farms comes from animals that have been raised in good conditions.

How to do it now!

Buy and eat organic food

Organic food is available everywhere - so check your local shops, supermarket and farmers markets, as well as online.

The Australian Organic Food Directory can also lead you in the right direction.

Fruits and vegetables where the organic label matters the most. According to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit organisation that analyses the results of government pesticide testing in the United Sates of America, the following twelve fruits and vegetables have the highest pesticide levels on average. Because of their high pesticide levels when conventionally grown; it is best to buy these varieties as organically grown:

Apples Cherries Nectarines
Capsicum / Peppers Grapes Peaches
Carrots Kale Pears
Celery Lettuce Strawberries


Non-organic fruits and vegetables with low pesticide levels. These conventionally grown fruits and vegetables were found to have the lowest levels of pesticides. Most of these have thicker skin or peel, which naturally protects them better from pests, and which also means their production does not require the use of as many pesticides.

Asparagus Eggplant Pineapple
Avocado Kiwi Peas (sweet)
Broccoli Mango Sweet Potatoes
Cabbage Onion Tomatoes
Corn (sweet) Papaya Watermelon


Why is this action important?

Eating organic helps to reduce climate change (by reducing transport and industrial energy), nitrogen released into the environment (organic farming doesn't use artificial or synthetic fertilisers), and helps minimise salinity and soil loss caused by hard hoofed animals and intensive farming methods. Organic farming reduces the negative impact on local ecosystems and biodiversity and can even help improve the local environment.

Environment

Organic produce is a more environmentally beneficial form of farming because it doesn't require energy-intensive farming methods and avoids heavy use of fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. It works with, rather than against, local biological and environmental systems and species, and also builds soil mass - a very effective way to store carbon from the atmosphere, therefore assisting in combating climate change.

Wellbeing

Organic food is higher in nutrients, lower in artificial additives, and is free of genetic modification, preservatives and unnatural chemicals. Free-range organic eggs, indigenous meats (such as kangaroo) and native fruits and vegetables, all have minimal impacts on the land.