Why Organic? | Organic September

5 years ago, my experience of ‘organic’, was a shelf barely visible in the chilled section of the supermarket and charging at least three times the prices of the vegetables that sat next to it. It wasn’t until I got pregnant in 2017 with Heppy that I watched ‘The True Cost’ movie and instantly began to unpick the many areas of my life where I was buying because of what I’d be told, sold, or shown rather than discovering for myself what my family and I really needed. It was something too about having a brand new baby inside of me, so perfectly formed and created and being so conscious about what was entering my body, their body and what was going to go on their skin. I felt this deep level or responsibility to protect her, which included everything from the foods I let her eat and the clothes we dressed her in so, and as I researched and learnt, ‘organic’ became a key-word, then a recurring and more familiar one.

September marks Organic September, a month-long campaign which aims to raise awareness of Organic products, and the brands, producers and farmers who bring them to us in the UK, so before I share some of my favourite brands, I wanted to let you know more about why we choose organic and more about what it even means PLUS ways we make buying organic fit into our budget. I hope it’s helpful!

What does organic mean?

Organic adjective (OF FOOD PRODUCTION): not using artificial chemicals in the growing of plants and animals for food and other products.

It does however mean so much more than that, I like how Riverford put it: “a system of working with nature rather than against it.” This is the same for farming for food as well as cotton.

Organic farmers aim to produce high-quality food, using methods that benefit our whole food system, from people to planet, plant health to animal welfare.

Certification is legally required to grow, process or market organic products, and all organic farms and companies are inspected by a certification body, at least once a year, you can know if a brand is certified by looking for the organic symbol on their products. For a food or drink product to be labelled as organic, at least 95% of the ingredients must come from organically produced plants or animals. Within the Global Organic textile standards there is also a minimum of 95% organic fibres required and the term ‘made with organic materials’ requires a minimum of at least 70% organic fibres.

is organic really better?

Here are a few reasons why I think it is!

1. better for the planet:

If Europe’s farmland all followed organic principles, agricultural emissions could drop by 40-50% by 2050, with plenty to feed the growing population healthy diets. This is due to the reduced use of manufactured chemical fertilisers and pesticides, which come from burning fossil fuels. Around 90% of Soil Association-certified organic farmers use no pesticides at all. Organic farmers build fertile soils through compost and manure (often sourced from their own farm or local herds), and rotate their crops to keep soils healthy. Because of this organic soils are around 25% more effective at storing carbon in the long-term.

2. Better for animal welfare:

Organic farming has the highest animal welfare standards of any international farming system; this means truly-free range animals, encouraged to forage, graze and roam, with plenty of space, fresh air, and conditions that allow them to express their natural behaviours.

3. better for nature and wildlife

41% of Britain’s wildlife species have declined since 1970, and more than 1 in 10 are currently facing extinction. Intensive farming practices, especially pesticide use, are one of the main causes. The restricted use of pesticides, means that there are 75% more wild bees on organic farms, plus there is cleaner water for wildlife as pesticide use can create ‘ocean dead zones’. Organic farms are usually more ecologically diverse too, organic farming relies on healthy ecosystems to control pests and protect soils so they encourage wildlife and so naturally do more tree planting, wildflower margins and pond digging.

4. better for People (always the most important value for me as we raise a family)

-Fewer pesticides on your food means less threat to your health.

-Organic standards prohibit the use of hydrogenated fats (that’s GOOD news, controversial artificial food colourings, sweeteners and preservatives, like tartrazine and aspartame, and prevent organic fruit and vegetables from being washed in chlorine.

- No GM ingredients

- Reduced use of antibiotics. With farm animals accounting for 30% of all antibiotics used in the UK, organic farming standards, which ban the routine use of antibiotics, can help minimise antimicrobial resistance and protect the effectiveness of these treatments.

-Nutritionally different food. For example, A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in 2014 showed that organic milk and meat contain around 50% more beneficial omega-3 fatty acids than non-organic. These nutritional differences also apply to organic dairy like butter, cream, cheese and yoghurt. and What's more, organically produced crops (cereals, fruit and vegetables) were found with up to 68% more antioxidants than non-organic, whilst organic fruit and veg contained lower concentrations of pesticides and the toxic heavy metal cadmium.

For more on this in the textile industry watch The True Cost movie and Stink Movie.

Does organic solve everything? why is it more expensive?

The answer is no and if everyone went organic tomorrow it would be highly troublesome. As with anything, it’s not faultless, but it does vary company to company, so find the ones that work for you. The not so positive sides to organic farming would be the increased amount of land needed to grow the crops in a sustainble way and some would argue that some organic pesticides used as alternatives may not actually be as good as they seem. Organic is also undoubtedly more money. While there are efforts to make organic more accessible for all it’s important to know that organic food is currently more expensive because it is a lot more hands-on, it takes more commitment and more attention to detail as well as forethought and planning. It’s also certified, which means a fee and inspection.

Why do we choose to buy organic?

My highest priority, even above looking after the planet is looking after my family. So for me personally, planet aside, the health benefits of eating organic foods and buying organic clothing are beneficial enough in and of themselves for me to make that choice. While the dream is probably a field out back with our own dairy cow and rows upon rows of our own vegetables and chickens running around, and some homegrown flaxseed to turn into clothes for the kids ahah, right now my choice to buy organic predominantly lies buying through farm shops, supermarkets, and online farms etc. and stores.

Ultimately, being able to shop in this way is a complete privilege and we have made various switches in our lifestyle to make this possible. Ie. I have taken on extra work, we rarely go out to eat etc. You make room for what you value and this is high on my priority list!

There are times when it isn’t possible to buy organic and still make it work within our budget. ie. Ie. buying organic dairy is high on my priority list- but I rarely buy organic cheese. This is because of it’s cost but also because Joseph is the one who consumes the most cheese in our household and he currently doesn’t really mind where whether his food is organic or non-organic. Milk however and eggs - foods the kids and I eat multiple times a day are organic.

Organic clothing is dramatically more expensive than non-organic, while I prefer when shopping secondhand that it is still organic, it doesn’t matter to me quite as much if it’s already in circulation.

Ways to save when buying organic:

Here are some ways we make buying organic work for us.

Follow the Clean 15 and Dirty Dozen:

The Dirty Dozen™ is a trade-mark term used to define the twelve crops that farmers typically use the most pesticides on, versus, the Clean 15™ to describe the fifteen fruit and vegetables that have the lowest amount of pesticide residue. For example, included in the dirty dozen list is strawberries, spinach and apples so I almost always buy these organic where possible. In the clean 15 list is, onions, avocados and sweet potatoes so I am less concerned if I am not buying these organically- or if i need to cut back on spending for the month, I will buy those non-organically.

use offer codes for organic meat boxes etc and gain loyalty points:

I hop around a lot to use discount codes for different meat and food box supplies. There is also offers for some suppliers too if you stay loyal. I just got three weeks of half price veg and fruit boxes at Able and Cole! You can also get 50% off your first box with them with the code: Megan Landreth-Smith

stock up and freeze if something is organic

If I am shopping in the supermarket I will always be looking out for yellow clearance stickers. I usually find organic mince or chicken on offer so will usually grab a few to freeze while the saving is there!

grow your own:

Thankful for a humble but great harvest this year of beetroots, carrots, parsnips and red onions. It is SO fun to grow your own and easier than some people make it out to be! Start small and be surprised by the savings too!

buy big or buy small.

Buying meat in bulk, or flour etc definitely works out cheaper if you have the cash there to put up front. It also sometimes works just to buy smaller, where refill stores are great just to go and fill up with and pay for exactly what you need.

make it go further-

If I have spent more on something I am more determined to make it last. Every month we buy a whole chicken and while it costs more to buy it organically/or free range, it’s possible to get SO many meals out of it- we did chicken soup, roast dinner, chicken stock and chicken pie with our last one!

Save scraps and ends of vegetables too, freeze them and add them when you can to make vegetable stock.

Buy organic own brand supermarket:

Organic can feel a lot when you’re at farmer’s markets or buying brands you don’t recognise. while it may be the dream to be to support independent local farms, start where you can which may be buying organic from a supermarket. Sainsbury’s have a great organic range.

bake bread

It is far cheaper for me to bake organic bread using organic flour rather than buying organic bread. I use a very simple recipe from Tin Eats.

Eat in season

Food costs less when you buy it in season. For example, the price of strawberries now summer ends will increase. Find the cost effective organic staples that work for you. Yes, you may not feel it’s as wild and varied but seasonal food is fresher, tastier and more nutritious than food consumed out of season and it won’t need to travel as far! Also! Forage and store up/freeze!

less and better meat

Joseph is a three-meat-a-day kind of guy, and I have to remind myself to eat meat! I eat meat because after lots of researching I truly believe our bodies need it and so because of that I want to keep it in our diet. HOWEVER, I believe the way meat is consumed is not how God intended it to be used and so we have dramatically cut out meat consumption. Still a bit of an area of contention but we’re getting there hah! Meat is involved in 1-2 meals per week rather than 7 days a week, like it was 5 years ago. I find better meat also fills you up more so you need less!

With organic textiles I either wait for sales, or buy from brands I love and trust secondhand.

I’ve always said we vote with our money! And my votes with organic! Stay tuned for a post coming soon with our favourite organic brands!

The majority of the information above is taken from the Soil Association website.

Do you buy organic? Let me know below!