Organic crops are cultivated without the use of petroleum based fertilizers, pesticides, sewage sludge based fertilizers and any other chemically made fertilizers. The demand for organically grown food crops have seen a great increase in demand in the last few years due to the harmful effects of the food grown with the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. In this article let us find out more about organic foods and see if all the hype surrounding organic food has any basis or is it just a fad.

The use of chemicals to increase the crop output has undesirable effects on our body. The food we eat these days is full of harmful chemicals. Some people suggest that washing the vegetables and fruits thoroughly with water will help in complete removal of harmful chemicals but the truth is that although this process will help in washing away the pesticides from outside surface but it will not make food 100% pure because it is contaminated from inside as well.

Effects Of Modern Farming On Environment

Not only does the modern pesticides and fertilizers cause harm to our body but they are a nuisance to our environment as well. They are responsible for polluting our water, air and soil and greatly decrease the productivity of soil over a period of time.

Nature has provided us natural pesticides in the form of creatures which eat the harmful pests but modern chemical pesticides cannot differentiate between good and bad insects and as a result the good ones also get killed which greatly dis-balances the soil foundation.

Modern methods of farming consume a huge amount of petroleum products. Production of synthetic fertilizers requires high levels of energy while harvest, till and cultivation does not require much energy. On the other hand organic farming is still based on labor intensive practices like using green manure, cover crops and hand weeding.

These days many stores have a separate section where one can buy organically grown food. There is also a big misconception that organic food is very costly but it is not true, organic food is only a little higher in price than chemically grown food but it is definitely 100% more safe to have than any chemical.

The modern agricultural methods have given rise to a number of diseases and since the agricultural revolution in late seventies and eighties the cases of cancer have increased alarmingly. People have started reporting problems which were rarely heard of before.

So it is definitely time for a change in the way we grow and eat our food. Organic farming is good for our health as well as soil's fertility and is 100% environment friendly.