1. TO KEEP THE CHEMICALS OUT: OF THE AIR, WATER, SOIL AND OUR BODIES

The average conventionally grown apple has 20-30 artificial poisons on its skin, even after rinsing. Cotton is the most heavily sprayed crop in the world. Using 25% of the world’s total insecticides – they end up in the clothes we wear, the products we use, the soil and our waterways.

2. TO PROTECT FUTURE GENERATIONS

The average child receives four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. Choosing organic ensures we are protecting the health of our children and the health of the planet we are leaving behind.

3. TO ENCOURAGE INNOVATION

Organic producers are leaders in innovative research, they are leading the way, largely out of their own pockets, with innovative on-farm research aimed at reducing pesticide use and minimising agriculture’s impact on the environment.

4. TO SUPPORT A TRUE ECONOMY

On the surface organic foods might seem more expensive but conventional food prices don’t reflect hidden costs (paid through our taxes). These ‘hidden’ costs include pesticide regulation and testing, hazardous waste disposal and cleanup, and environmental damage. For example the un-factored environmental and social costs of irrigating a head of lettuce is $2 to $3 more than what you pay!

5. TO PROMOTE BIODIVERSITY

Mono-cropping is the practice of planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year. This lack of natural diversity of plant life leaves the soil deficient in natural minerals and nutrients – chemical fertilizers need to be used to replace them. Visit an organic farm and you’ll notice something different: a buzz of animal, bird and insect activity.