The slow food movement is sweeping over us and for good reason! Here are five points that show why eating organic and locally make a difference. ;)

1. Protects the health of future generations… The average child receives four times more exposure than an adult to at least eight widely used cancer-causing pesticides in food. The food choices parents make today will impact their children’s health tomorrow.
2. Protects water quality… Water makes up two-thirds of our body mass and covers three-quarters of the planet. Despite its importance, the EPA estimates that pesticides contaminate ground water in 38 states, polluting the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country’s population. Organic growers and processors use practices that eliminate polluting chemicals and nitrogen leaching, and thus protect and conserve precious water resources.
3. Builds and protects top soil… The Soil Conservation Service estimates that over 30 billion tons of topsoil are eroded from US crop lands annually. Soil is the organic farmer’s most revered tool. Rather than relying on synthetic fertilizers, they build their soil through natural amenities, such as composted manure, and by planting diverse crops. Organic farmers respect the soil and view it as the foundation of the food chain.
4. Represents a ‘true’ economy… Organically grown products many seem more expensive, but mere retail prices are deceptive because conventionally raised and priced agricultural products represent only a fraction of the true cost. There are federal agricultural subsidies, the cost of water contamination, loss of wildlife habitat and soil erosion, and the cost of disposal clean-up from hazardous pesticide production. Consumers can pay now or pay later. When you buy organically grown products you pay now for a more sustainable environment.
5. Makes food taste great… Top restaurant chefs across the country will tell you organically grown foods taste better. True flavors, like those from an organic vine-ripened Brandywine Pink tomato or a crisp, organic, Gravenstein apple, are not just for chefs and fancy restaurants- they are for everyone who cares about food.

(Information provided by the San Diego Sustainable Food Project: Roots. www.sandiegoroots.org)