Being health conscious usually entails exercising and eating right.
And to some, including Lacey Dupre Bacque, it includes eating organic food.
Dupre Bacque, an environmental sciences graduate student, said a bad stigma surrounds the organic lifestyle.
“People think people who eat organic food are ‘out there,'” she said. “I don’t have fear that there is pesticide on everything. Food is meant to sustain you and keeps you healthy. Don’t skimp out on quality.”
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Dupre Bacque, who is writing her graduate thesis on transitioning to an organic lifestyle, said the basis for this lifestyle roots itself more in environmental conservation than anything else.
“Our country has an extreme problem with oil consumptions, obesity and diabetes,” she said. “The way organic farmers grow organic food is more sustainable [for the environment]. They are smaller farms, usually family owned. [Organic farms] lessen the environment affects on the soil, water and air quality.”
Dupre Bacque said eating organically and locally grown food go hand-in-hand because it is beneficial for local farmers.
“Shipping produce across the country uses so much energy,” she said. “If you go to the [local] farmers’ market, you’re supporting the local economy, and you’re using less fuel to transport [the food].”
According to whyorganic.org, people gravitate toward the organic lifestyle because it is healthier.
“Organic food is bursting with vitamins and minerals,” the Web site read. “We believe this is because of the way it is grown – with nature.
The Web site went further to say organic farming practices are better for Mother Nature than conventional farming practices.
“Organic farmers nourish the soil with all the must-have nutrients, not just those needed to make the plants grow,” the Web site reads.
Beth Reames, professor of human ecology and extension specialist, said reports are surfacing supporting the health benefits of organic foods.
“People read these reports and go the organic route,” she said.
Reames also said despite the growing demand for organic foods, which has sent the organic industry into a boom, there will always be the need for conventional farming practices.
“When you have to feed as many people as we do, organic farming just doesn’t cut it,” she said.
Dupre Bacque said most people think eating organic food is more expensive, but in reality it is a cheaper lifestyle choice than being into things designer jeans and expanded cable television service.
—–Contact Nathan Trifone at [email protected]