Long before organic food was a fashionable eco-trend,
J.I. Rodale—who in 1930 founded Rodale Inc., publisher of

Women’s
Health—began cultivating the organic movement. In 1942, he launched

Organic Farming and Gardening magazine, and five years later,
he created a nonprofit (now known as the Rodale Institute) to research
the benefits of organic agriculture. J.I.’s son, Robert Rodale, was one
of the first people to recognize the need for getting the USDA organic
certification in place so the public can trust that when a food is
labeled “organic,” it truly is.

Eighty years after the company’s inception, Rodale’s commitment to
exploring the many benefits of eating organic food has never been
stronger. This month, Maria Rodale, chairman and CEO of Rodale,
publishes

Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming Can Heal Our
Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe. This excerpt from the
book gives you a taste of how much healthier an organic life can be:
Organic farming is better for the environment—the evidence is clear. And
research has shown that it’s more profitable and productive over the
long term. So why hasn’t every farmer switched to organic methods,
especially if farming organically can also stop the climate crisis, save
the limited oil resources for other uses, and eliminate the majority of
the toxins from our soil and water?

Because first, attitudes must change. And that starts with us. To help
you understand the issues and give you ammunition to talk about them
with others, here are nine things you need to know. No spin, just the
facts (OK, with a few opinions thrown in for good measure).

1. Agricultural Chemicals Destroy the Soil’s Natural Ability to
Store and Process Carbon.

Mycorrhizal fungi are our greatest ally in the fight for
our survival on this planet: They’re fungi that grow on the roots of
plants and contribute to taking greenhouse gases out of the air. They
are the hidden heroes beneath us. Chemicals kill these hidden heroes.

2. Chemicals Poison the Air, Water, And Soil.

The manufacturing, transportation, and use of chemicals
for agriculture are energy intensive and poisonous to all things that
come in contact with them. Most chemicals don’t biodegrade within a few
months. Like nuclear waste, some toxins last forever, and many of the
impacts are known to be horrible. Already, dead zones in the ocean are
starting to spread, wells are contaminated, and we suffer increasingly
from infections and diseases such as asthma, diabetes, MRSA,
Parkinson’s, and cancers that are connected to these chemicals.

3. Smaller Doses of Chemicals Can Be Just As Dangerous As Large
Doses.

Most of the government regulations on chemicals are based
on estimated safe amounts of exposure. Doctors and scientists are
finding, however, that small doses, and cumulative small doses, can be
just as toxic as large doses. There really are no safe limits.

4. Chemicals Are Not Necessary to Grow Food.

Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a substitute for thinking,
understanding, and effort. They are necessary only to generate large
profits for businesses and for disposing of our toxic industrial wastes.
Virtually every food in the world has been successfully grown and made
organically in modern, productive, and regenerative ways—from fine wine
to white flour, apples, cherries, the most delicious gourmet beef, and
olive oil.

5. Organic Foods Are Healthier And Safer.

Studies have shown that some organic foods are higher in
antioxidants and powerful cancer-fighting nutrients such as conjugated
linoleic acid. They’re safer because they are produced without dangerous
chemicals, antibiotics, and risky (to say nothing of disgusting) and
cheap practices like feeding dead cows to living cows, or putting
contaminated sewage sludge onto farm fields. Certified organic products
are the only foods available that have a government-backed guarantee
that no chemicals, antibiotics, sewage sludge, or GMOs were used in the
growing or processing of the foods.

6. Eating Organic Is Easier Than Ever.

Choosing to eat organic food does not condemn you to a
diet of nuts, berries, and tofu. Today, you can find organic versions of
the most popular foods, including such favorites as Hidden Valley ranch
dressing and Heinz ketchup. It is possible to produce any food
organically, even Cap’n Crunch cereal and American cheese.

7. Government Subsidies Are the Primary Reason For the Low Prices of
Chemical Foods.

Without government subsidies, chemical food would not be
less expensive, but rather much more expensive. Organic foods have no
hidden costs.

8. Organic Farming Increases And Protects the Planet’s Natural
Biodiversity.

If you are an animal lover of any kind, organic is for
you. A recent report by the International Union for Conservation of
Nature documents that “life on earth is under serious threat.” The
report found that one-third of amphibians, at least one in eight birds,
and a quarter of mammals are on the verge of extinction. Half of all
plant groups are threatened. The toxic effects of chemicals have reduced
all species’ abilities to survive and reproduce.

9. It’s Not Too Late to Change—and Get Healthier And Happier!

People who eat organic foods reduce their pesticide
intake by as much as 90 percent, according to a study from the
University of Washington. Further, research at the University of
Colorado has found that certain strains of soil-borne bacteria not only
stimulate the human immune system, but also boost serotonin levels in
mice. Low levels of serotonin are tied to depression, and drugs that
inhibit its reuptake in the brain are used as antidepressants. If we all
farmed and gardened the organic way, we may not need all the
antidepressant drugs that are ending up in our water supply.

Want to Know More?

Excerpted from

Organic Manifesto: How Organic Farming
Can Heal Our Planet, Feed the World, and Keep Us Safe, by Maria
Rodale (March 2010, Rodale). Available wherever books are sold.