Speaking about the conservation of the environment, is to enter a topic where influencing a number of factors that affect positively and negatively on environmental issues, but, each of them depends on the environmental awareness that governments, companies, institutions have and above all, each person as an individual entity that must assume a conservationist attitude that contributes small grains of sand in order to solve a situation that day by day is aggravated.
In this way, if we think about the health of our soils, flora, fauna and the human being itself, we should look for the adequate alternatives that guide us on the right path. One of these ways is the adoption of organic agriculture, called by some specialists as organic farming, where the production obeys to the norms and procedures that respect the biological and ecological processes.
In this way, organic agriculture as a source of wellbeing for nature and man, bases its bases on an integrated conception of nature, which does not separate each resource or living being from the other, where man is not the absolute owner of it, but is one more of the set of living beings that inhabit the planet Earth.
The fact that it is also called organic farming, is because its fundamental principles are found in ecology, which is a science that studies the interrelation between living organisms and their environment, including humans, but also includes all those aspects related to the economy and society in the field of local, regional, national and global production.
In this sense, it is worth mentioning that the general objective of organic agriculture is “to support and reinforce biological processes without resorting to the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides”, as well as the genetic modification of organisms within productive processes is excluded, promoting preventive methods for the control of diseases, pests and weeds.
But all this production process must be certified, from the manipulation carried out by the farmer until it reaches the consumer, which is backed by a document or certification, which is delivered by an entity duly accredited in the place where it is produced, which checks the monitoring of the respective recognized norms of organic agriculture, which is basic for its international commercialization.
In this way, when an organic product enters a market, suppliers and merchants must ensure that this certification is fully legal and in accordance with market requirements, because these may vary from one country to another, even if the basic rules are the same.
In this context, we will present a general definition on agriculture accepted and disseminated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAO (2009), which argues that “organic agriculture is an integral management system for the production that promotes and improves the health of the agricultural ecosystem, including its biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity “.
According to FAO criteria, in the practice of organic agriculture, biological, cultural, and mechanical techniques and methods should be used, instead of synthetic materials, insofar as possible, considering regional conditions and local reality, for implement systems according to the set of biological and ecological elements for the benefit of sustainable agricultural ecosystems from a social, ecological and economic perspective.
In the other hand, in the International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security of FAO (2007) organic agriculture was defined as “a neotraditional food system”, which defends the practice of rotation of previously planned crops, in order to protect the quality of the soil and the food.
In this sense, specific objectives are proposed aimed at favouring the diversification of crop production, increasing the organic matter content of the soil, its fertility and nutrient content available to the plants, with an increase in drainage, size and the stability of the aggregates of the soil, as well as the aeration of the same, from the adoption of a mentality and environmental attitudes in favour of conservation.
In general, through these cultivation methods, it is possible to reduce water and wind erosion, as well as the incidence of weeds, insects and diseases in the crops, promoting the maintenance of a weed control, through the use of stifling crop species or cover crops that are used as fertilizer. In this way, a better distribution of nutrients in the soil profile is achieved, since deeper root crops extract nutrients deeper.
Also, the practice of organic and / or ecological agriculture is used to reduce economic risks in the production process, favouring the compensation of waste production: you can alternate crops that produce little waste with others that generate a large number of them, eliminating this use of fertilizers, avoiding the contamination of soil, water and air, avoiding the notable degradation of the environment through the use and accumulation of chemical residues that are generally used in traditional agriculture.
So, we opted for organic products grown with the practices described above, we are accessing a high nutritional quality of foods, with high levels of protein and vitamin, favourable to achieve good nutrition, which is essential to maintain health and prevent diseases of all kinds.
All this series of advantages that the organic vegetal products present in comparison with those produced conventionally, we will explain them below, with the purpose that the readers will have an idea of how beneficial it will be for their organism, and of this become spokesmen and promoters of this type of products:
-First, these products have lower water content, which allows a greater density of nutrients to be stored, with the presence of higher levels of magnesium, iron, vitamin C and antioxidants.
-The balance of essential amino acids is much better. On the other hand, the organic methods of animal production, have as basic objectives the optimization of the health and welfare of the animals, in order to guarantee balanced diets of quality, within an adequate environment that satisfies their physiological needs and their behaviour natural, for which they present a series of advantages in relation to those that are conventionally bred:
-The animals have a much better state of general health, and a significant reduction in the risk of contracting or carrying complicated diseases, such as Encephalopathy and Bovine Spongiform, called BVE or mad cow disease, is achieved.
-The proportion of saturated to unsaturated fats is lower, in addition to the fact that artificial growth hormones are not used, which is why obtaining healthier meats is guaranteed.
In short, organic products of animal origin are healthier for people than conventional products, considering that in the processing of organic products is not allowed the use of chemical adjuvants, harmful additives, flavouring and irradiation, while the application of heat and pressure that is used is minimal, guaranteeing the nutritional quality; greater amounts of vitamin C, vitamin E, folic acid and iron, essential elements for good nutrition.
On the other hand, conventional methods of food processing have been proven to affect the nutritional quality and safety of food, because pesticide residues can affect the endocrine and immune system, produce a high incidence of abortions and reduce the fertility, especially in those who work directly in agricultural production and are directly exposed to these substances.
Regarding this point, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 3 million agricultural workers in the world suffer from pesticide poisonings every year, with 220,000 deaths, thus converting conventional agriculture into a major threat to those who work in this sector.
In addition, we must highlight the fact that there are currently more than 500 additives, some of which have negative effects on human health, and whose use is allowed in the processing of conventional foods; while conventionally bred cattle are regularly provided with antibiotics to prevent diseases and promote their rapid growth, which can cause resistance to antibiotics in humans due to indirect consumption.
In short, when Organic Agriculture is supported, it is supporting not only the human health but also the living beings of the planet. This is because people who want and need to increase their intake of vitamins, minerals and nutrients by choosing organic products are reducing their exposure to harmful pesticides, drug residues and additives.
On the other hand, all those involved in the food and health systems should adopt organic practices and facilitate the path for the development of the productive apparatus. For example, governments that wish to improve the nutrition and health of their population, by assuming this system and promoting the consumption of organic products, would be reducing the costs of public health services. In addition, farmers must lean towards organic production methods to improve the quality of their products, as well as protect their own health, that of their workers and that of the people who buy them.
On the other hand, researchers who are dedicated to exploring the complex natural world, and who demonstrate with their studies the benefits of organic agriculture and ecology for the conservation of the environment, the health of the species, and the prevention of diseases, must continue their studies to fulfil their role as promoters of health and human security, through new holistic methods for research.
ALFA