By now you know that I’m an advocate for organic eating. Trust me I understand economics (well enough anyway) to know that it’s not always the “affordable” option. But I do feel strongly that it is an important issue. I say with every recipe “as organic as possible,” because I believe every bit matters. We don’t even know what we are doing to ourselves (as in mankind) with all of the crazy things we are putting into our food and therefore into our bodies. Information is knowledge… (as long as it is truthful and accurate.)

Ok, enough from me. I came across this article from a food blogger making great strides in the world. Most recently she was a part of the movement to get Starbucks to take the harmful artificial coloring out of the pumpkin spice latte (it wasn’t adding flavor). And a catalyst in getting Subway to list their ingredients and remove the dangerous chemical azodicarbonamide from their bread. Bravo! (BTW that chemical is used for making yoga mats and shoe rubber, is not supposed to be eaten, and was only in bread served in North America, not Australia, EU or the UK. Thank you FDA.)

There’s a lot of confusion and debate about what non-GMO and organic labels really mean.
The labels are very different! It’s crucial to understand the difference if you want to pick out the healthiest and safest food for you and your family. Every time we decide to buy a product, we are supporting so much more than our bodies. We are shaping the landscape of the entire food system – everything from the environment, land, air, water to the farmers themselves. And this is why I want you to know the truth about the “Non-GMO” label and what it really means.

What exactly does the “Non-GMO Project” label mean?
The “Non-GMO Project” label only verifies that a product doesn’t contain genetically modified (GMO) ingredients (or technically less than 0.9% GMOs). While that is good, it’s not the whole story about what the product contains, how it was produced, and where it came from.

But when I have a choice, I always choose organic food because of these reasons…

10 reasons why “Organic” beats “Non-GMO” every time:

1. Certified organic foods are also non-GMO.

2. Organic crops cannot be grown with synthetic pesticides, and contain much lower pesticide residues overall.

3. The most widely-used herbicide on the planet – Glyphosate (Roundup) – is prohibited on organic crops.

4. Organic ingredients aren’t processed with toxic hexane.

5. Organic crops are prohibited from being fertilized with sewage sludge.

6. Organic meat isn’t produced with growth-promoting drugs, like ractopamine.

7. Organic animals aren’t fattened up with growth-promoting antibiotics.

8. The non-GMO label claim is unregulated.

9. Organic foods prohibit many of the chemicals known as “obesogens” that trigger our bodies to store fat.

10. By choosing organic food you’ll automatically avoid most of the “Sickening 15” … Chemicals like synthetic preservatives, synthetic pesticides, growth hormones and antibiotics are not used in organic food…

For the original article and more information check out foodbabe.com

Also this Sadie’s Nest post was updated and amended from the original as Subway has removed azodicarbonamide from their bread! Hurray! Next maybe they will offer organic options?