Iowa is known for its rich and cultivated land. It plays host to many farms that produce all sorts of products. However, only a small portion is designated for growing organic food. There are just 15 organic farms in the state of Iowa, according to the Organic Food Database. That just isn’t enough real estate to provide Iowa, as well as others outside of the state, with the necessary amounts of organic food. Of the organic food that is grown, the most common crops are oats, corn, eggs and dairy cows for their milk and meat.

Humans consume food of that nature often and so it is important that what we put into our body is healthy and that it keeps our system in peak condition. When we consume organic foods, we take that much needed step forward to healthy eating. As research has pointed out, there is a difference between organically grown and conventionally grown foods — nutritional content.

I can point out a multitude of different reasons based upon Grassroots International, as to why eating organically grown foods agrees better with not only the body but with the land. Organic farming develops a support system for the planet, consumers and farmers, which makes the difficulty of managing an organic farm worth it for everyone.

We can begin with two questions — do we really want hormones with our milk? Or antibiotics in our meat? Eighty percent of antibiotics used in America today are used by the meat and poultry industries. According to Food Inc., the use of antibiotics is intended to accelerate animal growth and avoid diseases in crowded environments. The positive that organic agriculture provides is the abandonment of such additives in favor of alternative conditions in raising animals.

Let’s then turn to the benefits organic farming does for the planet — organic agriculture feeds the earth. Even though not all organic farms are the same, they all replace what was taken — the nutrients in the soil. The use of industrial farming leads to the depletion of nutrients from the soil. This requires increasing amounts of fertilizers or other additives to maintain the yield year after year and as time goes on, soil begins to erode. We are then left with infertile soil, an agglomeration of chemicals and intensified pollution.

Now, let’s look at how farmers and their crops are attached to Earth. Their relationship can have negative effects in the industrial agricultural arena. When Iowa land experiences runoff, the pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides used in industrial agriculture flows through the Mississippi River and into the Gulf of Mexico. The combination of those chemicals produce algae blooms, which take the oxygen out of the water. This results in fish and other aquatic life not being able to sustain life. Where industrial agriculture fails, organic farms succeed.

Another wonderful aspect of organic farming is the lack of pesticides used. As stated earlier, we shouldn’t ingest antibiotics from treated animals just as we shouldn’t ingest chemical insect deterrents from treating the land. There are dangers of using pesticides in industrial agriculture. The use of pesticides raises concerns about increased allergies and illnesses. A Stanford study found the consumption of organic foods possibly reduces exposure to pesticide residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

The final aspect why organic farming is best is the much needed health it provides to its farmer. The employees of an industrial farm are engaged in spraying chemicals or harvesting pesticide-laced vegetables. These people have a capacity to suffer from certain cancers and other diseases at far higher levels than average. Those workers expose themselves to risks that even consumers who eat industrially grown crops at high levels won’t experience.

These reasons are significant enough to encourage the expansion of organic farming in Iowa. Humans are what they eat and it should be our responsibility as caretakers of the earth to make sure that we are maintaining healthy habits by consuming organic food, which benefits our bodies and our land.