The interest in organic gardening at home has been growing, recently spurred on by the COVID-19 pandemic.6 This also may be a consequence of a growing understanding of the current food “war” we all fight against an industry that has flooded the market with chemicals and junk food.7
These tactics have driven rising numbers of chronic disease,8 health care costs and deaths as many are deceived about the long-term safety of processed foods. One law school professor calls this movement “GRAS-Fed Americans,” in reference to the FDA category of “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS) foods that are not subject to approval as they are:9
“... generally recognized, among qualified experts, as having been adequately shown to be safe under the conditions of its intended use ...”
One of my consistent messages is that food is foundational to your health. Processed foods, filled with toxins, dyes and sugars, are a primary driver of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death, causing about 647,000 deaths each year.10 Diabetes, one risk factor for heart disease, was the cause of 83,564 deaths in 2017, and it contributed to 270,702 more.11 Both diseases are influenced by multiple factors, but mostly by metabolic dysfunction.
- 1 The Herbal Academy, July 17, 2017
- 2 DocsTeach
- 3 Virginia Museum of History and Culture
- 4, 5 History, August 31, 2018
- 6 Organic Insider, April 1, 2020
- 7 Indiana Law Review, 2016;49:305
- 8 American Journal of Cardiology, 2014;114:1126
- 9 U.S. Food and Drug Administration, September 6, 2019
- 10 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- 11 American Diabetes Association
- 12, 16 Reuters, January 31, 2020
- 13 World Health Organization, March 20, 2015
- 14 Science Mag, February 7, 2018
- 15 USRTK, April 3, 2020
- 17 Nature, June 17, 2013
- 18 Wired, March 19, 2006
- 19 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- 20 Science Daily, June 6, 2019
- 21 InTheseTimes, April 28, 2016
- 22 Vox, July 22, 2015
- 23 J Health Psychol. 2011 Jan;16(1):3-11
- 24 Penn Medicine, June 4, 2015
- 25 High Mowing Seeds
- 26 Rare Seeds
- 27 Sprout People
- 28 Time, February 5, 2019
- 29 FindLaw.com
- 30 Gardening Know How
- 31 Earth Island Journal, November 16, 2016
- 32 FindLaw, July 11, 2014