Growing up, I was lucky to spend much of my time on my family’s local farm that my grandparents purchased shortly after immigrating to Canada. They have grown the land to become quite the establishment and I have always appreciated farm living as a result. 

It opened my eyes to the amount of work and care that needs to be put into growing our food and gave me the ability to look beyond the final product and the grocery store packaging. There has also always been something about eating produce grown straight on our farm. 

It All Starts on the Farm

The first step in nourishing our bodies comes from the amount of care and labour around the growth of our foods. They are after all, living organisms that are equally impacted by their environment similar to how you and I are. If we have a drought, then the crops won’t grow to their potential, if we spray them with harsh pesticides then they will absorb these and if we starve them of essential nutrients then we will see this in the quality of our harvest and the nutritional content of the crop.

Our modern-day farming practices also directly and indirectly affect our environment through the soil, air and water run-off. All this can greatly affect their nutrient content and our health as a result.

The soil that our food is grown in is especially important as it actually maintains a very similar structure to the human microbiome, called the rhizosphere. Both the microbiome and rhizosphere require proper nourishment via vitamins and minerals as well as a healthy environment to really thrive. If the soil is thriving, then we can rest assured that the plant is also thriving and jam packed with nutrients!

More Nutrients

In fact, studies have confirmed that organic foods can contain more nutrients. This is especially true when it comes to vitamin C, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. We also now know that the nutrients in our foods have steadily decreased over the years in North America. For example, tomatoes now contain 70% less vitamin C than they once did, potatoes have lost almost all of their vitamin A and present-day broccoli has lost 45% of its vitamin C content.

Common day radiation practices can also further deplete food of nutrients and the irradiation of our foods require further study on the effects they can have on humans. Currently, these practices are recognized as safe to a certain level although Canadian regulations do not account for the accumulation of these practices when consumed on a daily basis. 

Beyond the Nutrients 

Not only that, but conventional crops will often be exposed to synthetic sprays and herbicides such as glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide, Round-up Ready. The use of this herbicide was re-evaluated by Health Canada in 2017 due to evidence suggesting carcinogenic effects as the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had deemed the herbicide as possibly carcinogenic while the European Union is currently working on phasing out its use. To date, Health Canada has granted continued use and sale of glyphosate containing products in Canada.

Nowadays, it is also not uncommon to see the use of GMO seeds in conventional crops despite studies that question its effects on our genes, cancer risks and allergenic effects.

Conventional farming in Canada also allows the use of antibiotics in our meats. Animals are given some time off of the antibiotics prior to making their way to the grocery store although they can still contain antibiotic residues. These residues when consumed daily by us can promote antibiotic resistance and the proliferation of “super bugs”.