Organics and the environment

Organic agriculture maintains and increases soil fertility and guarantees the long-term productiveness of the land using techniques such as:

• crop rotation to prevent the depletion of the soil
• planting crops that add nutrients to the soil and prevent weeds
• using insects to prey on pests so that there is no need for chemical insecticides
• adding composted manure to the soil to keep it nutrient-rich

By buying organic Irish products, you are helping to increase the land farmed organically in Ireland acre by acre, and making a contribution to a healthy planet for generations to come.

Glenisk is an environmentally conscious company producing healthy and natural products. Find out more about how we are reducing our carbon footprint.

A word on pesticides:

• Pesticides are everywhere and can have serious consequences for your health, unless you buy organic.
  These are the scary facts:
  Cox's apples can be sprayed up to 16 times with 36 different pesticides - many of these are hard to remove even if the fruit is washed. (Truth About Food)
  500 chemicals are routinely used in conventional farming. Only four are permitted in organic farming.
  Government tests have shown that some spinach contains pesticide residues that exceed the safety level for toddlers. Pesticide residues were also found in three-quarters of the dried fruit that was sampled, half of the bread, a third of the apples and celery, and a quarter of the chips from fish and chip shops.
  Six samples of baby food contained residues at high levels. (Pesticide Residue Committee 2003)
  Even though cancer-causing chemicals such as insecticide lindane and synthetic pesticide DDT (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane) have been banned, government tests in 2000 showed that food still contains residues. Other chemicals are linked with cancer, breast cancer, decreasing male fertility and foetal abnormalities. DDT has been found in 67% of feta cheese samples. (Working Party on Pesticide Residues annual report, 2000)
  Little is known about the effects of multiple residues, the cocktail effect. In 1999, 93% of oranges had multiple residues. There has been very little research done but all current knowledge points to there being a very distinct possibility that chemicals would react with each other. The government has highlighted the need for this research to be done on this area.