As a new parent, there is nothing as important as taking good care of your child. There are many ways to ensure your child's good health, happiness, and safety. Buying and preparing organic foods contributes to these goals in several ways.

Organics Are Good for Your Baby's Body

A variety of wholesome, nutritious foods is what your baby needs to develop in both body and mind. Chemicals, in the form of added artificial flavorings, dyes, pesticide and herbicide residues, and hydrogenated fats, do nothing to promote good health, and can even detract from it. Organically grown and produced food is free of these chemicals, leaving only the good taste and nutrition that nature intended.

Babies and children who are fed an organic diet are not overexposed to antibiotic residue in their food, either. Animals are healthier when farmed organically, because they have adequate access to fresh air, appropriate diet, and outdoor space. Therefore, the need for antibiotic overuse is eliminated. (According to USDA rules, organic meat must be antibiotic-free.)

Organics Are Better for the Planet

Taking care of the world that your baby will inherit is also good parenting. Organic farming is based on keeping the soil healthy through natural means like rotating crops, letting fields lie fallow, and using natural fertilizing methods rather than spraying on toxic pesticides and herbicides that can run off into water supplies and contaminate the soil.

Organic livestock farms provide adequate room for the animals and do not rely on factory-farm overcrowding and the waste-disposal issues that accompany it. Because organic livestock is fed an organic diet, that also means fewer synthetic pesticides and herbicides are used in the crops that are dedicated for their feed.

Increased soil fertility is another bonus of organic farming. Organic farmers use natural methods to replenish the soil so they don't strip the earth of its nutrients by overfarming. Conscientious stewardship of the soil is a hallmark of organic farming as it is the only way for the organic farmer to reap another year's yield.