We are all aware of some of the major benefits of consuming organically grown food. From the reduction in exposure to pesticides and genetically modified organisms, to the increased intake of nutrition, and also the fact that it is much tastier than conventionally grown food, organic food definitely wins on a lot of counts.

However, what you probably didn’t know is that by choosing to go organic, you are also drastically cutting down on food waste.

Here’s a sad fact - roughly one third of the food produced in the world for human consumption every year — approximately 1.3 billion tonnes — gets lost or wasted. Food losses and waste amounts to roughly US$ 680 billion in industrialized countries and US$ 310 billion in developing countries! Imagine all the food we are wasting and all the garbage we are inundating Mother Earth with.

When you support the practice of organic farming, you are basically enabling food waste to be reused and recycled back into the soil as fertiliser(through composting), thus diverting waste away from already overused and overburdened landfills.

This in turn supports an ‘organic circular economy’, a sustainable food system that encourages the re-purposing of organic food waste through recycling and ultimately closing the loop on food waste and stopping it rotting away in landfills.

Choosing to go organic not only means we are protecting our future food security, but also immensely reducing waste and recapturing the energy in discarded food. It can also reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by the breakdown of discarded food in landfills.

So, will you start shopping organic today?

Eating is arguably one of the most important act for one's yoga practice. The nourishment of the body forms a foundation for nourishment of the mind and your emotions. Think of it this way. Imagine yourself devoting all your days to perfecting your yoga practice, and then sustaining your body only on high doses of sugar and caffeine. What kind of effect do you think it will have on you body, your emotions?

Just as you commit yourself to your morning Pranayama and daily asanas, it is easy to see that a balanced mind can come easily to you if you commit yourself to nourish your body with the right kind of food. But how exactly do you do that?

Extending your yoga practice to your dinner table is not an easy feat, mostly because the classic yogic philosophies do not list any specific foods for following a ‘yogic diet’. Moreover, even if our yogic ancestors did prescribe some sort of diet, it wouldn’t be easily available or appropriate today for each one of us.

However, there is still a modern-day yogic diet, with ingredients that enhance clarity and lightness, keeping the body light and nourished and the mind clear. Eating organic food is a classic example of something that is better for both the body and the environment.

Close to Mother Earth

Our food choices have a tremendous effect on our physical and mental health, the quality of our subtle energy, our meditation and spiritual practice, the economy of the world, and the ecological health of Earth. By becoming mindful and aware of our food choices, we can help address many issues.

The organic food diet, much like yoga, supports one’s spiritual practice. It includes fresh, healthy, free-from chemicals food that is close to its natural form, that provides all necessary nutrients, and that is prepared in a spiritually pure atmosphere, having minimal impact on the Earth’s ecological health.

Eating Fresh

We evolved eating foods fresh from the ground, or tree. Foods were not stored or processed. When foods are in their fresh, natural state, their subtle energy is intact, and we receive and absorb that energy when we eat whole foods. Once a food is picked or stored, its energy begins to leak. In addition, foods begin to lose their nutritional value as soon as they’re picked or processed.

Just like yoga, by eating organic food, we are trying to build up a bank of energy. The more energy we have, the better the progress we make. To preserve and build this energy, our food, just like our yoga practice, must be full of vitality. This will not only improve health, but heighten spiritual consciousness, reduce pollution, destruction, and global greenhouse gas emissions for a better future for us and our future generations.