Organic foods make way into mainstream

Organic food is not genetically modified as so-called 'Frankenfoods,' it is not treated with many of the dangerous chemicals that most crops receive and it is not irradiated. Furthermore, farmers who grow organic foods are rigorously checked for compliance. However, organic foods are significantly more expensive than regular crops and the price may be prohibitive for some.

• Organics is an $11 billion industry in the United States today.
• Products range from food to clothes to cleaning products, and beyond.
• They're available in nearly half of all major U.S. supermarkets and used by 43 percent of the population, according to the Natural Marketing Institute.
• As evidence mounts that we need to take a good look at what we're putting in our bodies, organic foods have become the fastest-growing sector of America's food industry, and show no signs of slowing down.
• In her practice, Rentea treats with vitamins, herbal supplements and homeopathic remedies made of plant or mineral substances in a diluted form.
• Dina Wiesner, the owner with Cyndi Sawaska of Organically Delicious Health Food and Juice Bar in St. John, has had a history of gynecological problems.
• She says organic supplements got her back into life.
• A month later, her prescription drug dose had been decreased significantly and her symptoms were subsiding.
• Mark Snyder, of Sunrise Farm Market in Chesterton, says the food industry began tinkering with food in the 1950s to create longer shelf lifes.
• Diane Haines, 56, the owner of Au Naturel Market in Valparaiso, says if the label states "certified organic," she knows it isn't frankenfood (been genetically modified).
• It's free of pesticides, herbicides and the beef hasn't been fed with antibiotics and growth hormones, and the milk, therefore, is free of them, too.
• The girl was placed on anti-inflammatory drugs and was treated by a pediatric rheumatologist.
• Dr. Chiedu Nchekwube, 54, a family practitioner with Family Medicine and Wellness Center in Merrillville, says organic foods were the norm until the Industrial Age.
• We started not to pay attention to good farming practices like crop rotation," Nchekwube says.