What's the Organic Food Industry Up To?

As people are becoming more health conscious, traditional ways of farming are being patronized by farmers as well as big corporations in order to meet the consumers' demands. This calls for farming practices that does not involve genetically enhanced crops and livestock, chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Indeed, the organic food industry is experiencing a growth compared to its genetically modified counterparts.

So, what's the big deal with the organic food industry? Some people say that it is no better than crops grown with artificial fertilizers and livestock feed with enriched ingredients. But what people need to know is that the organic food industry offers them with the safest and cheapest agricultural produce that will benefit every one's health.

The organic food industry is also regulated by the governments of the countries where they operate. They have to comply with the standards of the government because each country has their own parameters of when to consider food as "organic".

Here are some reasons why the industry should be recognized as the excellent provider of organic foods that are naturally grown.

• The organic industry does not use chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers pose a threat to people who eat plants treated with it. People can also ingest the harmful toxins in chemical fertilizers by eating crops which are artificially "fattened" by these fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers also exhaust the soil, draining its valuable nutrients. Instead, they use natural fertilizers such as animal manure and urea and decomposed plants. Such fertilizers are safe, and plants grown with natural fertilizers have more nutrients.

• As much as possible, the organic farmers avoid the use of pesticides. Pesticides can also be ingested by eating the crop sprayed with it. It can literally poison someone little by little.

• Mostly they let their animals graze the fields and pastures and eat grass instead of artificial feeds which are made of animal by-products. Livestock who eat their natural diet are healthier (and more nutritious). You can be also sure that they are free from harmful viruses and diseases like foot and mouth disease and mad cow disease. These animals are also free from growth hormones which alter their genes.

• Unlike processed meat, meat produced by the organic companies is free from additives, artificial coloring and extenders.

Here are some other benefits from the this growing industry.

• It promotes healthy diet and healthy living
• It helps maintain the balance in the ecosystem
• It uses soil in a way that its nutrients wouldn't be bleached out
• Organic farms also uses less energy and produces less waste, meaning it is energy efficient and cleaner than conventional farming
• It promotes concern for the environment

This industry could be considered as one of the fastest growing industries nowadays. It can really help us attain a cleaner and greener environment and it also motivates us to eat healthy foods. What's not to like about the organic food industry?

Home Health Care History

The early nineteenth century witnessed the initial stages of the home health care industry that offered qualified nurses to take care of the poor and sick in their homes. In 1909 when Metropolitan Life Insurance Company started to write policies that comprised of home health care, this industry became very popular. This company is credited for paying the first compensation for home health care industry. This gave rise to the birth of organized home health care.

The Great Depression in 1929 caused several businesses along with home care industry a lot of hindrances and struggle. This went on till the follow-up visits made by nurses after hospital discharge became reimbursable by the Medicare Act of 1966. The home care industry became most feasible and practical when Medicare in an attempt to reduce hospitalization costs set up DRG's program (Diagnostic Related Group). This laid down that some disease or hospital practice needed a certain stay period. So the discharged patients were more sick compared to their DRG counterparts.

The story does not finish with DRGs. This in fact was the commencement of patient care vs. medical ethics debate. This subject shall be soon addressed in the present health care reform segment. The price of health care is the issue. Questions like how much does a human life cost and how long one should pay for keeping alive a person after he ceases to be a contributor to the society need to be addressed.

Home health care industry needs to answer these questions. The main intention of the DRG programs was to cut down the hospital stay in order to lower hospitalization costs. Thus this becomes a challenge to the agencies. But gradually home care started becoming expensive. The Balanced Budge Act of 1997 hand one major side effect. It limited the benefit days to the patients under home health care thereby lowering the compensations to the various home health care agencies. This resulted in many of these agencies going out of business.

The price to take care of a patient will always stay an issue. There was a growth of nosocomial diseases in hospitals that lead to heavy health care costs. Patients started getting discharged in a much sicker condition than before. This put additional burden on the family of the patient to make available good care once the family member is home. Also majority of the people were working. Home health care agencies that provide services were unable to discharge patients when they exceed their Medicare days if they are in a bad condition or its not safe to depart from them without any nursing services.

In case the home care agency declines admission of a patient who seems sicker than the number of reimbursement days allowed by the government, the patients' family does not have too many choices. In case of the patient being discharged without any adequate follow-up care, the patients' family can seek services of a qualified agency that could strain on emergency room visits and re-hospitalization leading to more compensation issues. Such questions are difficult to answer more so in cases where cost is to be taken care of. But, as time passes, such questions will continue to haunt till there are satisfactory answers to them.