The price of food has skyrocketed this past year. I think I read a statistic recently that overall food prices are up 30% So what do you do if your budget is already being strained? How do you decide which foods you should go organic with and which you can just buy the least expensive. One interesting fact, nutritionally speaking, non-organic foods are just as nutritious for you as their organic counterparts.
In an article at Forecast Earth,
According to the non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., peaches are the “dirtiest” fruit around, with the highest likelihood of containing pesticide residue of the 44 conventionally grown (in other words, non-organic) fruits and vegetables they reviewed.
Wow, peaches? Really? Followed by apples, strawberries, cherries, grapes, and pears. For vegetables: bell peppers, celery, and lettuce. All of these contained high levels of numerous pesticides.
I buy all of these items routinely. Not always organic… in fact I would be hard pressed to remember the last time I bought organic grapes. Lettuce I always buy organic. Green peppers… never. Not sure there is any rhyme or reason to my shopping, just the items that are readily available and affordable.
I try to buy organic in the foods where we actually eat the skin…
It makes more sense to me to NOT eat those pesticides directly.
And why would organic food be any more nutritious than any other food?
Comment by DW — June 1, 2008 @ 9:58 pm
DW, I asked myself that same question at first, but I think that some people have the misconception that since organic food is better for you, it is more healthy for you, and therefore more nutritious. I probably didn’t make my point clearly in the post above.
Comment by Chris — June 2, 2008 @ 11:11 pm
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Comment by LEE — June 4, 2008 @ 3:28 pm
I saw on a news show that if you are planning to buy organic fruits and vegetables, consider this: Those with the thinnest skin and juiciest insides are ones that “store” the most pesticides. In other words, try to buy the following organic: apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, raspberries, spinach, strawberries and tomatoes.
Items with a thicker and tougher skin are o.k. to buy conventional, such as: avacados, pineapples, cantaloupe,cauliflower, green melon, mangos, sweet peas, asparagus, onions, broccoli, bananas, kiwis and papayas (but rinse them to be safe).
Comment by Krissy — June 5, 2008 @ 4:23 pm
When I was in college, we had someone from the agricultural extension come into my nutrition class. They explained that “organic” is not always “organic”. The farmers can grow organic products right beside a field that they use pesticides on (some only a few feet apart). These pesticides leach into the soil of both areas and therefore, if you’re not growing your own, you really have no idea if your ingesting the pesticides or not. Bottom line, make sure you are purchasing from a reputable organic company.
Comment by Mel — June 6, 2008 @ 10:09 am
I am a chemist and will only buy organic fruits and vegetables. The pesticides that are used on fruits and veggies not grown in the united states are very toxic and should not be used. We usually try to buy from local farmers. We only buy organic milk in glass from a local dairy. Organic food is not more nutrious, just safer. If there is a pore on the surface of the veggie or fruit then there is room for possible contamination of the pesticide.
Comment by Janet — June 13, 2008 @ 10:10 am
I am an environmental graduate student at UCSD, and I’ve seen plenty of studies that show that organic produce is higher in vitamin & mineral content than the conventional counterparts are after many generations. The rationale in the conclusions is that produce that is fed chemical fertilizers and pesticides don’t have to “work” as hard to stay alive, and phytonutrients, vitamins & minerals are what plants use to this end. After many generations, the genes for the good stuff are not passed on to the next crop, and the phytonutrient, vitamin & mineral content goes down. So if you can find farmers who have been growing organic for a while, their produce IS going to be more nutritious!
Comment by Marie — August 13, 2008 @ 3:33 am
Organic food are not wholesome minerals sometimes. But it really works try them for good results.
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Liza
A Canadian company, Naturally Nova Scotia, makes supplements from foods instead of synthetics. The have vitamin C from fruit, herbal tinctures, green drinks, vitamin D3, and others.
Supplements from Foods
Comment by Liza — February 18, 2009 @ 7:26 am