Is Organic Worth It?

Happy Earth Day Everyone! With Earth Day awareness, much attention has shifted towards organic foods. What is organic anyway? Are these foods really worth the price? Here's a brief rundown...

Organic Foods- Years ago there was no such thing as "non-organic foods," but now with the use of pesticides and added chemicals the vast majority of foods at  the grocery store are non-organic. The standards for organic food labeling, most often from the USDA, are different depending on the type of food. If 95%-100% of the food is organic, through the USDA's standards, the following symbol will appear.

Organic Produce- No pesticides, man-made or sewer fertilizers were used. The produce was also not genetically engineered and irradiated. When choosing what to buy organic, pick those fruits and vegetables that the skin will be eaten.

   Dirty Dozen- Produce with the highest amount of pesticide contamination to the edible part:

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

   Clean Fifteen- Produce with little to no pesticide contamination to edible part:

• Onions
• Avocado
• Sweet corn
• Pineapple
• Mangos
• Sweet peas
• Asparagus
• Kiwi
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Cantaloupe
• Watermelon
• Grapefruit
• Sweet potato
• Honeydew melon

Organic Meat(excluding seafood)- Raised with all organic feed and were not given drugs, antibiotics,* or growth hormones. Meat also wasn't irradiated.

Organic Dairy- Animals were fed organically for at least 12 months and were not given antibiotics* or growth hormones.

Organic Eggs- Animals were fed organically and were not given antibiotics.* Cage free is NOT organic (look for more info on eggs in an upcoming blog).

*The antibiotics used in these animal products have been linked to antibiotic resistance in humans, therefore causing sickness.

Nutrition- There are just as many calories in most organic foods opposed to their non-organic counterparts. However, due to the added chemicals in non-organic packaged foods, the nutritional content may be lacking. Recent research have found the antioxidant component of organic produce to be higher in organic fruits and vegetables opposed to non-organic produce. However, ALL fruits and vegetables are healthy and should not be avoided, organic or not!

Take Home Message- If able to, shop organically, not only for the environment, but for your health. Let's face it, you aren't going to buy all organic, but when choosing what to buy get organic animal products first followed by produce in the "dirty dozen." Don't let pesticides scare you in non-organic healthy fruits and vegetables, there is still a lot less chemicals in these foods than the chemicals added to foods in the chip isle!