When to spring for organic produce
Filed under: Budgets, Food, Health
It's Earth Day and everywhere I turn, I keep seeing green. Last weekend alone, I read articles on green remodeling and chemical-free gardening and yesterday I watched a segment on The Today Show called "Green Your Diet."
According to Today Show guest Annie Bell Muzaurieta of Greendaily.com, the five fruits and vegetables worth springing for organic are peaches, sweet bell peppers, apples, celery and strawberries-those most likely to retain the highest level of pesticides.
The big question is, Does it pay to buy organic? According to a Weight Watchers article titled "Organic Foods: A Shopper's Guide," buying organic is worth the extra cost for pregnant women and children under three, when buying foods you eat most often or a lot of, and food that contains a lot of pesticides (Their list includes peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes).
Of course, it's hard to measure the benefits of switching to an organic diet, but it comes down to whether there's room in your budget for the added cost of produce made without pesticides or fertilizers. The good news is that organic produce is more widely available in supermarkets than ever before, but it can still be up to 100% more expensive than conventional produce.
When I buy conventional produce, I wash it with a product called Veggie Wash sold in many supermarkets for about $4. The spray bottle lasts months and was recommend to me by a naturopath when I was doing a detoxification program last year. I'm sure it doesn't remove pesticides absorbed into food, but it helps me feel like I'm doing something to reduce the toxins in my family's diet.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-22-2008 @ 1:52PM
sarah gilbert said...
whenever I start to worry about the cost of organic food, I think, "pay now or pay later!" -- lots of people are agreeing now that eating conventionally-grown produce and animals raised in CAFO conditions (and of course processed foods made from these things) is the cause of many of our "lifestyle diseases" -- cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. eat healthy now and you won't be mired in health care bills in 40 years!
not to mention the environmental cost, which is almost without measure.
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4-23-2008 @ 2:55PM
Ed said...
Great blog! There%u2019s plenty of useful information and motivation. I%u2019ll definitely be back. I%u2019ve been juicing for years starting with a %u201CVitamix%u201D in the 70%u2019s to a %u201CJuiceman in the 90%u2019s and love juicing%u2019s benefits. Recently I found a ready to mix powder that has 30 fruits and berries, 30 super greens and vegetables, 11 nuts, seeds and sprouts all in an easy to mix, delicious, organic concentrate that has 83 Active Enzymes and Minerals and 22 Resilient Living Probiotics. It's absolutely the best raw whole food supplement on the market today. Great for people on the go! And all for just $1 per serving! Now that's juicing for the new millennium! And yes, I still make a fresh carrot, apple, parsley juice cocktail in my home juicer and I freeze the carrot and apple pulp for fresh carrot cake!
Grace and Peace,
Ed
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4-25-2008 @ 5:32PM
Austin Chu said...
Great post. I like sarah said. Pay now or pay later. I'm moving slowly all to organic. Yes it's expensive, but hey I'm not going down for chemicals bioaccumulating in my system. I've got my company to start getting organic chips, animal crackers, and fruits. We are slowly shifting being more ecologically conscious. Our CEO drives a prius, I drive my 1983 MBZ 300TD that runs on veggieoil, one of our programmers carpools from Corona, CA to Irvine, CA--and he sometimes rides his bike home. ( 35 miles ) Organic for life. Seriously.
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4-27-2008 @ 12:03AM
Debbie said...
The comments about the environmental impact are really on the mark. The jury may be out on the nutritional benefits, but how can we dispute the effects on the soil and groundwater?
Debbie
www.organic-food-and-drink.com
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