How can I eat healthier?
Organic. What does it mean?
Organic foods are produced according to certain standards which try to reflect the natural growth cycle as close as possible. For crops, it means they were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers, human waste, or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without ionizing radiation or food additives. For animals, it means they were reared without the routine use of antibiotics and without the use of growth hormones. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.
How do I really know what I am buying was actually grown organically?
In order to protect the consumer from false labelling organic food is increasingly being regulated by various certification organizations such as the USDA. These organizations test soil and crops for levels of pesticides and fertilizers, and in the case of meat and dairy products, antibiotics, and artificial hormones. In order for foods to be labelled organic they must contain less than the allowable amount of the above criteria which is usually less than 5%. Most countries also do not allow for genetically modified products in foods labelled organic.
But is it really worth it?
Some people feel that everything should be organic. However, the amount of total cost of purchasing something organic must be less than the cost of convential means of production. Total cost is not just a dollar amount, but also the cost to quality - which is what organic is all about.
For example, if you lived in New York City and were to purchase a pack of organic blueberries from California, you would have to account for the energy it would take to grow that food in an organic fashion and to transport it across 3,000km. You also have to factor in the decrease in quality such as mold, as well as the increase in time between the food being picked before it hits your plate for all of traveling hours.
If you were to instead purchase blueberries from up-state New York that may have used pesticides, but did not have to travel as far to get to you, the blueberries closer to you may actually be better for you and for the environment.
What foods are worth buying organic?
Below is a list of what is worth the extra dollars and what is trival regarding its state of being organic.
What fruits and vegetables are worth buying organic?
Worth the organic label:
- Apples
- Bell peppers
- Celery
- Cherries
- Grapes
- Nectarines
- Peaches
- Pears
- Potatoes
- Raspberries
- Spinach
- Strawberries
Why? Testings have revealed that when conventionally grown these fruits and vegetables to contain the most pesticide resiudes. Based on an analysis of more than 100,000 U.S. government pesticide test results, researchers at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a research and advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., have developed the "dirty dozen" fruits and vegetables, above, that they say you should always buy organic if possible because their conventionally grown counterparts tend to be laden with pesticides.
Not necessarily worth buying organic:
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Bananas
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Corn
- Kiwi
- Mangoes
- Onions
- Papayas
- Pineapples
- Peas
These foods do not require a large amount of pesticides to grow conventially. Some of the foods listed, such as bananas and mangoes, have thick skins that are peeled off when eaten, thus ridding them of any pesticides you may possibly ingest.
Local foods, and foods that are in season usually will have lower amounts of pesticides and/or irradition because their life on the shelf is much shorter. Just as important as canned foods containing unhealthy preservatives, produce must also find ways of staying fresh, which usually means a reduction in quality by irradition, adding wax, or other undesireable shelf-life extending methods.
What Meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy are worth buying organic?
- All!
Cows are meant to eat grass. Cows are not meant to eat other cows - when cows eat other cows nature strikes back with "mad cow disease". Organically raised livestock are fed food they naturally eat. They are also free from growth hormones, antibiotics, and gentically modified feed. Most organic livestock certifcations also require the animals to be "free range", meaning they were raised in a manner where they could roam around the farm freely, instead of being raised in strictly confined spaces living horifically miserable lives before their horifically miserable deaths.
Organic meat/dairy is even more expensive than organic crops. Organic meat and dairy is usually double that of conventional meat and dairy, however the impact can be viewed to be higher. Since antibiotics and animal hormones remain in the fatty tissue that we eat, we are more likely to absorb them into our bodies opposed to pesticides on fruits and vegetables, which can sometimes be washed off or avoided by peeling the "skin" off of the food.
What Baby food are worth buying organic?.
- All!
Young children are more susceptible to toxins than adults. Thus ensuring your child is eating healthy - buying organic baby food is a much safer choice.
Cost variances between organic and non-organic baby food is too wide a spectrum to cover in this summary as it varies widely depending on the region.
What seafood is worth buying organic?
- None.
Why? Currently, the USDA has not yet developed organic certification standards for seafood. The reasoning is that it is quite difficult to certify a body of water as organic where the seafood originated from. Meanwhile, realizing the popularity of the term "organic", producers and farmers having been making their own "organic" labels. The scary part is that it is legal for them to do so as long as they do not use "USDA" or "certified organic" logos. Do not be fooled into paying top dollar for seafood labelled "organic" - at this time it is too hard to create organic standards and too easy for distributors to fool the consumer.
