Why should you buy organic? How can you buy organic without breaking the bank? What does the label “organic” mean anyway?
Originally, all foods were “organic.” They were grown and prepared without pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, and hormones and we did not use things like irradiation to prevent spoilage. Foods were unrefined, whole, or at most minimally processed. Since World War II and the advent of chemical farming, food has become much more processed and the soils and foods of much of the world have been depleted of minerals and nutrients.
Our food these days, whether of vegetable or animal origin, is not only deficient in nutrients but also full of pollutants, making buying organic that much more important. The modern denaturing of foods through massive refining and chemical treatment deeply affects their life force, making it difficult to foster equilibrium and health.
Pesticides, which have been shown to cause cancer and liver, kidney, and blood diseases, must be dealt with by the immune system. As we consume pesticides, they get lodged in our tissues and increase. The immune system becomes weakened, allowing other carcinogens and pathogens to affect our health. Organic certification is the public’s assurance that products have been grown and handled according to strict procedures without persistent toxic chemical inputs.
In order to buy organic and put your money where it matters most, it’s important to know which foods you should absolutely buy organic and which foods are okay to buy nonorganic.
The Dirty Dozen is a list composed by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that ranks foods based on their content of pesticide residue. The Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables contain high pesticide amounts or additives and they should always be bought organic. If not, you risk exposing yourself to fifty to seventy different chemicals. The following is the current list of the Dirty Dozen, along with the Clean Fifteen, the list of nonorganic produce that is safest to eat. These lists are always changing; go to ewg.org for the most up-to-date information.
The Dirty Dozen
From the most toxic to the least toxic, here’s what you should always buy organic—whether you’re at a conventional grocery store, a health food store, or even the farmers’ market:
Apples
Peaches
Nectarines
Strawberries
Grapes
Celery
Spinach
Sweet bell peppers
Cucumbers
Cherry tomatoes
Snap peas, imported
Potatoes
In addition to strawberries, we recommend that you always buy organic berries, no matter what kind. And always buy organic dairy and meats; our favorite source for high-quality, inexpensive pasture-raised meat products is cleanmeatsforyou.com (and they ship throughout the United States!).
The Clean Fifteen
According to the EWG, the vegetables and fruits on the list below tend to pick up less pesticides and toxins. Although it’s still best to buy organic, in a pinch it’s okay to eat conventionally grown:
Sweet corn
Pineapples
Cabbage
Sweet peas (frozen)
Onions
Asparagus
Mangos
Papayas
Kiwi
Eggplant
Grapefruit
Cantaloupe
Cauliflower
Sweet potatoes
In a perfect world, all food would say “USDA Organic” so you know it’s been through a particular stringent certification process. Unfortunately, that is not the case, but we do have one great tip for purchasing produce: All produce usually has a PLU (price look-up code) sticker. Produce that is organic will have a sticker number that starts with a 9. If it starts with a 4, it’s conventional.
Organic is more expensive. We all agree on that. But the benefits far outweigh the risks, and in the long term it will potentially save you money in doctor’s visits caused by ill health. Lightening our toxic burden in today’s world is becoming more and more important to our long-term health and quality of life.
The reasons below, adapted from a list published in Organic Times in spring 1992, may drive that point home:
1. Keep chemicals off your plate: Pesticides are poisons designed to kill living organisms and can also be harmful to humans. Many EPA-approved pesticides were registered long before extensive research linked these chemicals to cancer and other diseases. Organic agriculture is one way to prevent any more of these chemicals from getting into the air, earth, and water that sustain us—not to mention onto our plates.
2. Protect future generations: Children receive four times more exposure than adults to cancer-causing pesticides in foods.
3. Prevent soil erosion: Three billion tons of topsoil are eroded from crop-lands in the US each year, much of it due to conventional farming practices, which often ignore the health of the soil.
4. Protect water quality: The EPA estimates that pesticides pollute the primary source of drinking water for more than half the country’s population.
5. Support organic farmers: Organic agriculture respects the balance demanded of a healthy ecosystem. Wildlife is encouraged by including forage crops in rotation and by retaining fence rows, wetlands, and other natural areas.
6. Save energy: More energy is now used to produce synthetic fertilizers than to till, cultivate, and harvest all the crops in the US.
7. Support small farmers: Although more and more large-scale farms are making the conversion to organic practices, most organic farms are small, independently owned and operated family farms. The USDA reported that in 1997, half of US farm production came from only 2 percent of farms. Organic agriculture can be a lifeline for small farms because it offers an alternative market where sellers can command fair prices for crops.
8. Support a true economy: Organic foods might seem expensive; however, your tax dollars pay for hazardous waste cleanup and environmental damage caused by conventional farming.
9. Promote biodiversity: Planting large plots of land with the same crop year after year tripled farm production between 1950 and 1970, but the lack of natural diversity of plant life has negatively affected soil quality.
10. Promote soil nourishment and great flavor: Organic farming starts with the nourishment of the soil, producing nourished plants. Well-balanced soil produces strong, healthy plants that taste great. Conduct your own taste test!