To Buy, or Not to Buy…Organic Produce
Have you been in the produce department of the grocery store completely stumped as to whether or not to buy organic? I know I have. I’ve stood there weighing the options of whether to avoid the possibility of pesticide residue on my fruits and vegetables and therefore buy organic, or whether to save my money and buy the non-organic option. I can tell you I often have this dilemma when it comes to buying berries, because the cost difference between the two can be pretty significant. Is it so wrong that I want a luscious, nutritious strawberry, free of any pesticides, but I don’t want to have to take out a loan? Should it be so difficult buying fresh produce??
The deal is that more than 70 percent of the non-organic, traditionally farmed produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful pesticides, which you can’t just wash off. Pesticides are controversial. Sure, they allow for the mass production of food for us humans, but research has shown that exposure to certain pesticides are linked to a host of human illnesses and disease. Meanwhile, organic produce has been grown and processed using no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, making them a much safer (albeit more expensive) option.
When you see that organic label on your produce (the code always starts with a “9” by the way), this means that it is certified by the USDA using strict standards that verify farmers or handling facilities located anywhere in the world comply with the USDA Organic Regulations (read about those standards here). And because of the strict practices organic farms need to comply with, their produce costs more.
The thing is, even though non-organic farming methods use chemical pesticides, not all crops are as susceptible to being tainted by them. So even though a banana may be farmed in a traditional way, the residue risk is very low, making it safe to buy the non-organic option.
How do I know this? Because the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit organization whose mission it is to empower consumers with breakthrough research to help them make informed decisions, puts out an annual Dirty Dozen™ and Clean Fifteen™ list— a quick consumer reference about the most and least pesticide-contaminated produce. Download your handy lists by clicking on this link. (I keep mine in my wallet so I can pull it out while I’m shopping.)
The Dirty Dozen list includes the top 12 traditionally farmed produce that contain the highest levels of pesticides. For these 12 items, it’s best to buy organic. While the Clean Fifteen list includes the 15 crops that contain the lowest levels of pesticides, making this produce safe to buy non-organic. Now, obviously, not every produce item is listed here, so if you’re curious about a fruit or veggie you buy often, do a little Google searching before you head to the store or farmers’ market.
And speaking of farmers’ markets, don’t assume all local farmers are using organic farming methods. Best way to find out: ask the person behind the booth; usually it’s the farmer themself.
Now, back to that berry dilemma. You’ll see on the Dirty Dozen list that strawberries are it. Blueberries, however, are on the Clean 15. Whereas raspberries and blackberries aren’t on the list at all (I need to do some Googling myself). So, looks like next time I want to buy berries, I can confidently do a little mixing and matching to save some money and still know I’m putting the safest options into my body.
I hope this was helpful, my Healthy-Curious friends! Happy shopping…and eating!
xoxo Julie