I am certainly not one to preach nor am I a die-hard organic consumer, but I am one that likes to have all of the facts. I definitely purchase organic more today than I ever have, but if it's not available or not convenient, I'm the first one to go back to old habits! In a perfect world, we'd all be eating organic meat and vegetables at every meal, plant and animal-related diseases aren't an issue, and I'd have Ina Garten's kitchen... but back to reality. Buying organic is expensive and often times unavailable.
So when is it most important?
When are you really getting the bang for your buck?
I did a bit of research and the results were pretty conclusive so I've put a list together of the most and least important fruits/vegetables to buy organic.
Top to Buy Organic:
1. Peaches
2. Nectarines
3. Celery
4. Pears
5. Apples
6. Bell Peppers
7. Strawberries
8. Cherries
9. Imported Grapes
10. Raspberries
Least Contaminated:
1. Onion
2. Asparagus
3. Pineapple
4. Avocado
5. Corn
6. Broccoli
7. Watermelon
8. Kiwi
9. Sweet peas
10. Mango
I'd love to get some feedback/opinions on buying and eating organic!
(photo credit: organic-europe.net)
Read Animal Vegetable Miracle by barbara kingsolver. Local trumps organic - but it can be a very hard thing to do - especially in the winter here in the states! For veggies, basically things with a peel do not necessarily need to be bought organic but things where we eat the peel should be. And ideally we would only eat things that are produced locally and in their season, and not shipped from thousands of miles ago 5 months before making it to our supermarket.
ReplyDeleteOrganic dairy and meat is a must I believe with the US' lax laws. It can be expensive and I definitely cant do it all the time but I think it is important to try.
I'll definitely pick that up!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the good advice. We always buy locally here, it's much easier here than at home in the States.
I've heard if you are going to do anything organic, meat and dairy is most important. Does this include all dairy products???
It probably should but with little kids who are big cheese consumers - ok who am I kidding Im a huge cheese consumer! - it gets pricy to shop whole foods every week! So string cheese, feta, parmesan, cheddar all of those I do not buy organic. Only milk, butter, eggs and meat. There is a great chapter in that book on cheese making - I would LOVE to try it some time. I can totally see you doing it!!
ReplyDeletep.s. Ive heard that New Zealand is one of the few countries that could be self sustaining food wise - how cool!