Hey moms, I was wondering if their are any nutritionists, or just those interested in it, out there who have info on buying organic. I am trying to make an educated decision on whether or not it's worth my money. If you have and articles, or studies, etc. that you know of, could you post them? Or just leave them in a comment? Anything is appreciated!
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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I don't know if this will help or not, but my cousin's husband is a farmer in Simi Valley, California. A little while ago he started growing some of his veggies organically because the demand was so great. He said that if we knew what organic things he had to put on the veggies to get them to grow and keep the bugs away we would be disgusted. He said the smell was enough to kill and personally he would wash the organic stuff more than the pesticides.
I'm sorry if that is enough to gross you out, but on a large scale the organic farmers have to do go through amazing processes to get the yields that they get with pesticides. Just imagine your garden increased to many acres. You can handle the bugs, weeds, etc in your garden and it is completely organic. Could you do that if the entire garden was the size of your neighborhood?
I have no hard evidence to back up my ideas. They are just that, ideas. So feel free to ignore them completely! :)
Thanks for the thoughts. I always wonder what the organic farmers have to do- since they've got to put SOMETHING on their crops. Hmmm, so that's one nay, any yay's?
My mom is all about organic. She gives me all kinds of things to read on it. Overall, there is a list of fruits and veggies (12 things) that are supposedly recommended for everyone to eat organically because the pesticide levels are higher in them than anything else. Something else I've read, that seems to prevail over the organic craze, is that it's better to focus on getting all the vitamins and minerals first because most Americans don't get all of them (despite attempts to fortify our food).
My rule of thumb is that if it's the same price, nothing wrong with buying it organic (Whole Foods here is almost the same price for organic as not-because the non-organic is more expensive). However, I don't believe in breaking the bank for it. I haven't seen any literature necessarily showing the overwhelming advantages of being strictly organic.
I HAVE seen a huge difference for us in trying to cut out things with high fructose corn syrup (stemming from Brig's infantile allergy to it). I notice we're all a lot more consistent in our energy levels throughout the day, and many of those foods we shouldn't be eating anyway.
So I'm not really a yay or nay, but here are the lists:
More absorptive of pesticides:
1. Peaches
2. Apples
3. Sweet Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarines
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Lettuce
9. Grapes (imported from Chile)
10. Pears
11. Spinach
12. Potatoes
Lowest worry:
1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn (frozen)
4. Pineapples
5. Mango
6. Sweet Peas (frozen)
7. Asparagus
8. Kiwi
9. Bananas
10. Cabbage
11. Broccoli
12. Eggplant
That's kind of what I've been thinking and reading about- that moderation is just as effective as going all out organic. As long as you focus on the most important foods, and then what your family consumes the most of (milk for us!) then use your judgment in other foods. Any other suggestions?
Hey Megan: Do you have a source for you lists of more/less absorptive fruits & veggies...not that I don't believe, I just wanted to read more about it. Thanks-
I know, I tend to publish false info, so it's good to have the reference. :)
This is the mailer I got the list from (my mom sent it to me-it's a pricey little brochure in case you are wondering about that): http://www.cspinet.org/nah/index.htm
There are other good resources, or you can google "dirty dozen organic."
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/organic-food/NU00255
http://www.parenting.com/article/Mom/Health/Eating-Green-1201726268247
http://www.thedailygreen.com/healthy-eating/Dirty-Dozen-Foods
this was the only somewhat related topic I could find on the aap website: http://www.healthychildcare.org/pdf/pesticides.pdf
Good luck!
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