What exactly does Organic mean in regards to produce and animal products? Are these foods more nutritious or arethey just safer? Should I make theswitch to organic foods? These aresome questions I have been asked over the years. Usually I rattle off a vague answer about how we don’t fullyunderstand the effects of non-organic on our bodies since it’s a relatively newtrend and there aren’t enough long-term studies. It’s amusing because a lot of the people who ask these questions havebigger “fish to fry” than pesticide content on their plates. For example, a mother of a patient withNewly diagnosed Kidney Failure wanted to know if she should make organic apriority in her son’s new diet. The Renal diet involves a long list of forbidden foods so following those guidelines should be her main priority. Once one fully understands their special diet, I’d be happy to talk about organic. That’s why I’ve always given vagueanswers- the population with whom I was working didn’t need to know about this stuff. Now that I’m blogging about nutritionfor the common man, organic seems like a pretty good topic to discuss.
In order for produce to receive organic certification, itmust be grown without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetic modification,or ionizing radiation. Animalproducts can’t be given antibiotics or growth hormones. The USDA governs organic labeling inwhich there are 3 categories:
- 100% Organic
- Organic: made with at least 95% organic ingredients
- Made with Organic Ingredients: made with at least 70% organic ingredients and no genetic modifications
Is organic more nutritious?
Some recently published studies have shown organic tomatoesto have higher phytochemical and vitamin C levels than their non-organiccounterparts. However, there aren’t enough studies to make this conclusiveevidence yet. Since a lot ofnon-organic produce is genetically modified to grow faster or ripen slower,their flavors and nutrient content may be compromised. The faster an orange grows, the lesstime it has to absorb all the valuable nutrients from the soil leaving theconsumer with an inferior product. Many gourmet chefs are insisting on cooking with organic foods nowbecause they believe they provide a superior taste and quality. Keep in mind that processed organicfoods are not necessarily healthier. They may still be high in sugar, fat, or sodium.
Is organic safer?
Conventional foods use chemical pesticides to protect theircrops and a lot of them retain pesticide residue. Organic produce has much less pesticide residues so eatingorganic will limit your pesticide exposure. However, all produce must abide by government safety limits so nothing in the supermarket will have toxic levels of pesticide. One of the best guarantees with organic produce is that there are noadditives, preservatives, artificial colorings, or MSG.
What are some cons to buying organic?
- Cost: this is due to higher costs of farming and no subsidies from the government
- Shelf-life: produce tends to spoil faster due to the lack of preservatives or genetic modification
If you can afford an organic lifestyle than that’sgreat. For the rest of us(myself included), the Environmental Working Group has created a list of produce with the highest levels ofpesticide residue. I recommend using this convenient wallet card to determine which produceis more important to buy organic:
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| Wallet Card for Easy Shopping |
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