Should I Buy Organic? 10/14/2009
Most people are aware of the immense benefits that fruits and vegetables can provide to you. Less people are aware of what all the labeling means when it comes to purchasing a product that is organic or not. There is a lot of debate in the news recently about whether or not eating organic is truly better for you. I personally am on the side that supports organic fruit and I do notice a better taste in most organic fruits versus those that are grown conventionally. At the same time I try to pick and choose which produce I buy organically because as most of you may know, buying organic fruits can be quite expensive. As I think is the case with all purchasing decisions, be a smart shopper and use a cost benefit analysis in your mind to conclude which item is worth the extra cost. I will touch on this in more detail later but for now let’s start with the basics. The word “organic” has been quite the buzz word and you see it everywhere you look, especially in the produce section of the Grocery store. What does it really mean? Organic simply refers to how the product is grown and processed. There are substantial differences between conventional and organic farmers. Conventional farmers focus more on using chemicals to keep their crops healthy and to maximize their crop production. They apply fertilizers to stimulate plant growth, use insecticides to reduce insects/plant disease and use various chemicals to prevent and kill weeds from growing. Organic farmers focus much more on a natural way of growing crops and stay away from potentially dangerous chemicals. They use natural fertilizers to nourish the plants and help them to grow. They also do a great deal of research to use beneficial insects and birds to help reduce pests and disease in the crops. They go to great lengths to reduce weeds by rotating crops, tilling the soil, mulching and even hand weeding. Thankfully the USDA has a set list of guidelines that are strictly enforced and must be met in order for an item to be sold with an organic label. In order for a food to be certified organic it must meet certain criteria regarding how it is grown and processed. Small producers who sell less than $5,000 dollars a year are exempt from these regulations, so keep that in mind when buying from a small fruit stand. It is very important to understand how the food labeling system works when it comes to purchasing organic foods, because it can be misleading to the untrained eye. The following are the three types of organic labeling as listed by the USDA: • If the label reads “100 percent organic,” that means the product contains ingredients that are completely organic or made of all organic ingredients. • If the label reads “Organic,” that means the product contains ingredients that are at least 95 percent organic. • If the label reads, “Made with organic ingredients,” that means the product contains ingredients that are at least 70 percent organic. The organic seal can’t be used on these packages. It also is important to keep in mind that products containing multiple ingredients can use the organic label depending on the number of organic ingredients it contains. You can check the ingredients label to see exactly which ingredients are organic. No product can contain any sort of USDA Organic label if it is less than 70% organic. It also is important not to be fooled by labels that say things such as, “all-natural,” because that is not the same as organic. Now that you better understand the labeling system you are probably wondering if it really is worth buying organic over conventional grown fruits. Organic fruits do cost the most because of the more expensive farming techniques that must be used to meet the tighter regulations applied to them. Organic farms produce less fruit than conventional crops because they do not use any chemicals to enhance the crop production. The law of supply and demand can be seen here because when you have less of a product available, it sells for a higher price when people demand it. Since they do not use chemicals to protect their crops, it requires them to use more manual labor, which costs more and again drives up the price. Chemical lacking food is a clear benefit to buying organic food though, if you are looking to reduce your body’s exposure to chemicals and pesticides. In reality, however, most experts say the amount of chemicals left on washed fruit is not enough to cause any serious health risks. Some people claim that organic fruit tastes better than conventionally grown fruit but that is more of a matter of opinion. I personally find that organic fruits do have a better taste to them. But I did not want to just rely on my own opinion so I took it upon myself to do a couple of random taste tests on family/friends to see if they noticed a difference between organic and conventionally grown fruits. I found that almost everyone I experimented with this taste test preferred the taste of organic fruit based on a blind taste test. The fruits I used for the test were bananas, apples and various berries. I recommend testing this on your own and see what you find. Experts suggest that certain fruits are better to buy organic based on various factors. Apples, blackberries, cherries, peaches, pears, raspberries and strawberries are all suggested fruits to buy organic. Bananas, kiwi, mangoes, papaya, and pineapples are all considered not necessary to pay the extra money to purchase organic. In the end, there is no conclusive evidence that organic fruits contain more nutrients than conventionally grown fruits. It has however been shown that conventionally grown fruits today contain less nutrients than they used to back in our grandparents generations. I strongly believe that once more research is done is will show that in fact organic fruits contain more nutrients and are worth the additional costs in certain cases. Until then, no research can take into consideration how much better I feel when I eat high quality fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. CommentsLeave a Reply |
