Foods That Are Important to Buy Organic

Foods that are important to buy organic can be summed up in one easy way – buy organic as often as possible when you can afford it. The more complex choice is that when budgets are strapped we need to make tough decisions because organic foods cost more than conventional.

organic apples

As noted above, the more organic you can afford, the better for your family. Why have pesticides and toxins in your food when you don’t need to? However, organic foods can be expensive. When it comes to choosing where your dollars should go to get the most organic bang for your buck, it can be a hard call to make. There are arguments for all sorts of organic products, and not all arguments or research agrees which conventional foods are the most hazardous for you and your family.

That said, there are foods that pop up time and time again in studies and articles as foods you should highly consider buying organic. When it comes to foods that are important to buy organic, your best bet is to first buy the following foods and then move on to other food items if you can afford it.

Fruits and vegetables are often grown with toxic levels of pesticides and chemicals. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as much as 1.5 billion pounds of pesticides are used on crops yearly. The EPA reports pesticide use as one of America’s worst environmental and health concerns. To learn more about why these pesticides are so harmful visit the EPA’s pesticides health and safety page.

Your best odds to avoid chemicals in produce are to only buy conventional produce that’s armored. For instance pineapples, bananas, and avocados grow naturally thick skins or covers over their fruit. This helps to limit the pesticides that make it into your body. Another way to eliminate pesticides is to wash food carefully in plenty of clean water.

Research from the Department of Agriculture reports that some fruits and veggies retain massive amounts of pesticides whether you wash them carefully or not; this is the produce to avoid. Peaches are a good example of this. A recent study by the USDA Pesticide Data Program found that even after washing, pesticides were found in 98 percent of peaches. The biggie toxic offenders that you should always buy organic include:

• Apples
• Imported grapes
• Bell peppers
• Strawberries
• Nectarines
• Spinach
• Red raspberries
• Soybeans
• Celery
• Peaches
• Peanuts – including peanut butter
• Pears
• Cherries
• Potatoes

Don’t forget to buy organic produce in other forms. Since you should always buy organic apples and grapes also buy organic applesauce, organic apple juice, and organic raisins and jams. This includes canned, frozen, and jarred items.

Meats, including poultry and eggs, are always better organic. Organic meats can cost as much as 50 percent more than conventional meats. However, the costs here are worth it. For good health people should eat less meat anyway, so a higher cost may be a blessing in disguise.

Only about 15 percent of meat tested by the USDA has pesticide chemicals in it. The real reason to buy organic meats stems from antibiotic and hormone use; both are banned in certified organic meats. One major issue with antibiotics used for animals is that the use can breed disease-resistant forms of bacteria. So, if an animal can’t fight a disease as well and then they end up on your table the disease may still be present.

Eco-label, a website from the publishers of Consumer Reports is a great site that covers what food labels mean and gives definitions on organic terms. Their meat page is something to take a look at. It’s shocking what’s allowed as food for animals grown for meat. Organically raised animals are raised in more humane ways and don’t ingest hormones or chemicals.

Another benefit of organic meats is that they are lower in saturated fats and higher in omega-3 because, according to eco-label, animals raised on grasses and natural feed are healthier. Fish is one food item that is safe in its conventional form as well as organic. There have been fewer studies that show high pesticide or hormone contaminates in fish. To learn more take a look at these articles on organic beef and organic chicken.

When it comes to cheese, milk, yogurt, and other dairy foods, the same issues that occur with meat come into play. If it comes from an animal then you have to consider what goes into that animal. High levels of antibiotics and hormones have been found in conventional dairy products. If you can try to buy all your dairy organic.

Foods that are important to buy organic applies far less to the grain-based food group than any other. Most grains including breads, pastas, and cereals have been found to be very low in concentrated pesticides. One exception is rice. Various studies note that more pesticides are found in rice than other grains perhaps because of growing conditions (standing water).

Luckily, organic rice is almost as cheap as conventional, especially if you buy in bulk. There are plenty of organic grain choices available, but this is one area where you can save money if you like and buy conventional.

A smart decision is keep up with the organic market and organic food news. By teaching yourself about foods that are important to buy organic you can make important and healthy food choices for you and your family. The Organic Consumers Association has a food safety page where you can learn about important organic food updates and find organic food resources and research.

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