organic produce – Eco Home Ideas

10 Reasons To Go Organic

Organic food is all the rage and it just sounds like a good idea. However, it can be more expensive and difficult to get, so many people question if it’s worth it. Spoilers: it totally is. Here are the ten best reasons to go organic.

1. They are more nutritious – Several independent studies have concluded that organic food is richer in nutrients than more traditional options. Organic produce has a higher content of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals like iron, calcium, chromium and magnesium.

2. They are better for children – Growing children need a healthy diet to help their brains and body develop correctly. This is why they need all the nutrients they can get. Besides, their growing bodies are more susceptible to toxins and other contaminants that come from pesticides and GMO crops.

3. They just taste better – Organic food is more flavorful than regular produce and the most important thing for a cook is to choose the right ingredients. All your dishes will taste better and you might even get your kids to eat broccoli without a fight.

4. It supports local businesses and families – Buying organic food from your local producers will help them create a livelihood and support their families. Your hard-earned money will go to someone working in their own farm and not to some big company’s pockets.

5. It reduces water pollution – Pesticides are one of the primary contaminants that pollute drinking water sources. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, pesticides in produce contaminate the water source for half the American population. By buying organic, you reduce demand for pesticide-ridden food and, by extension, of pesticides.

6. It’s better for the earth – Locally grown organic food is the sustainable way to produce our food. Modern mass-agricultural practices are destructive on the soil and damage the environment in many parts of the world. Local farmers don’t need to raze the Amazon forest to get enough room to plant their produce.

7. It’s antibiotic and hormone-free – Organic meat does not contain the insane amounts of synthetic hormones, drugs and antibiotics that are common in traditionally produced meat. As a bonus, the animals are usually treated better and live in humane conditions.

8. It reduces your cancer risk – According to the US EPA, 90% of fungicides, 60% of herbicides and 30% of insecticides are carcinogenic. This means that most traditionally sourced food is potentially cancer-inducing or might increase the chance of developing abnormal cell growth.

9. It’s safer for farm workers – Research has shown that people regularly exposed to pesticides have a 70% higher chance of developing Parkinson’s disease. Local farmers that choose not to use pesticides do not carry this risk and are able to work in their farm without exposing themselves to unsafe conditions.

10. It protects local wildlife – Pesticides are designed to kill organisms. And even if they are “relatively safe” for animals and people, the truth is that contamination through pesticides is harming wildlife and destroying habitats around the world.

Clean Food: Produce Free of Pesticides

Not all of us can afford organic produce. Sure, it’s healthy, clean and a better choice over mass-farmed vegetables, but it’s also more expensive. And as much as we’d love to eat exclusively locally sourced, ethically farmed, organic produce straight from the farmers’ market, sometimes Walmart’s produce section will have to do. Luckily, we can still avoid pesticides by choosing the right ingredients.

The Environmental Working Group releases a report every year on the state of organic produce and food in America. The paper examines the pesticide content in more than 48 food items, both locally produced and imported. But even if the report goes well into detail, people usually just pay attention to its two master lists. The “Dirty Dozen”, that recounts the twelve more contaminated products, and the “Clean Fifteen”, with the fifteen items with less pesticides. These lists are a great guide to eat healthy on a budget. If you can’t afford to buy all your produce organic, you are better off splurging on the products that normally carry more pesticide content.

The Dirty Dozen

Let’s start with the vegetables you want to avoid unless you know their source. The EWG found traces of pesticides in two thirds of all produce, but who are the worst offenders? Apples. Innocent, delicious apples tested positive for agrochemicals in 99% of the samples. They were closely followed by 98% of peaches and 97% of nectarines. Samples of grapes and bell peppers showed traces of 15 different pesticides each, while potatoes had more pesticides by weight than any other vegetable. The list is completed by strawberries, celery, spinach, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and cucumbers.

While not in the traditional dirty dozen list, the EWG found several leafy greens like kale and hot peppers tested positive for extremely harmful insecticides. They do not have a high enough concentration of pesticides to be on the list, but the toxicity of the chemicals pushed the EWG to recommend buying organic as well.

The Clean Fifteen

On the flip-side, avocados proved to be the cleanest product, showing detectable pesticides in only 1% of the samples. More clean produce includes 89% of pineapples, 88% of mango 82% of kiwi, 80% of papayas and 61% of cantaloupe, that showed no residues of agrochemicals. If you want to stock up your pantry, you should also look for sweet corn, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, asparagus, onions, grapefruit, cauliflower, sweet potatoes and eggplant.

If you want to eat cleaner and healthier every day, your grocery shopping has to change. Try to buy your produce from different sources, which will limit your exposure to a single pesticide. Besides, if you try to buy seasonal veggies from local markets, you are guaranteed to get fresher produce with less chemicals. Once you get home, remember to always wash your fruits and veggies thoroughly and, if you are not buying organic leafy greens, it is best to cook them for consumption.