Tip of the Greenberg…

For my first real, informational post I am starting with the basics …What is organic produce and why should you buy it?

What does organic mean??

organic (adj.)
1. term that refers to how agricultural products are grown, cultivated and processed
2. To be considered truly organic, the plants must be grown without any chemical pesticides or fertilizers, genetically engineered seeds or irradiation.

Of course, there are many complicated government standards that must be adhered to in order to label a product as organic, more on that to come in later posts. But in the most basic of terms, organic fruits and veggies are grown without the use of harsh chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Why should you choose organic produce over conventionally grown?

Pesticides, pesticides and more pesticides. Conventionally grown fruits and veggies are grown using chemical pesticides that are toxic and leave residue on the produce. Then we eat the produce, including the chemical residue that will remain in our blood stream. Even washing your produce before eating cannot clean off all of the pesticide residue. And, even if you don’t like fruits and veggies and avoid them at all costs, you are still being exposed to pesticide residue because of ground water contamination and the pesticide chemicals that are stuck in the earth’s atmosphere, the air we all breathe. Bad news bears. Pesticides are designed to kill living organisms. Really, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that these chemicals can do harm to humans. Pesticides have been scientifically proven to harm human health. Here are just a few of the problems they cause:

• neurological problems
• a variety of cancers, such as leukemia, kidney cancer, brain cancer, and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma
• disrupt hormone function
• low birth weight and birth defects
• interfere with child development and cognitive ability

Children are especially suceptible to problems caused by pesticides because their bodily systems are still developing and they cannot detoxify from these chemicals as quickly as adults. Unborn fetuses are worse off yet; their exposure to pesticides can cause lifelong problems. If you want to read more about the icky things that pesticides can do to your body, check out this article I found written by the Environmental Working Group…
http://www.foodnews.org/reduce.php

If scientists have proven how bad the effects of pesticides can be, then why are they still in use? There is such a debate on this topic, really, it’s like a whole other blog post. The government is regulating the use of pesticides in conventional foods, but at an extremely slow pace. It seems to me the easiest way to understand it is…Farmers use pesticides to get ride of bugs and other pests that ruin otherwise salable crop. It’s all about high productivity and money for them. And the chemical companies that make pesticide products delay regulatory action even further by demanding complex scientific arguments and studies.

Ok, enough of the bad. The good news is that organic produce (produce that is free of these toxic pesticides) exists. Yeah! Organic alternatives for frozen produce and canned goods are also available. Fortunately, for some of us, organic produce is available all around us, at both local grocery stores and farmers markets. If you don’t know where to buy organic produce in your neighborhood, this website will tell you, just type in your zip:
http://www.localharvest.org/

Even though organic produce may be physically available to us, there is definitley a price barrier that keeps some of us from indulging in an all organic, all the time habit. There are some fruits and veggies that are actually more contaminated by pesticides than others. These are commonly called the “Dirty Dozen”. Here they are:
peaches, apples, bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, lettuce, grapes, pears, spinach and potatoes

So if you can only afford to buy some organic groceries, go for the “Dirty Dozen”. You can reduce your pesticide exposure by almost 90% if you avoid conventionally grown produce on that dirty list. Here is a PDF file (Dirty Dozen List) that contains a little cut out shopping list noting the “Dirty Dozen”, as well as a list of the cleanest (lowest in pesticides) produce. It’s a nice reference to carry along with you to the grocery store or market. I got this handy list from the Environmental Working Group, http://www.foodnews.org/index.php

Ok, so now for the daily dose of eco-guilt. It’ll be quick, I promise. I definitely do refer to the “Dirty Dozen” list often, but I find more and more that I will completely avoid buying conventional produce. Aside from protecting my own health, I do not want to support the farms that are putting those ugly pesticides out into our earth’s atmosphere and contaminating our water supply. I feel much better about supporting organic farming, in an effort to help create more demand for organic produce and eventually drive down the price.

Here is what I bought at the farmers market today…