Should you be providing organic produce to your children? Is it necessary for their health? Or perhaps organic produce is simply a means of getting you to pay more at the store. What if your budget doesn’t allow for organic produce. Should you skip the produce altogether in the hopes of avoiding pesticides? These are some of the questions that parents today need answered.
First of all, how can you tell if something is organic? it should be labeled as such, but sometimes that isn’t clear. Signs can be placed in the wrong spot, and sometimes individual items can be placed in the wrong bin.
The first thing to look for is the label that says that an item is certified 100 percent organic. You may find this on a bag of apples, for example. Another trick is to look at the sticker that is on the bag or on the product itself. So if you pick up an individual apple, you can usually find a green or yellow sticker that looks like a price sticker. it will start with PLU. Look at the actual number. If it starts with the number 9, then the item is organic. If not, then it might have been treated with pesticides.
So do our kids need it? Well, it is proven fact that most people have a strong build up of pesticides in their body, presumably mostly from eating treated produce. Other studies have seen links between pesticides and health issues. If you can afford organic produce, it seems prudent to purchase it. But do what you can. You’ll children need fresh produce, even if your budget doesn’t allow for organic varieties.
Personally, I take a middle of the road approach. I purchase all of the “dirty dozen,” (those produce items that are the highest in pesticides) as organic. I also have started expanding my list to include piggy back crops–those items that while aren’t treated with pesticides, usually share farming space with those that do, getting contaminated by proximity in soil and air.
If you have a local farm stand or farmers market, start there and ask how they grow. Often times, those farms will use organic practices without having paid to be certified, and the produce there still may be fresh and pesticide free.