Organic products can be pretty expensive. A pint of blueberries that are organic, for example, can cost as much as a dollar more than a pint of traditional blueberries, but do they make sense to buy? On average, according to some reports, going organic can cost you as much as 50 to 100 percent more than buying traditional foods.
If you want to save the most you can, you should know which organic products have the most potential impact on your health. This way you can be frugal about your purchases and buy traditional products when it makes sense to do so.
Why do you shop for organic products? Is it to reduce the amount of outside chemicals that are contained in produce for example? Produce is a big focus of organic food.
Not all produce is created equally, and some fruits and vegetables normally retain more chemicals than others. Knowing which products these are can help you make selective choices in your organics purchases.
I’ve gotten you started with a list of products you should definitely consider buying organic and another list of products that you can buy traditionally, if you want to be frugal. With produce that has a peel, for example, most of the pesticides wind up in that peel, which is then discarded. So buying organic produce with a peel may cost you more without the added benefit.
I didn’t look into the amount of hormones or antibiotics in food, so even though something like milk or meat may be low is pesticides, you might want to consider going organic if those things are a concern to you. I also didn’t consider genetically altered food.
You also have to consider who will be consuming the food and balance that against your frugality. Pregnant and nursing moms and children might especially benefit from organic purchases.
I did some research on recommendations from the non profit group, Organic Center for Education and Promotion. I also checked out the USDA’s results on pesticides found in food and recommendations from the advocacy organization, Environmental Working Group. Products not listed here may fall in the middle range, where some pesticides are present, but in smaller amounts than the worse offenders. Here are the results.
Definitely Buy Organic:
- Apples
- Peaches (this is listed as the worse offender when it comes to pesticides)
- Strawberries (another fruit that is high in pesticides)
- Raspberries
- Pears
- Grapes
- Blueberries
- Potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Celery
- Green beans
- Winter squash
- Bell peppers
- Cherries
- Spinach
- Red raspberries
- Nectarines
Definitely Buy Traditional:
- Bananas
- Papaya
- Pineapples
- Kiwi
- Asparagus
- Avocados
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Sweet corn
- Mangos
- Onions
- Sweet peas
- Grains (only 16 percent of meats tested by the USDA contained detectable pesticide residues)
- Meats (only 15 percent of meats tested by the USDA contained detectable pesticide residues)
- Carrots (there is some small debate about this, but washing the carrots and then peeling them seems to greatly reduce any pesticides that might remain)
Be sure to check out the Health blog and Food blog for more information on organic products.
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