What is an organic food?
Organic fruits and vegetables are grown without chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
To get USDA organic certification animal farmers must meet these criteria.
- Animals must be raised without antibiotics or growth hormones
-Animals must eat only organically grown feed
-Animals must have access to the outdoors and to pasture
-Animals cannot be clones
Is organic produce more nutritious than conventional produce?
Not necessarily as few studies done to date have not shown any significant difference in nutritional value of organic vs conventional food.
How about safety?
Yes for safety the organic produce likely has an edge over the conventional produce as it is less in pesticides and therefore safer. Organic meats are less likely to contain antibiotic resistant bacteria.
Should we then buy all organic?
Well organic can get expensive. Good news is that Environment Working Group ( EWG) has analyzed the pesticides in most of fruits and veggies and have come up with the list of 'Dirty' and 'Clean' foods in reference to their pesticide contents.
'Dirty Dozens' - the fruits and veggies that are high in pesticides and better consumed organic if affordable.
'Clean 15'- the fruits and veggies that are less in pesticides and are OK to be consumed in conventional form.
Below is the picture of 'Dirty Dozens' and 'Clean 15'
Organic Alternative
As mentioned above organic can get very expensive
No worries if you cannot afford organic food.
Just wash fruits and vegetables with a mixture of water and mild dishwashing soap for 30 seconds.
Rinse them well off of soap
Try to buy fresh foods from local market
Peel off the outer skin if possible
And at last........
Organic or not always remember to eat your veggies and fruits as they are the best for your heart and overall health
Please click on the link below for more information on EWG food list.
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/?gclid=CjwKEAjw_uvHBRDUkumF0tLFp3cSJACAIHMYF3DBjTyxTACyAgrM7uWL9IALM_AZnyUknI5ClmXA3hoCYCDw_wcB