Eating Organic

When I was pregnant, my doctor told me to eat organic fruits and veggies in order to avoid ingesting pesticides, fertilizers and other toxins that can be found in conventional produce.  I was also told to eat meat that was not treated with hormones and other artificial additives and preservatives.  In order to avoid having my family ingest unnecessary toxins, I tend to buy organic produce as much as possible. Some organic produce I can buy at my local grocery store, Sendik’s Market (http://www.sendiksmarket.com), and other produce requires me to take a trip to my local co-op, The Outpost (http://www.outpost.coop).

Now that my daughter, Addison, is beginning to eat solid foods (well, sort of ‘solids’—more like purees), I am especially careful about remnants of pesticides and fertilizers in the food I feed her.  Being that my local grocery store doesn’t carry the variety of organic produce I want Addison to have, I wondered—is it necessary to eat all organic? Are there some foods that are safe to eat non-organic? Since eating organic is not always available, and can sometimes be more expensive, I did some research about what it means for foods to be considered organic, and what foods are especially important to buy organic, based on the saturation levels of pesticides and fertilizers.

Defining “Organic”

According to the United States Department of Agriculture National Organic Standards Board, in order for a food to be certified as organic and carry the USDA Organic Certification Label, the product must abide by the following definitions:

◦                 “Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.

◦                “‘Organic’ is a labeling term that denotes products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. The principal guidelines for organic production are to use materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems and that integrate the parts of the farming system into an ecological whole.

◦                “Organic agriculture practices cannot ensure that products are completely free of residues; however, methods are used to minimize pollution from air, soil and water.

“Organic food handlers, processors and retailers adhere to standards that maintain the integrity of organic agricultural products. The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals and people.”

In order to ensure that products that claim to be organic are living up to the standards set by the federal government, organic food producers must pass regular inspections. 30,000 on-site inspections occur per year by certifying agents, and are performed to monitor compliance with USDA organic standards.  There is also a residue-testing program to verify that prohibited pesticides aren’t being applied to organic crops.

More information about the USDA’s organic certification program can be found at the following link: http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/ofp/ofp.shtml

Which Foods are the Most Important to Eat Organic?

According to the Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org), the following fruits and vegetables are the most important to buy organic because they contain the highest levels of pesticide residue:

It is important to buy these foods organic, if you can:
 1.) Apples
2.) Celery 
3.) Strawberries
4.) Peaches
5.) Spinach
6.) Nectarines
7.) Grapes 
8.) Sweet Bell Peppers
9.) Potatoes
10.) Blueberries
11.) Lettuce
12.) Kale/Collard Greens


It is not as important to buy the following fruits and vegetables organic, because they contain the lowest levels of pesticide residue (and for many of them, you peel off the skin to eat them):


1.) Onions
2.) Pineapple
3.) Sweetcorn
4.) Avocado
5.) Asparagus
6.) Sweet peas
7.) Mangoes
8.) Eggplant
9.) Cantaloupe 
10.) Kiwi
11.) Watermelon
12.) Sweet Potatoes
13.) Mushrooms
14.) Grapefruit
15.) Cabbage