Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Organic food
Last month, my husband, Tom, came home from grocery shopping, having gotten everything on the list, including a cauliflower. Deep in the throes of pregnant cravings, I couldn't tell you why I wanted cauliflower, but I did.
We shop at Wild Oats; our son is severely food allergic and we started eating mostly organic when our daughter began to eat solid food six years ago. And, since we don't have cable or shop at the mall, we have found ways to afford eating a little more expensively, especially by also shopping at a local health food store that charges only 15% above wholesale.
As Tom looked over the receipt from Wild Oats, he said, "You'd better enjoy eating that cauliflower." I asked why and he said because it had cost $10. When we read the February 2006 issue of Consumer Reports, with an extensive article on organic food, we very happily realized that $10 cauliflower was not necessary. The article is worth your time either buying online or looking up at the library. It explains current political battles being fought to sustain the integrity of the "organic" label, as well as guidelines for buying and eating.
In the box titled, "Buy these items organic as often as possible," CR writes that apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries are the most important produce to buy organic. Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Envionmental Working Group (EWG), a "research and advocacy organization" that analyzed over 100,000 U.S. government pesticide tests, say these are the worst pesticide offenders, both in terms of number of different pesticides found (spinach had ten on only one sample) and in levels of pesticides both on the surface and in the flesh.
CR also highlights how we can avoid hormones, antibiotics, questionable (at best...read Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, for more info) production methods, and what causes mad cow disease by eating organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy. We eat a brand of eggs that has high levels of omega-3 fatty acids because the hens are fed a vegetarian diet high in those nutrients. They recommend this site for more info on why buying organic is crucial, especially for certain foods. http://foodnews.org/
Under "Buy these items organic if price is no object," CR lists asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and sweet peas, because the EWG found that "multiple pesticide residues are, in general, rarely found on conventionally grown version of" them.
Also, CR says that processing destroys much of the nutrient value of food, thus limiting the health value of buying processed foods like bread, oil, potato chips, pasta, cereals, canned veggies or dried fruit. We tend to buy those things organic that we eat most often in this category. We depend upon a brand of brown rice pasta (www.tinkyada.com) that cooks and tastes like wheat pasta, so we buy that organic most of the time.
Under "Don't bother buying these items organic," CR lists seafood because organic labeling laws don't apply to it and because the mercury and PCB content usually depend on the size of the fish, not whether they're organic. To see which fish contain the most contaminates: http://www.perinatology.com/exposures/Maternal/seafood.htm.
CR also lists cosmetics as not being worth buying organic. They make the important caveat, though: "Unless a personal-care product consists primarily of organic agricultural ingredients, such as aloe vera gel." And I try to buy whole ingredient personal products, like Aubrey Organic, so buying organic does count in those products. For a list of synthetic ingredients that harm your skin and body, check out http://www.aubrey-organics.com/about/treat_10synth.cfm.
Here's another good site with general info and a list of what to buy organic. http://www.kidsorganics.com/10%20Most%20Important%20Foods%20to%20Eat%20Organic.htm
Some of our staples:
Lundberg Rice http://www.lundberg.com/
Chocolate http://www.chocolove.com/
http://www.rapunzel.com/
Organic dairy and other foods http://organicvalley.coop/ (We love the raw milk cheeses.)
So, again, bon appetit!
We shop at Wild Oats; our son is severely food allergic and we started eating mostly organic when our daughter began to eat solid food six years ago. And, since we don't have cable or shop at the mall, we have found ways to afford eating a little more expensively, especially by also shopping at a local health food store that charges only 15% above wholesale.
As Tom looked over the receipt from Wild Oats, he said, "You'd better enjoy eating that cauliflower." I asked why and he said because it had cost $10. When we read the February 2006 issue of Consumer Reports, with an extensive article on organic food, we very happily realized that $10 cauliflower was not necessary. The article is worth your time either buying online or looking up at the library. It explains current political battles being fought to sustain the integrity of the "organic" label, as well as guidelines for buying and eating.
In the box titled, "Buy these items organic as often as possible," CR writes that apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries are the most important produce to buy organic. Both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Envionmental Working Group (EWG), a "research and advocacy organization" that analyzed over 100,000 U.S. government pesticide tests, say these are the worst pesticide offenders, both in terms of number of different pesticides found (spinach had ten on only one sample) and in levels of pesticides both on the surface and in the flesh.
CR also highlights how we can avoid hormones, antibiotics, questionable (at best...read Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser, for more info) production methods, and what causes mad cow disease by eating organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy. We eat a brand of eggs that has high levels of omega-3 fatty acids because the hens are fed a vegetarian diet high in those nutrients. They recommend this site for more info on why buying organic is crucial, especially for certain foods. http://foodnews.org/
Under "Buy these items organic if price is no object," CR lists asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and sweet peas, because the EWG found that "multiple pesticide residues are, in general, rarely found on conventionally grown version of" them.
Also, CR says that processing destroys much of the nutrient value of food, thus limiting the health value of buying processed foods like bread, oil, potato chips, pasta, cereals, canned veggies or dried fruit. We tend to buy those things organic that we eat most often in this category. We depend upon a brand of brown rice pasta (www.tinkyada.com) that cooks and tastes like wheat pasta, so we buy that organic most of the time.
Under "Don't bother buying these items organic," CR lists seafood because organic labeling laws don't apply to it and because the mercury and PCB content usually depend on the size of the fish, not whether they're organic. To see which fish contain the most contaminates: http://www.perinatology.com/exposures/Maternal/seafood.htm.
CR also lists cosmetics as not being worth buying organic. They make the important caveat, though: "Unless a personal-care product consists primarily of organic agricultural ingredients, such as aloe vera gel." And I try to buy whole ingredient personal products, like Aubrey Organic, so buying organic does count in those products. For a list of synthetic ingredients that harm your skin and body, check out http://www.aubrey-organics.com/about/treat_10synth.cfm.
Here's another good site with general info and a list of what to buy organic. http://www.kidsorganics.com/10%20Most%20Important%20Foods%20to%20Eat%20Organic.htm
Some of our staples:
Lundberg Rice http://www.lundberg.com/
Chocolate http://www.chocolove.com/
http://www.rapunzel.com/
Organic dairy and other foods http://organicvalley.coop/ (We love the raw milk cheeses.)
So, again, bon appetit!
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