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What are the top foods to buy organic?
If someone had a limited food budget, or were trying to slowly transition to organic foods, what foods should they change first?
For example, I was thinking probably meats first, and related to that, milk. And I've heard berries hang onto more pesticides than other fruits, so maybe start there for produce.
WDYT?
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Re: What are the top foods to buy organic?
The "dirty dozen" in F&V:
CeleryPeachesStrawberriesApplesBlueberriesNectarinesBell PeppersSpinachKaleCherriesPotatoesGrapes Beyond that, I think milk and meats are important if you also care about how the animals are being treated.Otto
My (New! Improved!) Blog
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Oh, yeah, I forgot eggs. I keep that in the "if you care about the way animals are treated" group.
I buy my eggs from a local farm, and they are AMAZING! And I can see her happy chickens clucking around their henhouse yard as I drive up to buy them! I love that!
Otto
My (New! Improved!) Blog
Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools
Oh, haha, I wasn't even thinking about eggs, since I hardly ever use them.
What about yogurt? Would that also be a good one to switch?
I buy dairy and the dirty dozen organic from the store. I prefer to buy local rather than organic, so I buy local, humanely raised grass fed meat and eggs and produce from the Farmer's Market. The vendors there aren't certified organic, it's too expensive and too lenghty of a process, but almost all of them follow organic methods (no pesticides, hormones, or antibiotics). In the summer especially, I buy very little produce from the grocery store since my market has pretty much everything.
ETA: Here's the Dirty Dozen available for download as a PDF or iPhone.
http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php
Honestly, I couldn't choose, and I am on a very limited budget. Whether its a cow or celery, if its raised in a mass-ag situation and conventional, its loaded with pesticides, petro-fertilizers, and contaminants. Some of the implications of these chemicals are really scary, and studies done on them really do not cover having a human lifetime of daily consumption. And if you're not buying organic - even, actually, especially things like bread and crackers - you're probably eating genetically modified foods, and the studies on them are pretty scary too.
I'm no chicken little alarmist, but this is MY health we're talking about. Do you really want to wonder, when you're 70, about what caused that cancer you have? Or read news reports in 10 years when they finally really start saying how bad all this stuff is for you? Even now, its becoming more and more clear that organic is not only better for the planet, but for the individual eater.
I'd rather reduce the amount of meat in my diet to make my food budget work than not buy everything organic.
I guess if I had to choose, I'd start with foods I ate all of -- ie potatoes, berries, apples over avocados.
I'm not sure where fair comes into that. There are so many implications that these chemicals DO cause cancer. Maybe its not puppies and rainbows, but I certainly see it as a 'fair' association.
Just so you know, I don't even eat much seafood. I probably buy a package of (5 oz) wild salmon lox every 2-3 weeks, and then about 1/2 lb to 1 lb of seafood a month, tops.
Most of my protein comes from eggs and dairy.
Yes, I am only feeding myself... but I'm also only feeding myself on one income while paying a hefty mortgage (just under 50% of my take home), while paying off substantial debt and feeding three Great Danes and two cats a natural diet (not organic, just not possible). I do think its easier because I don't have to please someone else - I know my ex-husband would not have been happy eating so little meat,
I'm just saying I couldn't choose. Even though we don't eat the skins of some things, they certainly take water in, and if its conventional, that water is loaded with chemicals.
Do I eat conventional foods? Sure, sometimes. I'm not going to starve at a party or a restaurant outing. But I really couldn't say what on the grocery list is more important to have organic, in general, especially from a health perspective. Is it riskier to eat imported produce that was sprayed with DDT, or GMO soy? I really don't know. I mean, sounds like the DDT residue would be worse, but then, the studies on GM stuff are pretty scary, and bottom line is, there's not enough clear, public data on either, especially concerning long-term use.
My grandmother worked with a lot of 'safe' chemicals as an engineer throughout her career, and now has painful, depilitating, neuropathy of unknown origins. Yeah, that freaks me out.
I can't see how anyone could disagree that in the time since the 'green revolution', when farming moved from more basic methods, to more petro-chemical based ones, that our cancer rates have increased.
The President's Cancer Panel - a joint operation of Dept of Health and Human Services, The National Cancer Institute, and the National Institute of Health - openly urges people to choose organic, "to help decrease their exposure to environmental chemicals that can increase their risk of contracting cancer", stating that the US population is exposed daily to agricultural chemicals many of which are suspected carcinogens and endocrine receptors.
http://deainfo.nci.nih.gov/advisory/pcp/pcp08-09rpt/PCP_Report_08-09_508.pdf
This report points out that not only are the active ingredients scary stuff (that's my non-scientific language) but that the inert ingredients are not required to be tested and many are toxic - such as xylene, used as an inactive ingredient in over 900 pesticides, which is associated with increased risk of brain tumors, rectal cancer, and leukemia. Er... no thank you, please.
I don't feel I'm being unfair in having a hard time saying whether eating a pesticide-laden peach is safer than eating a steak from a steer that spent its short miserable life wallowing in crap, loaded on antibiotics and eating pesticide-laden GMO corn.
I'm not trying to be difficult, just realistic. I do get that its hard to change your entire diet all at once, so I'd just start by buying organic when I could, reducing dependence on meats, looking for good local sources (I'm actually not opposed to foods that aren't organically certified, if you know how they are grown, best done when you know by whom they are grown), and gradually changing things over. But I'm not going to say, oh gosh, the pesticides in wheat are so much less harmful than the pesticides in pears. Its just not true, and no amount of washing a food takes away from the fact that these are living organisms that we eat, that require the intake of water. Yes, foods we don't eat the outside of might mean slightly less ingestion of pesticides than those we do, but in all reality, these things take in and use the water, pesticides, fertilizers and so on. Its inside them too.
The facts are that:
we use dangerous chemicals in and on ALL conventionally grown foods (save for smaller farms that are simply not certified organic but make efforts to be safer).
many of these chemicals are associated with cancers, among other health problems
we ingest them as residue, even as washed, by both lingering amounts on the exterior, and what the plant or animal took in.
Pretty much, as much as possible, yes. I'm not sure what seems so difficult about that, but I guess I live life pretty simply.
I've never painted or stained anything, or bought a rug, but if I were to do any of these things, yes I'd get a low or no VOC, EF paint/stain, and I'd buy an organic, EF and safe rug.
As I said in my OP, I really do agree with you. Since the farming "revolution" of moving from small, family farms to industrial agriculture, we have become the fattest, sickest, nation in the world. Michael Pollan says we spend the smallest percentage (about 10%) of our income on food than any nation in the world. So while we can afford to spend more on food, we choose not to. That being said, a lot of people don't have a choice. They're either saddled with debt, live in a HCOL area, or were simply born poor and had limited access to educaton. DH and I make very good money, but DC is insanely expensive to the tune of a $350K townhouse. We also have to have good-running (i.e, new-ish) cars for our insanely long commutes. Yes we could live somewhere else that's more environmentally friendly like Seattle, but we don't have jobs there. You said you have some high costs like housing and the dogs, but imagine having that same income for a family of four in a HCOL.
There are many subjects, like food and transportation (ride your bike! Take public transport!), where I would love to take a "I can't compromise" approach. But that's just not feasible for the people reading my responses and IMHO they're going to think "well if it's an all or nothing thing, and I can't afford it, I choose nothing" which didn't help the cause I'm campaining for. If my posts get even a few people to reach for their dirty dozen list when they go shopping, then I consider my efforts a success. That's how I started out, and now I do a multitude of things to be healthy and green and am sure I could go toe-to-toe with you. Everyone has to start somewhere and that's what the OP was asking for.
I PPH you by the way. Why isn't there a heart emoticon or something? Your pragmatic approach with links and statistics is so much like me. You're an awesome persuasive writer to boot.
Supergreen, I hear you, but really, I think people make too many excuses, and I sincerely doubt there's a family of 4 in a HCOL area living on my income (maybe you meant to say something else??).
I understand we can't always compromise. I would love to ride my bike, but I live off a very dark (no streetlights), curvy (10 mph limit) road, about 20 miles from work in a place where its usually dark and rainy. And frankly, I can't even manage a cheap bike in my budget, its already that tight.
Seattle is an expensive city and while yes, I have wild salmon, fresh Dungeness, and trout available here more so than other places, our food costs are high. Even though this is like 'the' apple state, its rare to find organic apples less than $2.99/lb. I mostly eat eggs and toast, egg sandwiches, veggie sandwiches, cheese bread and fruit. If I have fish, its a splurge and I make a nice meal out of it. I've spent $50 on food this month. Would I have liked to go to the store many times since then (I went on the first) and get things I'd have rather have eaten than what was in my fridge (or garden)? Heck yes, but I am on a budget. I buy what's in season, on sale, that rounds out my needs. I would probably eat a lot more meat, or at least fish, if I had more in my budget.
I could probably stretch my budget more if I ate things like Ramen and Kraft mac, but I'm sure I'd feel awful and it doesn't sound good.
I didn't ask the OP to immediately change her entire diet. But I cannot say one food is more important than another, healthwise, to eat organic. As with any dietary change, or really any change, you have to make small steps so that its a real lifestyle change, and anyone wanting to go organic should just work on slowly buying things that are available to them, seeking out better sources, and changing their eating habits to be less meat-centric, but to say choosing organic a over organic b is more important, IMO, is really oversimplifying things, and putting a false sense of security in place.
I don't mean to try to make it like a contest. I sure as hell don't do a lot of things right (as I drive my old SUV to the farmer's market...), but I just can't compromise on my regular foods, and I can't honestly answer this question.
I do think the dirty dozen is a good place to start,and I love the Environmental Working Group, but there are pesticides detected even in the 'clean 15', and we're just talking fruits and vegetables here. There's been no comparison between fruits and vegetables, dairy, and meat. I'm not really arguing against your dirty dozen, although I think its important to go organic with all produce, but I don't think anyone can factually say healthwise, whether its more important to go organic with dairy rather than meat, or produce over eggs. We just don't know. What we do know is that all of these conventional products come with health risks, so the best thing to do, healthwise, is to start changing the diet.
Rather than focusing on a list: "ok, buy organic grapes and eggs, forget organic chicken" (made up examples), I think people should just start aiming for a more overall healthy diet, less meat, less processed foods, and yes, start going to as much organic food as they can, depending on what's available and affordable.
I guess a more easily-swallowed and summed up version of what I'm saying is that it ALL matters, and as for where to start, is just to start with what makes most sense for you. Would it be better for a family to cut out all meat, or buy only grass-fed, organic, pastured meats and eat all conventional produce and dairy, or eat all conventional meat, and go organic with the dirty dozen? I'm not sure. And is it realistic for a family to suddenly drasically change a whole segment of their diet? I just think the simplest thing is to make small changes, learn, and shift your thinking on eating, your budget, etc. rather than thinking one organic group of foods is more important than another, because ultimately, they all are.
Thank you for the compliments *blush*
I think you're awesome too, and its fun having discussions with you.
Just chiming in that you prompted me to carry my dirty dozen list around with me. I actually expanded the list further than the top 12, to include some other items that we buy most often.
Sure we don't have to buy a rug but you know when one is finishing their basement they have to install something on the floor and being that we live in Canada and it gets ass cold here in the winter, carpet is the best solution.
Perhaps people buy old pieces of furniture second hand and fix them up (with stain or paint persay).
So what is expensive....organic food is expensive, environmental responsible clothing is expensive, green toys for our son are expensive. We would love to install solar panels (expensive), geothermal (expensive), buy a hybrid (expensive - seriously way more than they cost in the US), buy all FSC certified products to finish our basement (expensive) but seriously who can really do all of these things unless they are loaded.
Hence the approach of doing what you can to reduce your impact that is within your financial comfort zone.
No one said the clean 15 are free from pesticides. The point is that if you have a limited budget and want to start somewhere then start with those on the dirty dozen. That is where you would get the best bang for your buck. You could argue that people should just buy all organic for everything but lets be honest here that is just not realistic for 99% of people. So people doing any small bits they can to reduce their impact is a fantastic start.
I love having discussions with you too Alisha. I couldn't imagine spending $50 a month on food, I certainly can't do $50 a week! And we've been really bad lately about spending our whole weekly food budget, then going out to eat 2-3 times and that many meals get composted
I'm trying to get better about that, but it's not worth picking a fight with DH over.
And yes, I did mean to say that a family of four in a HCOL probably lives on your salary or something similar. Of course I don't know what you make, but I don't make enough in a month to pay our mortgage. I'd be dead in the water without DH and I can't fathom how horrible my life would be if we got divorced and I had to make it in a HCOL on my own like you are. Kudos to you, really. I know many families in northern VA who simply don't make enough money to even shop at the grocery store. When you'r flat broke and presented with a choice between a conventionally raised small head of lettuce and 1 red pepper for $6 (really!) versus 2 big macs, 2 large fries, and 2 cokes, what do you think they're going to go with? You say you eat a lot of eggs and dairy, but the eggs at my farmer's market are $5 a dozen, which even I think is ridiculously high but I pay it because the health and welfare of the chickens are just that important to me. I can't expect others who make less money to feel the same way, but I can suggest they start buying these 12 veggies that have the most pesticides organic, so at least they're reducing their pesticide intake.
I'm with Jen&Joe too on buying everything EF. It's incredibly expensive. Even with all my very strong EF practices, I still buy jeans and work clothes from Gap, and socks and underwear from Target. I'm getting pretty good with my t-shirts because I love this local, organic t-shirt company www.greenlabel.com They're pretty much all I wear at home now. But very few people can afford $30 organic t-shirts like I can. I admit it, secondhand clothes skeeve me out, and Goodwill smells like feet. I can only do what I can do, I can't expect more out of others.
PP, I'm so glad you keep the dirty dozen with you!
Well, maybe there is a family of 4 living here on my salary, but they'd have to be renting, with one person on unemployment.
I don't make a lot of money, and I identify a lot more with those struggling to keep food on the table than I do with most of the people on the nest. Our mortgage was a burden with two incomes, on one, even with my modification, I'm just barely getting by.
But there are ways. Organic pasta is $2 a box. I don't think anyone on a budget is buying $6 red peppers (not even if they scan them as green... lol). But how is spending $10 on one meal at McD's cheaper?? I know a lot of people think that way and don't know how to stretch a dollar, but that doesn't mean that's good sense. I can make $10 go a lot farther than that.
At my grocery store, the normal everyone-shops-here-it's-not-WF one, conventional red peppers are $4 a pound, so a normal sized one costs about $6. A huge amount of my recipes require peppers, I'm sure it's even more so for all the hispanic familes in NoVA.
I'm not saying they don't cost that - I'm saying if you're on a budget, you aren't buying them. You can choose a recipe without it, you can subsitute something else, or you can grow your own. No one is going to starve because they can't afford a red pepper, and not being able to afford a red pepper does not mean it makes good economic sense to go for fast food instead.
I don't like green peppers. I only like red or yellow. They are expensive. So you know what? I don't eat any peppers. Its really not that challenging.