Step two: Go organic?
We had yet to hop on the organic bandwagon, mainly because I didn’t really care about it one way or the other and organic produce was more expensive. I thought it was time to give it some thought, so I did some research. Although it is debatable whether or not organic produce is more nutritious than conventionally-grown produce, it is obvious that eating organic lowers our exposure to pesticides and other farm chemicals. We decided to strike a balance (health vs. budget) and try to buy organic when it comes to produce that are known to have the highest traces of pesticides. Commonly referred to as the “dirty dozen”, these include apples, peaches, strawberries, celery, blueberries, nectarines, bell peppers, spinach, cherries, potatoes, imported grapes and lettuce. It was helpful to discover that many of the things we eat a lot of (avocado, onion, asparagus, tomatoes, etc.) are on the “clean” list, so we can save money by not buying those organic.
There are studies that link pesticide residue on produce to all sorts of health issues (cancer, ADHD in children, nervous system disorders, etc.), but it’s hard to have a definitive answer for what can be believed and what is just hype. Either way, it’s a no-brainer that consuming pesticides isn’t a good thing, so we’re doing what we can (i.e. can afford) to limit our exposure.
**UPDATE**
I read an article saying that if you can only afford to buy one thing organic, it should be butter. I found several other articles that support this, like this one. Interesting.
