So What are the Twenty Things You Should Buy Organic?
Cotton truly is the fabric of our lives. It is found in some form and percentage in most clothing and fabrics, as well as vitamin bottles and other things. Cotton is steeped with pesticide residues. It is also one of the worst markets for child labor. Organic cotton is clean, and it raised and harvested responsibly and ethically.
Rice is eaten by a large percentage of the world's population. It is used in baby foods and cereals and people with wheat allergies can often eat things made with rice flour. With this much rice being ingested it is important that it be free of chemicals and toxins.
Milk is used in most recipes. Children often drink milk by the glassful. A large percentage of dairy companies routinely inject their cows with growth hormones and other medications to make them manufacture more milk. To keep the cows form getting mastitis and other illnesses they are injected with antibiotics. The feed is full of pesticides and genetically modified corn. Many dairies now use the process of ultra pasteurization to kill off the germs in milk and make it last much longer on the shelf.
Green Beans are next on the Twenty Most Important Things to Buy Organic list. They are easy to grow yourself on very little land. The EPA has at least 60 pesticides on file that can be used on green beans. Much of the ff season crops are grown out of the country where the regulations are more relaxed. Some of these countries allow the use of pesticides that the United States has made illegal.
Organic coffee is grown responsibly and without pesticide use. Not only that, coffee is regularly fumigated with a carcinogenic chemical when it comes into the United States. Organic coffee is not fumigated. It is carefully inspected. If it is free of pests and possible disease it is allowed into the country. If not it is fumigated and is no longer labeled organic.
Strawberries are one of the most toxic laden foods available in the United States today. Seventy percent of the test berries contained pesticides. In the United States growers are allowed to use 500 lbs of pesticides per acre of strawberries. Even worse, like green beans, out of season berries are usually grown in countries with more relaxes laws about pesticides. Because the berry absorbs liquids easily pesticides are absorbed into the strawberry more readily than they would be in some other foods.
Feed for livestock. A lot of people forget that the milk and eggs and meat that they get from their own farm grown animals is not organic unless they are feeding organic! Feed is full of pesticides, GMO grains and unnecessary antibiotics. Read the labels. Remember that you are ultimately eating what they are eating.
Bananas have high levels of toxic chemicals used on them. Benomyl has been linked to birth defects and chlorpyrifos is a neurotoxin. These are regularly used on banana crops. Some people feel that since the banana has a skin that is peeled off the pesticide dangers are less.
Celery and other vegetables that don't have a protective skin soak up the pesticides used on them. It is important to buy these items organic.
Meat is a no brainer. While it does not necessarily have a lot of pesticide residues it does have huge amounts of growth hormones and antibiotics.
Chocolate is questionable, not just for the pesticide use but for the use of child labor. Organic chocolate is grown ethically and cleanly.
Baby toys are one item that many people don't think about. Babies put things in their mouths and chew on them. Their systems are less able to cope with toxins than an adult body so it makes sense to use organics around them.
Mattresses and especially crib mattresses should be organic. Mattresses have chemicals in them that release VOCs for a very long time. Consider that people spend about one third of their lives asleep and that babies sleep more than that and you will see why organic mattresses are important.
Other items that you should try to buy organic are:
- Apples
- Cherries
- Peaches
- Lettuce
- Corn products
- Oils
- Potatoes
f you want to go organic than here are some items you should consider before others.
Dry Goods:
- Cereal
- Granola
- Dried apricots
- Raisins
- Rice (all varieties)
- Crackers
- Taco shells & taco chips (corn chips)
- Soy flour
- Oats
Bottled & Canned Items:
- Ketchup
- Applesauce
- Mixed fruit
- Jams and jelly
- Peanut butter
- Chicken broth
Cold & Frozen Food Items:
- Cheese
- Milk (including soy)
- Butter
- Yogurt
- Eggs
- Tofu
Veggies & Fruits — in any form (canned, jarred, fresh, frozen)
If you only buy two produce items organic go with potatoes and apples. Both are big bads when it comes to pesticides.
Edamame (soy beans)- Raspberries
- Strawberries
- Potatoes — all colors and varieties (including frozen like tator tots).
- All types of apples
- Celery
- Grapes (imported)
- Pears
- Peaches
- Nectarines
- Green beans
- Any color bell peppers
- Spinach
- Lemons and lime when used for zest
- Tangerines
Beverages:
- Soda
- Yogurt smoothies
- Apple juice
- Grape juice
Meat, seafood, and other protein (meat-like) items:
Meats are touchy because honestly most meats have an excess of not ok pesticides, toxins, and other icky chemicals in them still buying organic can cut down on the bad and increase the good for meat eaters. Here are some biggies:
- Pork — if you buy one food organic buy this one. Ham, bacon, and other pig products come up time and time again as some of the most toxic food items around. Spending all your organic money on this would be smart.
- Chicken
- Turkey
- TVP (Texturized Vegetable Protein)
Notice beef and seafoods don’t make the list — while both are better natural and organic they don’t come up as often on the big bad lists.
This is a good general list to get you started with organic eating. Keep in mind that everyone’s idea of what’s bad and what’s less healthy is different. The items above are the ones I see over and over listed as “better in organic version.” However, these are not the only things I buy organic and I know some people who buy conventional versions of the items above and organic in others so it helps to do your own research.
To learn more about organic foods take a look at The Organic Consumers Association and here’s a great article with 17 ways to eat organic for cheap (or at least for less).For the littles:
Kids can find organic games, coloring pages, learn all kinds of cool nature facts, print stickers, and more at the EnviroKidz website.
They also make good organic cereal. It’s not bulk so there’s packaging to contend with but it’s much better than conventional.
For more information go to http://www.organicconsumers.org/whole_foods_unfi.cfm
