Is Buying Organic Really Worth It?

When you go shopping for groceries you often see USDA organic stamp on many items but what does organic really mean?  

According to the USDA, organic farming practices preserve the environment and avoid most synthetic materials, including pesticides and antibiotics. Organic farmers, must also receive annual on-site inspections, use only USDA approved materials and not use genetically modified crops.  

Foods that are USDA certified organic doesn’t mean that they are 100% free of pesticides. They allow pesticides from naturally occurring ingredients such as plant extracts, insect pathogens, and fungal derivatives just as long it’s not synthetically manufactured. Some fairly low-risk synthetic pesticides are still allowed. 

The USDA Organic seal simply means that the product contains a minimum of 95% organic ingredients (excluding water and salt). Up to 5% of the ingredients may be nonorganic agricultural products that are not commercially available as organic and/or nonagricultural products that are on the National List. 

You may also see the USDA 100% organic label which means that all ingredients must be certified organic and any processing aids must also be organic. The made with organic label means that only 70% or more of the ingredients are organic and will not have the USDA seal. 

Now that you know what the USDA organic labels mean. There are a lot of junk food that have the USDA certified organic seal but that doesn’t mean its necessarily healthy. Those cookies, despite being organic are still processed. 

As for organic produce, they are 20-40% healthier than conventional produce based on their elevated antioxidant levels. Conventional produce appears to have twice the levels of cadmium (a toxic metal) from phosphate fertilizers.  Conventional produce also contains more synthetically manufactured pesticides. 

Does this mean that you shouldn’t eat a any conventional produce?  Not necessarily. Please keep in mind that organic produce is very expensive compared to conventional produce. Consuming produce is a healthier option compared to junk food. That is why it’s recommended to buy organic whenever possible. There is a dirty dozen list of produce which details which produce has the most pesticides. It is recommended to buy organic items from the dirty dozen list to limit your pesticide exposure. Always wash your all produce with running cold water, especially when can’t purchase organic. Washing your produce with salt water is also ideal to remove certain pesticides.