when is it worth it to buy organic?
If you choose to buy organic, you’ll want to know how to get the most for your grocery dollar.It will pay most to buy organic if you choose:
Foods that, when produced conventionally, contain a lot of pesticides.
The USDA tests fruits and vegetables, analyzing the number of pesticides on each sample. The 12 with the most pesticides, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis, are: peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears, imported grapes, spinach, lettuce and potatoes.
Foods that you eat most frequently or in great quantities.
If your favorite fruits or vegetables contain a lot of pesticides when produced conventionally, and you eat them often, consider seeking out organic versions when possible.
Foods eaten by pregnant women and children under age three.
“During pregnancy and the first three years of life when the brain and organs are developing, kids are more susceptible to carcinogens, neurotoxins and hormonal disrupters,” says Greene.
It doesn’t pay to buy organic when:
You’re buying foods already low in pesticides.
USDA tests show that the 12 fruits and vegetables with the fewest pesticide residues are: onions, avocados, frozen sweet corn, pineapples, mangos, asparagus, frozen sweet peas, kiwi, bananas, cabbage, broccoli and papaya.
It’s a food you don’t eat often.
Foods you consume only on rare occasions may be of less concern than those you have frequently or in large quantities.
You know where the food comes from and how it’s grown.
If you buy food at a farmer’s market, ask how they raise their crops. Foods grown locally and consumed in season (peaches in summer, apples in the fall, for example) also tend to have fewer pesticides, Greene says.
You’re buying fish.
There are currently no USDA standards for fish. So if a fish is labeled “organic” there’s no guarantee that it actually is.
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