Friday, August 13, 2010

The Nitty Gritty Of Eating Organic On A Budget

Although recent studies have shown that there really aren't significant nutritional benefits to eating organic foods as compared to conventional foods, many are still choosing to pick items that are labeled as being organic. Those buying organic foods seem to be making their purchases based on what's not in the products, such as the pesticides and chemicals used to grow conventional products. People that choose to purchase organic foods are doing so to avoid ingesting pesticides, but also to help the environment by not supporting foods created with pesticide use.
However, if you've ever tried shopping for organic foods, you may have encountered some difficulties. First, organic foods are typically more expensive. Since farmers growing organic foods are not using chemicals and pesticides, their labor may be a bit more tedious, which drives up the price of their products. Also, you may find that some organic foods seem to spoil sooner than those that are not labeled as organic. This is due to the fact that they contain no chemicals to help with preservation, like some conventional items do. In some cases, organic foods may look a little different, perhaps with a different shape, slightly different colors, and maybe even be smaller in size. Taste is one factor that depends more upon the person. Some claim they can tell a difference in taste between organic and non-organic foods, while others think there is little or no discrepancy between the two.

According to "The Daily Green", a website for environmentally conscious people, there are thirteen fruits and vegetables that you should buy as organic, due to the high level of chemicals used when growing them conventionally. These items include peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, kale, leafy greens, grapes, carrots, pears, and potatoes. Meat and milk are two other recommendations the site gives as items you should buy organically, due to the hormones and antibiotics given to some animals, as well as the types of grass they eat. Additionally, the Environmental Working Group has published "The Shopper's Guide to Pesticides", which ranks forty-seven fruits and vegetables by their contamination levels.

On the other hand, "The Daily Green" also lists a few things that do not need to be organic, in case you are wondering which items you should spend a little more on for the organic label. According to their list, onions, avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, mangos, asparagus, sweat peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes are all items that you could pass on the organic label. Most of these items either are limited in their exposure to pesticides, or they have such hard outer layers that the pesticides cannot easily impact them.

Source : articlesbase

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