Can You Afford Organic Food?

on November 10, 2008 at 10:30 AM

I wish I could buy organic produce for my family all the time; many studies show that a low pesticide diet is the safest and most nutritious, particularly for children. But as moms recently discussed in The CafeMom Newcomers Club, organic food is expensive—sometimes almost double the price of non-organic food.

What I didn't realize is that some types of produce have a lot more pesticides than others. So until I win the lottery and can purchase all organic all the time, I can spend my money on the foods that are most contaminated. For example, because apples and lettuce have high levels of pesticides, it would make sense for me to buy those organic; but for produce like onions and bananas, which have low levels of pesticides, I can buy non-organic at least for now. Read on to see which foods are low in pesticides and which foods you should try to buy organic if at all possible.

In order to help you decide which produce to buy organic, the Environmental Working Group offers a shopper's guide, which lists the 12 fruits and vegetables with the most and least pesticides. Visit the site to download a handy pocket-size version that you can keep in your purse and refer to next time you're in the grocery store.

12 Worst Fruits and Vegetables (you should try to buy these organic):

Peaches

Apples

Sweet Bell Peppers

Celery

Nectarines

Strawberries

Cherries

Lettuce

Grapes (Imported)

Pears

Spinach

Potatoes

12 Best Fruits and Vegetables (buy these conventionally grown if you can't afford organic)

Onions

Avocado

Sweet Corn (frozen)

Pineapple

Mango

Sweet Peas (frozen)

Asparagus

Kiwi

Bananas

Cabbage

Broccoli

Eggplant

About the author Kim Conte

has shoes that make people stop her on the street and ask "Where did you get those?" but it doesn't work for taxi cabs as she was hit by one ... and lived to tell the tale. She has more freckles than Lohan but way less attitude. And she's a fierce cook with tons of recipes to share -- and wishes she could share some with Bourdain.

Filed Under: family meals, food, grocery shopping, healthy choices, organics, suggestions

Comments (4)

ChicagoKate

on Nov 10, 2008 at 12:50 PM

This is very helpful! Thanks!

Report this comment

Work4Wine

on Nov 11, 2008 at 1:49 AM

Let's face it, organic food is more expensive but that's because it's better for you. A Hundyai and Mercedes can both get you to the soccer field but one has higher performance than the other, thus the increase in cost. Just as the jeans you or your children wear....the KMart brand covers your tush just as well as Seven Jeans do but hey, bet your tush looks a lot better in the Sevens, right? And yes, you will pay more. It's all about making choices. Health is a choice. Learn how to choose it. If you would like to receive an article I just wrote about choosing health, please let me know and I would be happy to share it. Afterall, aren't you and your family worth it? Prove it!

girl_in_the_D

on Nov 12, 2008 at 12:35 PM

i buy mostly organic food...especially organic meat that i have found to be free range and humanly treated. This means i spend more..but in exchange i spend less on other things like clothes and toys ect..Sometimes if i am in a pinch i will buy regular the only exceptions that i never make are for Milk, cheese, eggs and meat. those are always organic