Organic or conventional produce? Should you shell out more “dough” for the organic stuff or it’s not worth it… or you are okay with the conventional stuff?
The way I see it – it’s a chemical. Just like fructose in its purest form (not from fruit) environmental chemicals haven’t been around for long enough for any genetic adaptation to occur in us humans. In fact cereal starches and fructose have been in our diet for far longer than pesticides. So, for me the short answer is when possible buy organic. The longer answer – below..
A word about pesticides. These are chemicals that we’ve developed in order to protect the crops from other plants and animal species that can cause disease or harm and thus limit the production of the particular crop. Pesticides can be acutely toxic or they can build up in the system overtime. In most general terms the way they work by causing over-stimulation of the nervous system. The bad thing is that happens in both pests (microbes, insects, weeds, animals) and humans. Some of the symptoms are weakness and paralysis. Generally, the damage is irreversible. Women, exposed to pesticides in the first eight weeks of their pregnancy may give birth to autistic children more often than women who are not exposed (1). One class of pesticides that’s considered especially harmful is organophosphates. They work by blocking a certain enzyme in the nervous system causing an indefinite transfer of nerve impulses – something like setting the nervous system on fire.
In other words, it shouldn’t be a secret even to first-graders that pesticides don’t make good food.. not even good add-on to foods, and they shouldn’t be thought of as harmless (2, 3).
Now that we moved this out of the way let’s go to the part that’s more fun..
If you are somebody who believes in making a difference (and if you can afford to make a difference) by voting with your wallet then by all means buy all your produce organic. This way you will encourage natural/sustainable practice, natural breeding and modification of crops.
If you are only concerned about your health and want to avoid (as much as you can) the short and long-term damage from pesticide residues build up in your system then go by the Dirty Dozen chart. It’s a chart of the 50 most common fruits and vegetables that the Environmental Working Group examines each year for levels of contamination (in the US that is). There are the 10 most contaminated foods that you should ALWAYS buy organic and 15 that are the least contaminated and you can go conventional with them. You can even download the Dirty Dozen app for smart phones (it’s free) and use that as a quick reference while wandering around the grocery isle.
Now, once at the vegetable stand, how can you tell which one is organic and which one is conventional (not organic)? Do you go by the store tag? What do you do?
Well, that’s easy. All conventional fruits and vegetables have little stickers with a 4-digit number on them. It usually starts with 3 or 4. For example, conventional bananas are 4011. All organic produce has a 5-digit number. The number “9” in front means that the piece of fruit you are looking at is organic. For example, organic bananas will have 94011. And, just for your information, if you are concerned with whether the food is genetically modified (GMO) or not (GMO’s can not be labeled as “organic”) it’s again a 5-digit number, and it should start with 8. For example, a genetically manipulated banana should (note, I say “should”, not “will”) have the number 84011. Since most people tend to avoid GM organisms, when they are made aware, currently only the Hawaiian papaya (GMO) has a sticker with a number that starts with 8 (4).
There you have it. Now it should be easier to make an (educated) decision whether to buy organic or conventional produce. And, if you decide to follow the Dirty Dozen chart, you can now go by which produce must be organic and which you can still buy conventional without inflicting too much harm on your health.
…And, it’s a whole separate area of discussion whether “ORGANIC” means much or not…but, …later.