What If I Can’t Afford Organic?
Here’s a brief Q&A on World’s Healthiest Foods that is very similar to what I have to say about organic versus conventional: If I can’t afford to buy organic vegetables and fruits, can I still be healthy?
My take is that organic is better than conventional, but conventional produce is better than no produce at all. Vegetables (and fruits to a lesser degree) are on par with meat in terms of importance to your diet. Organic produce may have a bit more of various nutrients. It may have fewer pesticides, but even conventional produce has more than enough good qualities to overcome the bad elements of pesticide and fertilizer residues.
And if you have to focus your dollars on where they’ll do the most good, here are two lists to help you out.
First, the 12 Most Tainted Foods:
1. Strawberries
2. Bell peppers (green and red)
3. Spinach (tied with number 2)
4. Cherries (grown in the United States)
5. Peaches (grown in Chile)
6. Cantaloupe (grown in Mexico)
7. Celery
8. Apples
9. Apricots
10. Green beans
11. Grapes
12. Cucumbers
And the 12 Least Tainted Foods
1. Onions
2. Avocado
3. Sweet Corn (frozen)
4. Pineapple
5. Mango
6. Asparagus
7. Sweet Peas (frozen)
8. Kiwi
9. Banana
10. Cabbage
11. Broccoli
12. Papaya
So first, put your dollars towards grass-fed/pastured/wild meat, poultry, and seafood. Yes, it’s expensive. Yes, it’s worth it. I would rather see someone eat meat from properly raised animals coupled with conventional produce rather than conventional meat with organic produce.
After that, focus on the upper list and avoid spending your money on organic items from the bottom list until you’ve pretty well gone organic in the other areas. So don’t let “I can’t afford organic” be your excuse. And as always, focus on eating whole foods, in their natural states, rather than processed food products.
Print This Post
I mostly eat 2, 3, 8, 11 and 12 from the top list, and 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, & 11 from the bottom. It’s good to have some guidelines for helping with the food budget!! Thanks!!
[Reply]
The main issue as I see it is not the cost but priorities. A $3,000 flat screen TV will buy a lot of organic groceries. Do you really need a 50-inch TV or could you settle for 32-inch – or even stick with your tube TV? Are both those two overseas holidays you take every year absolutely vital? How important is it to change your car every 3 years for the latest/greatest model? And so on. The money is usually there. It’s just a matter of how much you value the massive reduction in pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones etc you get from organic. Most people clearly don’t care.
I was back in the UK for a few weeks over Christmas and the New Year. My local Tesco had shelves groaning with organic produce. The local wholefood shop had a tremendous selection as well. I bought 500g (~1lb) of organic marrowfat peas for 59 pence. I could get a gammon joint from a locally reared pig for three quid. Soak the peas overnight, then the next morning put them in the slow cooker with the gammon, a chopped onion and carrot (organic) and 3 litres of water. 12 hours later you have some fantastic pea and ham soup, perfect for lunch on a cold winter day. 4 quid (probably about $4 in the US) makes enough for 6 portions – 4 of these portions were frozen for later consumption. How can that be considered expensive? It takes some thought and planning but very little preparation time or energy costs. People just can’t be bothered to make even this minimal effort, that’s the honest truth.
[Reply]
Dan, That is a certainty. It’s all about priorities and our society prioritizes things over health. It’s all about the Joneses and nobody knows what the Joneses eat, but they sure know where they live and what they drive. Farmer’s markets are great places to get organic or nearly organic fruits and vegetables, though the average person would never think of that….farmer’s markets are where those “health nuts” hang out. Besides, farmer’s markets aren’t usually just around the corner like the local supermarket and you can’t get Chocolate Coated Sugar Bombs there either. Oh well…leaves more good food for us.
Cheers
Scott
[Reply]
Scott,
Great post. There is minimal cost difference between organic and conventional celery. (If bought in bunches) Most people like it pre-packaged. I was not aware that conventional celery was on the avoid list.
The organic is so much tastier and greener.
Also see my blog in regards to the Farmers market.
Oh the treasures that can be gotten there
Thanks for you great blog.
Marc
[Reply]
[...] caveat: not all vegetables are made equal. The Modern Forager posted a great article on the most and least contaminated produce. The less contaminated produce might not provide [...]
[...] minerals, perhaps exacerbating nutrient deficiencies. Certain produce items have been shown to have higher pesticide contamination levels and should be your first choice for going [...]