How Do You Know if a Food is Organic & Is It Healthier For You?

Do organically-grown foods contain fewer residues of toxic crop pesticides than conventionally-grown foods do? 

The answer is yes, according to a scientific study published today in the peer-reviewed; Journal Food Additives and Contaminants. The study team included analysts from Consumers Union (CU), the Yonkers, NY-based publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, and from the Organic Materials Research Institute (OMRI), an independent research, and education and evaluation organization in Eugene, OR. Organic foods are grown without most synthetic chemical inputs used in conventional farming, and many consumers who buy organic do so to avoid dietary pesticides. But the issue has been surprisingly controversial, with some conservative and media commentators claiming organic foods have just as many residues as foods grown conventionally. "We have shown that consumers who buy organic fruits and vegetables are exposed to just one-third as many residues as they’d eat in conventionally-grown foods, and the residues are usually lower as well," said Edward Groth III, Senior Scientist at CU and one of the paper’s co-authors. The paper published the first detailed analysis of pesticide residue data in foods grown organically and conventionally. The obtained analyzed test data on pesticide residues in organic and non-organic foods from three independent sources found that organic samples were consistently lower than levels of the same pesticides found in conventional samples. SO TRY TO BUY ORGANIC AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE: HERE ARE DETAILS TO HELP YOU GUIDE YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION! 

 Look for the word "organic" on vegetables or pieces of fruit, or on the sign above the organic produce display. The word "organic" may also appear on packages of meat, cartons of milk or eggs, cheese and other single-ingredient foods. Foods labeled "100 percent organic" must contain only organic ingredients. Products containing at least 70-percent organic content can be labeled "made with organic ingredients." Those foods labeled simply "organic" must have at least 95-percent organic ingredients, by weight or fluid volume, excluding water and salt.

 Produce stickers and labels hold a lot more information than simply the cute name or slogan of a fruit of veggie. By reading the sticker number, you can actually confirm if the piece of produce you hold in your hand is organic, not organic and/or genetically modified. How? notice that the bar code on that sticker is for price information.  Next, notice that the labels on fruits and veggies will have a 4 or 5 digit code. If your produce has 4 digits, it means that it was "conventionally grown, but not organic". If it has 5 digits, and begins with a 9, it means that the produce was organically grown. A 5 digit code that begins with an 8 indicates that the produce was genetically modified. For example, the kiwi in the photo above has a code “4030” or "3586". So, this kiwi is not organic, but conventionally grown. It is NOT genetically modified. The same is true for the melon with the number: “4317”. If an apple sticker said "96584" it would have been grown organically. An apple with "86584" would be genetically altered. 

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