The benefits of organic food and sustainable agriculture are becoming more widely known, but it’s still pretty expensive to switch to an all-organic diet. In a recent New York Times health blog post Five Easy Ways to Go Organic, author Tara Parker-Pope suggests a few foods that are affordable and make the biggest impact on your health:
- Milk. When you buy conventional milk, “you are buying into a whole chemical system of agriculture”, including antibiotics, synthetic hormones, and pesticides. Switching to organic milk benefits the cows, the earth, and the environment as well as humans.
- Potatoes. According to the article, a 2006 U.S.D.A. test found 81 percent of potatoes tested still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the potato has one of the the highest pesticide contents of 43 fruits and vegetables tested by the Environmental Working Group.
- Peanut butter. Less than 1% of peanut farms utilize organic agricultural practices, and considering many people, especially kids, eat peanut butter almost every day, this is an easy and practical choice.
- Ketchup. Trader Joe’s makes a great organic ketchup — it’s zestier than most others I’ve tried and uses organic sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup. As an added benefit, recent research has shown that organic ketchup has roughly double the antioxidants of conventional ketchup. Bring on the fries!
- Apples. They’re one of the most pesticide-contaminated fruits and also the second most commonly eaten fresh fruit (behind bananas), reason enough to make the switch to organic.
One Comment
woa had no idea about potatoes…although makes sense considering they grow underground. i gotta find a local organic co-op, stat!
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