Is Organic Food Worth the Price?
Experts say Aspargus, bananas, onions and sweet peas rarely have pesticide residue so you may choose not to spend the extra money on the organic version. Save it for bell peppers (my favorite), apples, strawberries and spinach.
What does organic mean?
It is free of most pesticides, sythetic fertilizers, genetic engineering and sewage sludge (yuk). I will definately pass on the sewage sludge, whatever that is. Before it can be certified organic it must be inspected by government officials. Visit the USDA Standards definition online.
Labels that say Cage-Free or Free Range or Grass-Fed are not certified organic and many of the claims can not be substantiated, so they may be not worth the premium.
posted by Ms.Money @ 9:49 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
There are (as there often are) some hidden costs with conventional produce-- not just the amount we spend at the grocery store. Continuously applying pesticides costs communities, governments and families a great deal in terms of the integrity of their water, soil and health.
With regard to the labeling of free range/grass fed/cage free, you are correct that there is a wide range of oversight with these labels. However, instead of saying that they may not be worth the premium, I would suggest that the compassionate consumer do a few minutes of research to find out which labels *do* mean what they say and buy from those branded items. Groups such as Compassion Over Killing and The Humane Society of the United States have a good deal of information, for example, on cage free eggs. While it may cost a bit more to buy from an actual cage free producer, it is certainly worth supporting producers who attempt to keep their animals in a more humane and compassionate way than the lowest bar allowed by state and national standards.
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