Good Morning Everyone!

Should we ONLY be buying organic produce?  It’s a great question and I’ve had several of you inquire about this lately.  The quick answer is – buy local organic produce whenever possible.  The long answer is, well, there’s just way more to it.   However, in the effort of trying to make things as simple as possible J,  you’ll find 2 very helpful lists put together by Environmental Working Group at the bottom of this email: “The Dirty Dozen” (BUY LOCAL ORGANIC) and “The Clean 15” (Still consider buying organic but you don’t have to worry as much about the produce on this list).

When I think about why I want to buy certified organic produce the first reason that comes to mind is, I want to avoid harmful pesticides.  After reading a few different articles (some where the author was in favor of organic produce and others where the author definitely felt buying organic was a complete waste) this is what I learned:

• Pesticides are used by conventional produce farmers and certified organic produce farmers.  The difference between the pesticides are synthetic and natural (most are derived from plants).
• The certified organic farmers mainly use natural pesticides but they also have to use a lot more in order for them to effectively keep bugs and insects away.
• Systemic pesticides – these are pesticides that are incorporated into the plants (they will be found in the meat of the fruit or vegetable) while they are growing and used by conventional produce farmers.  To avoid these pesticides I will personally buy any produce on “The Dirty Dozen” list below from local organic farmers or certified organic from the grocery store.
• BUY FROM LOCAL FARMERS – you can ask what they use to protect their crops and local farmers are more likely to use less pesticides.
• Wash your produce with water and vinegar.  The vinegar will help kill the bacteria and breakdown the wax you feel on your produce.  Check out this website for more tips on the most effective ways to wash your produce: http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2013/10/30/the-best-way-to-wash-fruits-and-vegetables-8-tips

EWG analyzed pesticide residue testing data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration to come up with rankings for popular fresh produce items.  They compiled a list of 50 produce items with #1 containing the most pesticide.  Click the link below to view the whole list:

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list.php

Below are the lists I was referring to at the beginning of the email:

The Dirty Dozen Plus (have the greatest amount of pesticide residue- buy organic when possible)	The Clean 15 (have the least amount of pesticide residue)
Apples (most) Strawberries Grapes Celery Peaches Spinach Sweet bell peppers Nectarines-imported Cucumbers Cherry tomatoes Snap peas—imported Potatoes Leafy greens, such as kale and collard greens Hot peppers (least)	Avocados (least) Sweet Corn Pineapple Cabbage Sweet Peas — Frozen Onions Asparagus Mangoes Papayas Kiwi Eggplant Grapefruit Cantaloupe Cauliflower Sweet Potatoes (most)

 

Convenience is always a plus, right?!?!?  Well, if you can’t make it to your local farmers market, you might be able to have it shipped right to your doorstep.

• If you live in Michigan you can try Door to Door Organics – https://michigan.doortodoororganics.com/shop-good-food
• If you live in Florida in the Orlando area you can try Orlando Organics – http://www.orlandoorganics.com/index.cfm
• If you do not reside in either of these areas and you use a service, please email me to let me know what that service is so I can post it.  If you would like help finding a door to door service in your area, please email me I will gladly help you J

If you’re interested in learning more, below is one of the articles I found interesting:

http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/science-sushi/httpblogsscientificamericancomscience-sushi20110718mythbusting-101-organic-farming-conventional-agriculture/

Have a fabulous day!!!

~ Meredith