Organic or Not

We always look for the best foods to buy for our family.  After much research I found that it pays to buy these foods from the organic section.  On my next post I will tell you which ones to buy from the regular section.  We have grown many of these in our gaden to make sure they are organic.

Celery
Peaches           The animals eat ours before we pick them
Strawberries   A few plants go a long way and are fun to grow.
Apples
Blueberries (Domestic)  In NJ we have organic farms and freeze the berries.
Nectarines
Sweet Bell Peppers  We grow our own.  Not hard and great to grow.
Spinach
Cherries
Potatoes  We tried growing them this year in planters.  Not hard and now we have some to store.
               Next year we will plant more.
Grapes they are growing on the side of our home.

Why should you care about pesticides? There is a growing consensus in the scientific community that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can have adverse effects on health, especially during vulnerable periods such as fetal development and childhood. We know that chemicals are bad and now we learn that they can affect birth defects.

Of the 12 most contaminated foods, seven are fruits.

More than 96 percent of peaches tested positive for pesticides, followed by nectarines (95.1 percent) and apples (93.6 percent).

Nearly 86 percent of peaches contained 2 or more pesticide residues ‚ followed by apples (82.3 percent) and nectarines (80.6 percent).


Among the vegetables:
Some 95 percent all celery samples tested positive for pesticides, followed by imported cucumbers (84.5 percent) and potatoes (84.2 percent).

Nearly 85 percent of celery samples contained multiple pesticides, followed by sweet bell peppers (61.5 percent) and collard greens (53.2 percent).

Also keep in mind that maintaining your family's health is not the only reason to choose organic food. Pesticide and herbicide use contaminates groundwater, ruins soil structures and promotes erosion, and may be a contributor to "colony collapse disorder," the sudden and mysterious die-off of pollinating honeybees that threatens the American food supply. Buying or growing organic food is good for the health of the planet.