Writers:

What's the most important food to buy organic?

Posted on Feb. 22, 2008 at 10:57 a.m.

SUSAN IN INDIANA COMMENTED, ON JANUARY 24, 2008 AT 9:16 A.M.:
What are the most important foods to buy organic? Are some worse than others?

I stand in the produce dept. at a health food store and see the organic avocados next to the regular kind and honest to God I just can't bring myself to spend $4 more for the exact same amount of fruit. Sometimes I go to Krogers just so I don't have to see the organic ones and feel bad.

Comments (6):

JILL commented, on February 4, 2008 at 10:25 a.m.:

JILL RIDDELL COMMENTED, ON JANUARY 30, 2008 AT 9:30 A.M.:
Strawberries. Buy organic strawberries. They are on the top of the list in terms of the amount of pesticde residues found in them. They don't have a nice tough protective covering (like an orange peel) that gets removed, and strawberries are hard to wash.

Luckily for you, avocadoes are one of the fruits with the smallest amounts of pesticides found in them.

(That tough peel must have something to do with this. It seems like it takes about 20 years for an avocado peel to break down in my compost pile, as opposed to the fleshy part which vanishes in about 20 minutes.)

Look at http://eartheasy.com for a long list of comparisons among pesticides in produce. http://eartheasy.com/eat_pesticides_p...

Stephenie commented, on February 14, 2008 at 11:10 a.m.:

Yes, it's true those berries do carry a heavy load of pesticides.

Peaches are the worst! As tasty as they are, they carry 100% of the load direct to your watering mouth!
That's according to the Environmental Working Group, http://www.foodnews.org/list of "The Dirty Dozen". Use that link to help you determine what you should buy organic...especially if health is your main driving factor during your decision-making process.

laurene commented, on March 2, 2008 at 11:01 p.m.:

Oh Susan -
Its awful to pay that much for an avocado... I feel your pain and guilt since I ate an avocado yesterday even though it was not organic and it was definitely not local...what we will we salad eaters do without avocados!

At least from a health standpoint avocados are peeled before eaten...

Laurene commented, on March 2, 2008 at 11:04 p.m.:

Hi Susan
Also, check out this link...it has a very good and very handy summary the best foods to buy organic...

http://www.foodnews.org/

Laurene commented, on March 6, 2008 at 10:44 p.m.:

Hi Susan -
For some reason I can't stop wanting to talk about with you about avocados, probably because I love them so much and don't want to give them up.

So, I wrote to the California Avocado Commission to try to get to the pit of this issue.

First, on the environmental issues related to avocados, here is what the commission says: "California avocados rank among the lowest of all fruits and vegetables for pesticide use." So, maybe its not as bad to buy the non-organic avocado, as it is to buy, for example, berries.

Then, on the environmental health front they say: "Neither organic nor conventional avocados have measurable chemical residues in the pulp, so both are good choices." Hmm. Possibly more delegates for the non-oragnic avocado.

But, for some of us, oraganci just feels better. So, if you still want the organic avocado here is anotehr idea: bulk order. If you order from http://www.organicavos.com they will cost you about $3.00 each including shipping. That's not as bad as the $5 fruit at your local store.

But what about all of that fossil fuel for shipping? Well, what you need is to buy an avocado carbon offset whether you buy organic or not. I don't think such a calculator has been developed yet -- so you are the inspiration for a new tool for green living! A local organization, The Delta Institute, is coming up with a very cool carbon calculator...maybe you can inspire them to add that feature? And remember, the avocado from Florida rather than California travels only half the distance.

http://deltacarbon.org/offsets/contac...

Best,

Laurene