Excerpts from
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/organic-products-206/when-buying-organic-pays-and-doesnt.htm
Know when it pays to buy organic products to reduce your exposure to
pesticides and other additives, and when it’s a waste of your money.
Buy these items organic as often as possible:
....apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes,
nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and
strawberries
Why: The US Dept of Agriculture's lab testing reveals that even after
washing, some fruits and vegetables consistently carry much higher
levels of pesticide residue than others. Their conventionally grown
counterparts tend to be laden with pesticides. Among fruits,
nectarines had the highest percentage testing positive for pesticide
residue. Peaches and red raspberries had the most pesticides (nine) on
a single sample. Among vegetables, celery and spinach most often
carried pesticides, with spinach having the highest number (10) on a
single sample.
....meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy
Why: You greatly reduce the risk of exposure to mad cow disease and
minimize exposure to other potential toxins in non-organic feed. You
also avoid the results of production methods that use daily
supplemental hormones and antibiotics, which have been linked to
increased antibacterial resistance in humans.
....baby food
Why: Children’s developing bodies are especially vulnerable to toxins,
and they may be at risk of higher exposure. Baby food is often made up
of condensed fruits or vegetables, potentially concentrating pesticide
residues.
Buy these items organic if price is no object:
....asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn,
kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and sweet peas
Why: Multiple pesticide residues are rarely found on conventionally
grown versions of these fruits and vegetables.
....breads, oils, potato chips, pasta, cereals, and other packaged
foods, such as canned or dried fruit and vegetables
Why: Although these processed products may have lower levels of
contaminants in them, they offer limited health value because
processing tends to wash away important nutrients. The process of
milling organic whole grains into flour, for example, eliminates fiber
and vitamins, though they are sometimes added back in. The more a food
is processed, the less health value its organic version offers,
especially in products such as cereals and pastas with labels that say
"made with organic ingredients." Read the list of ingredients and you
might find that while the flour is organic, the eggs aren't. The
processed foods with the most added value are labeled "100% Organic"
and "USDA organic."
Don’t bother buying these items organic:
....seafood
Why: Whether caught in the wild or farmed, fish can be labeled
organic, despite the presence of contaminants such as mercury and
PCBs. Some wild fish such as bluefish are very high in PCBs, and tuna
and swordfish are laced with mercury. The USDA has not yet developed
organic certification standards for seafood. In the meantime,
producers are allowed to make their own organic claims as long as they
don’t use "USDA" or "certified organic" logos.
....cosmetics
Why: Unless a personal-care product consists primarily of organic
agricultural ingredients, such as aloe vera gel, it's pointless to buy
organic. Most cosmetics contain a mix of ingredients, and USDA
regulations allow shampoos and body lotions to carry an organic label
if their main ingredient is organic hydrosol, which is simply water in
which something organic, such as a lavender leaf, has been soaked.
While the USDA claims that organic-labeled cosmetics follow the same
standards as food, we have found indiscriminate use of synthetic
ingredients and violations of food-labeling standards. Just because a
product has the word organic or natural in its name doesn’t
necessarily mean it’s safer. Only 11% of ingredients found in
personal-care products, organic or not, have ever been screened for
safety.
--
My friends tell me I have an intimacy problem.
But they don't really know me.
....Garry Shandling