With people becoming increasingly interested in their health, many are choosing organic fruits, vegetables, and grains as a nutritious alternative. Why has this become an increasing trend and what are the differences between organic and conventional farming practices?

FERTILIZERS – promote plant growth
Conventional – phosphate fertilizers leach arsenic, cadmium, and uranium into the soil; nitrogen fertilizers are made using fossil fuels; potassium fertilizers come from unsustainable mines or saline lakes
Organic – animal manure, compost, bone meal, peat, and seaweed

INSECTICIDES – kill unwanted pests
Conventional – nitrogen may increase the virulence and birth rates of pests; degrades the ecosystem; increases soil acidity
Organic – use of insect predators, barriers, and symbiotic crop planting does not harm your health or the environment

HERBICIDES – (Pesticides) control weed growth
Conventional – surface run-off contaminates the water supply at distant sites; may cause endocrine (hormone) disruption in human and animals leading to reproductive problems; negatively affects neurological and immune systems; may cause cancer
Organic – crop rotation, manual weeding, and covering crops with mulch cause no side-effects while replenishing nutrients in the soil

SOIL NUTRIENTS
Conventional – depletes nutrients in soil and food because one type of plant is grown season after season
Organic – crop rotation ensures nutrients that are depleted by one crop are replenished by another; mulch compost replenishes soil nutrients; foods are higher in nutrients (vitamin C, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium)

When all of the above information is considered, organic food is the obvious choice. However, it may not be readily available to you, or it may be too expensive. If this is the case, it is better to eat fresh conventionally grown vegetables than to abstain. You can decrease your pesticide exposure by soaking all produce in diluted apple cider vinegar, thoroughly washing it, and removing the skin or outer layers before eating.

Here is a list of foods that have the highest levels of pesticides when grown conventionally. If you are going to eat these foods, try for organic as often as possible:

Peaches ~ Strawberries ~ Apples ~ Spinach ~ Nectarines ~ Celery ~ Pears ~ Cherries ~ Potatoes ~ Bell peppers ~ Raspberries ~ Grapes

Here is a list of foods that have the lowest level of pesticides when grown conventionally and are safest to eat non-organically:

Papayas ~ Kiwis ~ Bananas ~ Broccoli ~ Onions ~ Asparagus ~ Sweet peas ~ Mangoes ~ Cauliflower ~ Pineapples ~ Avocados ~ Sweet corn

When eating animal products, it is always best to eat organic to reduce the amount of pesticides you are exposed to (animals eat conventional feed) and also the amount of antibiotics (which cause resistant “super bugs” and may alter the flora in your gut, causing digestive complaints.)