Saving on Organics
In a nod to Liz's wonderfully sensible tips on savings, the September issue of ShopSmart, from the publisher of Consumer Reports, shares advice on how you can save money when buying organic food.
Organic anything is pretty hot right now since it's a good way to cut down on ingesting lots of potentially harmful pesticides. Of course, cutting down on ingesting toxins can be pricey so ShopSmart suggests limiting organic purchases to fruits and veggies that have the most dangerous pesticide residues when grown conventionally.
Produce with the lowest pesticide risk includes citrus fruits, bananas, pineapples and onions so you don't have to spend more to buy those grown organically, the mag says.
The worst of the bunch? Read on to see the list, in order of risk, based on a new analysis of government data by the non-profit Organic Center:
Riskiest Fruits: Buy These Organic
Imported Grapes
Cranberries
Nectarines
Peaches
Strawberries
Pears
Apples
Cherries
Riskiest Vegetables: Buy These Organic
Green Beans
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Cucumbers
Potatoes
Tomatoes
Peas
Lettuce
Keep in mind, this list refers to U.S. produce. Some imported items have higher pesticide levels, the mag says. The "risk index score" for an imported peach is almost five times that of a domestic peach and 5 1/2 times as high as that of domestic sweet bell peppers. Other high-risk produce include imported grapes, nectarines, lettuce and cucumbers so you may want to skip those if you can only find imports. Overseas "organics" might not be as reliable, too, since oversight can be sketchy.
Comments
I don't get it - how are we saving money with this "advice"? Have you checked the prices on organic produce recently? It's mostly 2 times more expensive than conventional. If someone can afford this, I don't think they really care whether bananas have lower risk.
If you really want to help your readers, post where the lowest prices are. Here, I'll start - Giant Foods has organic cherry tomatoes for only 50c more than conventional (3$ vs 2.50$), Trader Joe's has organic avocados 4 pack for 4.60$. Although the prices might be going up as I write...
DD: You're right. Organic is almost always far more expensive. The point behind ShopSmart's tips is that consumers, who can afford this, don't have to buy organic everything. To save money, you can buy only the varieties of fruits and vegetables that have a propensity for containing a lot of pesticides. So skip the organic oranges and bananas, but do buy organic apples and nectarines. Sorry you didn't find it as useful as I did, Jelena, but thanks for the price tips. If anyone else has any, please share.
Posted by: Jelena | July 31, 2008 2:17 PM