Naturalpath

Going Organic without breaking your budget...

Going organic on a tight food budget is a challenge. But there are strategies to help you align your ideals with your fiscal realities. One is to select organic versions of key staple foods so that you increase the percentage of your organic food consumption without significantly increasing your food shopping budget.

Targeted organic purchases is the theme. For instance, the risks of pesticides from conventional produce vary widely, according to the Environmental Working Group. That means that some vegetables, like broccoli, asparagus and onions, as well as foods with peels, such as avocados, bananas and oranges, have relatively low levels compared to other fruits and vegetables.

Pediatrician Dr. Alan Greene, whose new book “Raising Baby Green” explains how to raise a child in an environmentally-friendly way, has identified “strategic” organic foods that he says can make the biggest impact on the family diet. These include the following staple foods.

1. Milk: “When you choose a glass of conventional milk, you are buying into a whole chemical system of agriculture,'’ according to Dr. Greene. People who switch to organic milk typically do so because they are concerned about the antibiotics, artificial hormones and pesticides used in the commercial dairy industry. One recent US government survey found pesticides in 30 percent of conventional milk samples and low levels in only one organic sample. Since kids often consume milk in large quantities, consider buying organic milk.

2. Potatoes: Potatoes are a regular feature on the America plate and commercially-farmed potatoes are some of the most pesticide-contaminated vegetables. A 2006 U.S.D.A. test found 81 percent of potatoes tested still contained pesticides after being washed and peeled, and the potato has one of the the highest pesticide contents of 43 fruits and vegetables tested, according to the Environmental Working Group.

3. Peanut butter: According to the U.S.D.A, more than 99 percent of peanut farms use conventional farming practices, including the use of fungicide to treat mold, a common problem in peanut crops. Given that some kids eat peanut butter regularly, going for organic peanut butter seems prudent.

4. Ketchup: Recent research has shown organic ketchup has about double the antioxidants of conventional ketchup. If this is one of your household staple items, consider switching to organic ketchup.

5. Apples: Apples are one of the most pesticide-contaminated of fruits and vegetables. After bananas, apples are the second most commonly eaten fresh fruit and are the second most consumed fruit juice. You would do well to switch.