WHAT
Organic produce is grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizer. In order to be labeled organic, the National Organic Standard Board has to approve your product and reviews/tests the products annually. Organic farming practices are also aimed at creating more sustainable practices for the land and environment and more natural living for animals.
In order to really understand what organic foods are, we have to understand how conventional food is grown/made.
Pesticides: Most common ingredient is Glyphosate. This is a controversial topic. Glyphosate is a potentially very harmful pesticide found in a common household item, Round Up. Glyphosate is essentially a chemical that kills unwanted plants, i.e. weeds, and is used in such abundance that it can now be found in our food, water, and air. The reason this is a highly debated topic is because there are studies showing a mix of results on how this affects humans. Recently it was deemed "probably carcinogenic to humans" by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The main reason this is a controversial topic is because its owned by a huge corporation that has paid for studies on this chemical with findings that it is safe. Fortunately, more academic, peer-reviewed research has shown otherwise and has gained publicity.
As mentioned, Glyphosate kills plants, so how are farmers using it on crops? Well, the seed of the crop is genetically modified to withstand Glyphosate. The same company that produced Glyphosate also produced Round Up ready seeds for corn, soy, canola, cotton, sugar, and alfalfa.
Usually corn and soy contain the highest amounts of herbicides, and they are also highly genetically modified that what we know as corn is far from corn produced in its natural form.
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
There have been many long term, peer reviewed, scholarly studies showing the negative health impacts to the human body when these pesticides are used in farming practices. It's actually really terrifying when you read all of the articles and learn about what it could be doing to our bodies.
One study showed that out of a group of 69,000 people, those who ate organic had a 25% less cancers than those who ate conventional/non-organic food.
Long term studies on the impacts of pesticides on children showed that it had negative impacts to neurological development and even led to thinner gray matter in the brain. Some of these impacts on the brain are irreversible.
More recent research is being done to understand the impacts of Glyphosate and other pesticides to our gut biome and endocrine system, which manages our hormones to regulate growth and metabolism.
In 2018, Harvard released a study showing correlation between pesticides in food with fertility issues. Although this isn't a direct cause, it's something worth considering.
Studies have linked Glyphosate to cancer including non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
One thing to keep in mind, Glyphosate may be the most well known pesticide that could be harmful, but its definitely not alone. In the 2018 data, the USDA found 225 different pesticides on fruits & veggies eaten daily. These pesticides also contain heavy metals which are known is disrupt the endocrine system.
HOW TO IMPLEMENT
The sad fact is that organic fruits & veggies are more expensive because it costs more to produce, which leads to less accessibility. So here is some information that can help you decide what you may or may not want to spend a little more money on for organic.
If you eat the skin its something you may want to buy organic. If you decide not to you can wash & peel the skin, although that does reduce the nutrient value. Any leafy veggie should be organic or at least remove to outer leaves to reduce the about of pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group uses data from the USDA to provide public information, most popular is the Dirty Dozen list and Clean Fifteen. The Dirty Dozen are 12 types of produce that you should consider buying organic. You might think, ok, but I can just wash & peel these, right? Unfortunately, the produce is in fact washed & peeled before testing and they still had many different pesticides in the produce. Hence, why you should buy these organic or opt to buy more produce for the Clean Fifteen list.
:: Dirty Dozen ::
Strawberries - Spinach - Kale - Nectarines - Apples - Grapes
Peaches - Cherries - Pears - Tomatoes - Celery - Potatoes
:: Clean Fifteen ::
Avocado - Sweet Corn - Pineapples - Frozen sweet peas - Onions
Papaya - Eggplant - Asparagus - Kiwis - Cabbage
Cauliflower - Cantaloupe - Broccoli - Mushrooms - Honeydew melon
I WANT MORE
Download the EWG Healthy Living App. This makes shopping a breeze. You can scan barcodes of food and skin care or browse to see what you may want to buy that is organic.
This article is on the recent report of why they are recommending certain produce to only be consumed if organic. It has great information on recent research on pesticides and GMOs.
Organic foods: Are they safer? More nutritious? From the Mayo Clinic
Restore: Promotes Gut-Brain Health This is a product I use daily. It protects your gut lining when you do eat foods containing pesticides and can also help to restore your gut lining.
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