Organic Foods

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Hi Jordan,

In other forum threads you have suggested that buying organic produce is likely a good idea if it is included in the “dirty dozen”. What is your stance on other organic food such as cooking oils, meats, eggs, and dairy? Any evidence to suggest going organic is worth the extra cost in terms of harmful chemicals, hormones, nutrient density etc.?

Thank you.

2

I don’t think there’s ample evidence to the following:

  1. That organic foods provide unique health benefits compared to their non-organic counterpart
  2. That there are harmful chemicals in non-organic foods to begin with that are not present in organic foods
  3. That organic foods are more nutrient dense in any meaningful way than non-organic foods

I don’t think it’s worth purchasing organic foods outside of the current dirty dozen, perhaps. Here is the 2019 list:

  1. Strawberries
  2. Spinach
  3. Kale
  4. Nectarines
  5. Apples
  6. Grapes
  7. Peaches
  8. Cherries
  9. Pears
  10. Tomatoes
  11. Celery
  12. Potatoes
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3

What is the dirty dozen exactly ? Lol

4

Thanks for the response man, sometimes its hard to wade through all the conflicting info.

5

Each year the Environmental Working Group publishes a list of the foods that have the highest amounts of pesticides. However, the EPA and other national and international organizations tend to agree that there’s scant, if any, data suggesting these pesticide residues are problematic. Overall, the known risk of not consuming enough fruits and vegetables is much greater than any theoretical risk of pesticide residue consumption.

That being said, if I was going to buy organic foods- which I don’t- these would be the ones I would purchase, which I don’t.

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6

I tend to take your side on that subject Jordan , as a father of 2, organic isn’t in my budget anyway. And I figure if a strawberry takes me out of this world then so be it I guess.

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