What is Organic?
Technically all farm food is organic as the term is defined as matter that has come from a once living organism. Over the years, however, we have come to know organic food as produce and other ingredients grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, genetically modified organisms or ionizing radiation. For meat, eggs and dairy it means there are no antibiotics or growth hormones used to stimulate production or growth.

Chemicals and pesticides are used on crops to increase yields by preventing damage from insects and pests. With high populations in Western countries the demand for all types of food has gone up but consumers still want to keep their own costs down. In order to meet the demands of stores and consumers farmers have had to come up with methods to increase their crop each yield. The use of pesticides has helped farmers keep up with demand while also keeping costs down.

Farmers didn’t start using common pesticides until the early 1900s with a big boom in their use happening around the 50s and 60s. This brought about a rebellion in the 60s and 70s when organic food as we know it today came about. Now-a-days more and more consumers are looking for organic food as a healthy alternative to mass production foods. Because growing and farming organic food produces less than other farming methods there is less supply of this type of food. Therefore organic food tends to be more expensive.

Is the cost worth it?
Organic food can be found in most grocery stores or in specific organic or health food stores. With fruit and vegetables you’ll know the food is organic by the look. Produce grown without the use of chemicals and pesticides is typically smaller and may have more spots or marks on it. Organic food will also go bad quicker since they aren’t sprayed with waxes or preservatives. When shopping for organic food it’s better to not buy in bulk as your money will be wasted. With organic food the best shopping practice is to buy less food more often.

When buying packaged foods that are labelled organic be sure to read the whole label. Marketers have found that consumers are looking for this type of food and may falsely label a food item organic when only one ingredient is of true organic nature. Again, reading the labels will prevent you from losing money.

For certain types of produce it may be worth it for you to spend the extra money and go organic. Some fruit and vegetables require the use of more chemicals and pesticides. Typically it’s the sweeter food that pest tend to like. To avoid ingesting the chemicals and pesticides used on these foods organic may be the better option. These foods include peaches, strawberries, nectarines, apples, spinach, celery, pears, sweet bell peppers, cherries, potatoes, lettuce and grapes. Other hearty food with thick skins, peals or rinds can be purchased from the regular produce section to save money.

Non Organic
If you’re not ready to spend the extra money or don’t have the funds in your budget for organic foods don’t fret. For anything to be sold in North America it has to go through rigorous testing and all the chemicals and pesticides used on produce today have been past as being safe for use on our food. Tests have also shown that the amount of chemicals and pesticides that may be consumed is not enough to do us harm. However, it’s still very important to wash all fruit and vegetables before consumption.