Which Foods to Purchase Organically in Grocery Stores

Jun 29, 2010
Sarah Sandifer

Food Bought at Grocery Stores Can Be Organic - Sarah Sandifer

Shopping for organic food can be a difficult task when deciding which foods are worth an extra expense. Learn which foods to buy organic in grocery stores.

Organic food is so easily found at grocery stores now, the question of whether to purchase organic food or not is becoming more of a part of the typical trip to the grocery store. As the demand for natural food increases, it is becoming easier to have access to food that is grown organically.

What is Organic Food?

Organic food is food that is grown without the use of pesticides, chemicals, or hormones, and is not genetically modified. Organic food has not been proven to have a higher nutritional content than its non-organic counterparts, but eating organic food prevents exposure to foods contaminated with pesticides and chemicals which has great health benefits. Purchasing organic food has environmental, health, social, and economic advantages. Organic food can have one drawback which is the money it costs to purchase organic produce, meat, grains, vitamins, and the like.

Should All Foods Purchased in the Grocery Store be Organic?

Since organic food does cost more than its non-organic counterparts, it might not be possible to spend the extra money that organic and natural foods cost. Produce, meat, eggs, and dairy would be most beneficial to buy organically. It does cost more money to live the natural lifestyle though, so whether dollars are spent on organic food needs to be decided on intelligently and strategically.

Foods to Buy Organic

Certain foods hold pesticides more than others because of how they are grown or because of a protective outer layer of skin. When having to make a decision on which foods are worth the extra expense of buying organic, these are some tips to keep in mind:

Produce: Generally, if the fruit or vegetable has a thick skin, an organic purchase isn’t necessary. Bananas, oranges, avocados, mangos, pineapples and so on are protected by the skin surrounding them so pesticides aren’t able to seep into the flesh. However, tomatoes, celery, apples, peaches, and berries don’t have the protection of skin so all have high concentrations of chemicals and pesticides, making those types of produce the ones to buy organically.

Meat: Where possible, it is good to spend money on organic meat. Conventional farming methods genetically modify animals, as well as the grains that are fed to the animals. Additionally, animals are given antibiotics to resist diseases from crowded feed lots, which is then transfered to humans as consumers. Farm raised, grass-fed animals will eliminate ingesting pesticides, antibiotics, or genetically modified organisms.

In an ideal world consumers would be able to buy grains, dairy, eggs, as well as produce and meat organically; however, that might be too expensive for many families. For shoppers in grocery stores that have to make the decision of which foods to buy organically, begin with produce and meat. The question of which foods to buy organically can be distilled even further within produce as has been shown as well, if certain organic foods are still too expensive.

Choose Organic Little By Little When Shopping at Grocery Stores

Generally the less distance there is between the farm and the kitchen the healthier the food will be. Farmer’s markets and local farms are both good places to buy produce from as this supports local farmers and ensures that the food is natural, organic, and pesticide-free. When shopping from grocery stores, though, decisions on which foods are worth buying organically must be made. Even if an entire grocery trip can’t be organic, when shopping in grocery stores it is still possible to begin eating a more natural, organic diet one piece of produce at a time.

Sources:

Food, Inc. dir Robert Kenner, Magnolia Pictures presents a Participant Media production, 2009.

The Daily Green: The Dirty Dozen: 12 Foods to Eat Organic. 2010

Sarah Sandifer - Sarah Sandifer is a freelance writer, a teacher, an Army Wife, a home decorator, an avid cook, and an athlete. She loves teaching high ...