When you're grocery shopping on a budget, choosing less expensive, conventionally grown produce over organic fruits and vegetables may seem like a sensible option. Choosing organic produce can benefit you and the environment, however, and understanding the advantages of organic over conventional produce could help justify the additional cost on your next grocery bill.
Organic farming practices emphasize conservation of resources and minimal pesticide use, and 30 years of research shows that the environmental advantages are real. Growing fruits and vegetables using conventional agricultural practices requires heavy use of petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides, which can build up in the soil, leech into drinking water and affect the ecosystems of natural waterways. When fertilizers enter natural waterways, they can cause areas of species die-off referred to as dead zones. Using organically derived pesticides and fertilizers cuts consumption of fossil fuels.
Farmers treat fruits and vegetables with pesticides to protect their crops from insect damage, but the same qualities that make pesticides toxic to pests can affect human health as well. Numerous studies link pesticide exposure with health problems such as birth defects, nerve damage and cancer. Children may be especially susceptible to the effects of pesticides. Organic farming methods reduce or eliminate the use of pesticides, and U.S. Department of Agriculture food inspections confirm that organic fruits and vegetables test positive for pesticide residues 67 percent less often than conventionally grown produce.
While the research on levels of nutrients in organic versus conventional produce is inconclusive, studies seem to suggest organic fruits and vegetables are richer in beneficial trace minerals, vitamin C and antioxidant phytonutrients than their conventionally grown counterparts.
USDA guidelines prohibit use of genetically modified --- or GM --- seed stock when growing organic fruits and vegetables. While the World Health Organization considers GM foods unlikely to present major risks to human health, some consumers prefer to avoid them. Concerns include increased potential for allergic reactions to GM foods and unforeseen consequences of gene transfer, such as resistance to antibiotics. Choosing organic foods is a way to avoid genetically modified foods.
While research seems to indicate that organic fruits and vegetables carry some advantages over conventionally farmed produce, eating fruits and vegetables is essential to good health, whether they are organic or not. If you don't have room in your budget for organic, you can still enjoy the health advantages of fruits and vegetables. Choosing a variety of conventional produce, washing it well and peeling when applicable, is healthier than skimping on fruits and vegetables when you cannot afford organic.
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