What Is Organic Food?

What is organic food?

If you have organic production, you must limit pesticide use to a certain level and only certain types of pesticides may be used. Other organic foods like dairy and meat must be produced without hormones or antibiotics. While you can’t know exactly where it’s been and how it’s been grown, organic food is the second-best option to growing your own produce.

Food grown non-organically is referred to as conventionally-grown. Conventional food may contain pesticides under a more liberal legal limit. Conventional dairy and meat may be produced using approved antibiotics and hormones.

Types of organic food

When you think of organic food, your mind probably goes to fruits and vegetables first. While they may be the most common organic offerings, there are also benefits to eating organic dairy, meat, fish, and seafood. All of these types of organic food are readily available in grocery stores.

Organic fruits

Fruit is one of the most common types of organic food. Conventional fruit tends to have a heavy pesticide residue, which makes them a good candidate for choosing organic.

Since insects are attracted to sweet, fruity smells, don’t expect your organic fruit to look “perfect.” While farmers will choose the best produce to sell, the absence of pesticides means that they may have blemishes or marks on their skin. However, they will taste just as good if not better than conventional fruit.

Organic vegetables

Vegetables are another common organic purchase. Since their peels and skins are often eaten, they are directly subjected to pesticide sprays. This means that eating organic vegetables can make a big difference in the amount of pesticide residue you and your family are exposed to.

Much like with fruit, organic vegetables may have imperfections in their shape or skin, but they are just as delicious (if not more!) on the inside.

The benefits of eating organic foods

There are a number of benefits to buying organic food:

1. No pesticides, antibiotics, or hormones
2. Can be more nutrient-rich
3. Generally fresher in taste
4. Better for the environment

Should kids eat organic foods?

When setting a grocery budget, many families wonder if they should buy organic food for their children. While there are hundreds of studies that seem to prove why you should or shouldn’t buy organic foods for your children, there are a few things to keep in mind.

1. If your child is a picky eater, consider only buying the foods you know they love organically. If they’re trying a type of food for the first time, buy conventionally to save a little money.
2. If your child has food sensitivities or allergies, buying organic can be a good idea. It controls many factors in farming so you truly know what you are eating.
3. Buying organic foods can be a good way to teach your children about the effects of farming on the environment.

That being said, many doctors and nutritionists emphasize the “more is more” principle. While local, organic produce is ideal, it is more important that your children eat a wide variety and large quantity of produce. 

If your budget allows for both quality and quantity, you can buy organic foods regularly. But if your budget is more limited, you may prefer to stick to buying the dirty dozen organically and purchasing the rest of your groceries conventionally.

Is organic food is healthier?

Although organic produce has numerous benefits, it’s not necessarily healthier for you and it’s worth remembering that food is not the only source of chemical exposure. How we garden, where we live, the cleaning products we use in our home and whether we treat our pets for parasites are all potential sources for increasing our chemical burden.