Organic, not organic. Every one has their own opinion. Many people, myself included, can feel very discouraged when we see the prices of organic produce and know that it would really make a hit on our budgets that we simply cannot afford. At the same time I admit it. The thought of all the pesticides used on produce is astounding and slightly horrifying to me. To blithely go through life and believe it won’t have a negative impact in some way seems a bit naive to me. It bothers me that it is considered okay for our products to be treated with so many chemicals.
I listened to a broadcast on public radio about how tomatoes are grown, what they are grown in, and how many chemicals are used to treat weeds and pests in growing them. No wonder store tomatoes taste so lousy. Trust me, if you ever eat a home grown tomato and then try and store bought you should know what I mean. This broadcast said that sometimes more than TWENTY pesticides are used in tomato fields.
So here’s the deal. You can’t afford to switch to organic? MAKE SURE YOU WASH YOUR PRODUCE THOROUGHLY!! All of it!! Don’t just rub it clean, don’t just “pray and eat”, clean it well. A majority of those disgusting chemicals are on the outside layer. Next, peel what you can. Peel those apples if you are worried. Also, you can buy different produce washes that help clean the junk off your produce. Make sure you check what they are made of first. Nothing like adding chemicals to clean of chemicals.
Consider going partially organic. There is a list of the Top 12 worst offenders for produce that absorbs the chemicals. These are the first ones I would switch out for organic.These are in order of “worst offender”.
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Strawberries
4. Peaches
5. Spinach
6. Nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Sweet Bell peppers
9. Potatoes
10. Blueberries
11. Lettuce
12. Kale