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By Laurel Vukovic
a shopper's guide to
t's a clear sign that organic has gone mainstream when retail behemoths such as Wal-Mart and Target stock organic food alongside their conventional offetings. Even McDonald'sthe target of the scathing documentary Super Size Menow offers organic coffee in some of its ^ New lingland locations. There's no question that organics have come a long way since the early 1970s, when grassroots food co-ops stocked barrels of self-serve organic beans and grains for a hippie clientele. Since then, the cornucopia of organic offerings has mushroomed to include a wide variety of gourmet and prepared foods, beer and wine, baby food, pet food, supplements, skin and body care products, clotbing, and home and garden products. It's clear tbat going organic is a growing trend, but is it really a better iboicc?
TIP: Organic tomatoes are more nutritious than their conventional counterparts, say University of California, Davis, researchers in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Technology. Levels of flavonoids, compounds that help prevent disease, are twice as high in organic tomatoes as in conventionally grown varieties.
Reasons to Go Organic
Dn a personal level, choosing organic foods and products protects you from pesticides, herbicides, bormones, and otber chemicals that are commonly used in conventional food production. Many of those chemicals bavc been linked to cancer, immune suppression, .\nt[ other degenerative diseases. In a siudy publisbed in tbe October 2002 issue of/:ii'iroiHJri(i/ Uciitth Perspeciii'cs, University of Washington researchers comp.ircd pesticide residues in children aged 2 to 3 years old. The children who consumed mostly organic foods over a ihrec day period had dramatical ly lower levels of compounds produced by tbe metabolism of organopbosphate insecticides {commonly used on fruiis and vegti,iblfs) in tbcir urine than children eating a conveiitional diet. In fact, the children eating a conventional diet averaged almost nine times tbe amount of pesticides as children eating organic foods. 1 be researchers concluded that choosing organic produce is a simple dietary solution for parents to take to help reduce pesticide exposure in tbeir cbildren. On .1 larger scale, yoti're belping lo prevent tbe destrticllon of the environment caused by toxic cbemicals used in agriculture .md manufacturing. Here's one example; Synthetic fertilizer runoff from agricultural crops is a primary contributor to dead /ones in the oceanareas overtaken by fertilizer-fed algae that deplete oxj^en in tbe water and suffocate fisb and otber marine Hie. Research is proving ibat organic foods are richer in nutrients too. In a study at Washington State Universit\', scieiilists lounti ih.u tirganic lemonade contains U) times more eriocltrin [an antioxidant) than conventional lemonade. Organic apple juice, i;ra|irfruil juice, and lime juice also proved to be ricber in antioxidants tban tbeir conventional counterparts. And List but not least, tirganic foods taste better than their conventional counterparts because organic fruits and vegetables are jiinwii for (I.ivor. not shflf lift-, ami [trganic processed foods arc made from pure, whole foods.
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' Thank you tor using natural, non-toxic products. Each time you use these products, you are helping to maintain a healthier and sustainable home, lifestyle and environment. One by one, we can change the world and make it a BETTER place.
TIP: Organics can be cheaper than other (less healthful) consumer goods. One example: For the cost of a medium coffeehouse lattearound $4 in most citiesyou can buy three organic bananas, a handful of organic walnuts, and a small organic coffee.
Dening Organic
As of October 2002, the ikSDA has strict guidelines for organic foods. To qualify as organic, food must be grown without the use of most conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or sewage sludge, and the land must have been free of these applications for at least three years prior to certification. Genetically modified organisms and irradiation are prohibited. Organically raised livestock must have access to tbe outdoors, be fed 100 percent-organic feed, and not be treated with antibiotics or hormones. In addition, farmers are required to protect the environment by enriching the soil naturally, conserving water, and practicing crop rotation. The LlSDA's certification program is voluntary, and some farmers using organic methods do no( pursue certification for a variety of reasons, including cost and paperwork. States can also continue to maintain their own certification programs, but their requirements cannot be less strict than the national guidelines. i lowever, no food {including imported foods) can claim to be organic unless it meets the strict USDA standards. Organic farms and producers are visited by certifying agents who verify that the fanner is meeting the USDA organic standards. Fraudulent use of tJie word organic carries a befty penalty: Anyone wbo sells or labels a product as organic when they know it doesn't meet USDA standards faces afineof up to $10,000 per violation.
TIP: To avoid synthetic chemicals in your food, choose certifiedorganic produce. Be sure to talk to farmers at your local farmers' market; they may also use sustainable growing practices, even if they're not certified organic.