Every planet conscious shopper’s guide.
Choosing to eat organically can be very beneficial. Let’s dive in to some of the reasons why you might want to include organic produce in your diet and which foods give your the best bang for your buck.
Eating organically = organic farming which is great for soil quality and reduces the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere. These farming practices also support environmental biodiversity. In a nutshell a study has found that organic farming leads to:
- More plant diversity
- More earthworms
- More insects
- More butterflies
- An increased number of some types of birds
Soil quality; the hidden part of the climate cycle.
Organic farming practices such as crop rotation can enhance soil quality.
Did you know that soil is the second largest active pool of carbon after the ocean? Organic farming allows the soil to store large amounts of carbon and reduces the amount being released in to the atmosphere – great news for the environment. It also helps to restore nitrogen levels that are needed in plants for protein and energy.
To break that down, what we’re saying is: soil can be part of the climate change solution.
Organic fruits and vegetables are also grown without synthetic pesticides and fertilizers meaning you’ll reduce the amount of pesticide residue you ingest.
There is some evidence that plants on organic farms can also produce crops richer in certain nutrients such as iron, magnesium and phosphorus.
Organic milk contains more omega-3 fatty acids.
Milk may be an area where you choose to go organic and benefit from higher levels of polyunsaturated fat, conjugated linoleic acid, vitamin E and iron.
Organic meat contains 47% more omega-3 fatty acids.
Perhaps as a meat eater you might choose to make an organic choice to benefit from lower concentrations of saturated fatty acids.
Best bang for your buck…
If you can’t afford to buy all your fruits and vegetables from organic sources, check out the Environmental Working Group (EWG) clean 15 and dirty dozen list to help you make informed choices.
Best to buy organic:
- pears
- apples
- cherries
- peaches
- grapes
- bell and hot peppers
- spinach
- kale
- tomatoes
- celery
- strawberries
- nectarines
