Wise Organic Eating

Since last week's green tip had to do with what kinds of organic food you should not buy, this week we'll be visiting foods that you are better off grabbing from the organic section of your grocery store. The foods listed all have the heaviest burden of pesticides, chemicals, additives and hormones.

• Meat: while meat won't contain much pesticide, raising animals through conventional means can sometimes mean using hormones to speed up growth and antibiotics to keep them resistant to diseases. Likewise, pesticides might be used on the grains that they eat.


• Milk: pesticides and other man-made chemicals have been found in dairy products.While any residues have been low or not seemingly significant, concern about milk comes from the fact that it is a staple in the diet of many growing children.


• Peaches, sweet bell peppers, grapes, celery and tomatoes: these thin-skinned fruits are especially tempting for pests and thus receive greater amounts of pesticides. Not only are the chemicals hard to fully wash off, if the skin is penetrated harmful residues can sink inside of the fruit itself.


• Apples: scrubbing and peeling may not entirely eliminate the chemical residue.


• Strawberries: Strawberries bought out of season are more likely to come from other countries with less-stringent regulations on pesticide use.


• Lettuces: since they are highly susceptible to pests, leafy greens are given some of the highest volumes of pesticides used on food.
  


• Potatoes: this popular spud ranks high for pesticide residue. It also gets the double whammy for fungicides added to the soil for growth.

Hopefully these green tips will help you shop for safe, healthy organic food.