Today, organic food choices are widely available, even for those on a budget, at supermarkets, health food stores, farmers’ markets, online stores, specialty stores and restaurants.
Agricultural pesticides travel many miles on wind, water, and dust. They can last in our bodies for years.
Find out what’s on your food.
We’d like to believe that U.S. government agencies are protecting us and our food supply from chemical contaminants. They’re not—they do not have the regulatory framework, or the political will, to do so. U.S. policy treats pesticides as “innocent until proven guilty” and it can take decades to reach a guilty verdict. Even then, billion-dollar corporations can outspend public interest groups to ensure that policy does not change.
It’s up to us to choose our food wisely. Pesticide Action Network North America provides a database where you can find out what pesticides are used on most fruits and veggies. Or you can search the database by pesticide chemical to see the list of foods it is approved for.
Search this database to learn What’s on Your Food?
GMOs? SynBio Watch’s Shoppers Guide identifies whether or not a product contains GMOs
Chlorpyrifos–more than a dangerous example. When researchers at the Center for Disease Control sampled American for metabolites of the neurotoxic pesticide chlorpyrifos, it showed up in 93 percent of those tested.
Twenty years of scientific evidence showing the danger chlorpyrifos poses to children and to pregnant women resulted in the EPA decision to ban all uses of chlorpyrifos nationally in 2015. However, the current administration decided to overturn this decision. Learn more about the effects of chlorpyrifos on developing children’s brains and Maryland’s efforts to pass a state law to protect our children.
Here’s a round-up of product reviews and practices to help you get started.
Eat Organic on a Budget (Over 75 Tips) is sure to inspire you. The Food Babe Vani Hari covers the gamut of how to get the most from your organic food dollars!
Your holiday meals: Planning to cook an organic entree? Make your own or buy organic eggnog? Pumpkin or pecan pie? Check out your local markets that are known to carry healthy, organic food and products including MOMs Organic Markets, Common Market Co-op and David’s Natural Markets.
Talking turkey? Turkeys are often fed grains treated with pesticides, antibiotics, steroids and hormones. A better bet: buy an organic free-range turkey. Want to skip the turkey altogether? Choose an organic meatless option. To read Consumer Reports on why you should buy an organic turkey this Thanksgiving, click here. For meatless and vegan holiday meal ideas, click here.
Get Rid of the “Dirty Dozen”—the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables—put these at the top of your organic list. Get the list–there’s even an app for that!
Know Your Farmer — Buy Local Organic & Pesticide Free
Children’s impacts from pesticides can be 40 times greater than adults, due to their smaller body size.