Organic Vegetables – Do You Know What To Buy?

Organic Vegetables - Do You Know What To Buy?

Do you know what vegetables to buy organic and what is not worth the trouble?

Organic vegetables are wonderful, and well worth their price, say some. Growing your own organic vegetables is best, of course. You feel safer knowing exactly what was used on your vegetables before they got to your table. But if you cannot grow your own organic vegetables, the argument goes, it is worth the trouble to find a store or farmers’ market where you can buy them. So let’s suppose you take that trouble. Let’s suppose you find a source of organic vegetables.

Do you know what vegetables to buy organic? Are all organic vegetables worth the higher price?

Organic vegetables that are certified organic under U.S. Dept. of Agriculture regulations must be produced without most synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, growth hormones, and feed made from animal parts.

Organic certification sounds like something most of us would want, but is it always necessary? Is it worth the extra money?

What Vegetables to Buy Organic

These 5 organic vegetables are usually worth the higher prices, since conventionally grown versions contain high amounts of pesticide residues.

1. Green beans: Conventionally grown green Beans can contain three organophosphates that are toxic to the nervous system: acephate, dimethoate and methamidophos. They can also contain endosulfan, an insecticide that disrupts endocrine secretion.

2. Potatoes: Non-organic potatoes are increasingly being exposed to pesticides, according to the Consumers Union. These potatoes may contain dieldrin and methamidophos. While this is bad enough for adults, children who eat potatoes are at risk for a high dose of aldicarb, a pesticide that pervades the inside of the potato.

3. Spinach: Spinach is ahead of all foods when it comes to DDT. Other pesticide residues are claimed to be falling as U.S. farmers are learning to use less quantities of synthetic insecticides. Nevertheless, spinach still can contain permethrin and dimethoate. Permethrin is thought to be potentially cancer-causing.

4. Tomatoes: Tomatoes grown by conventional means have been found high in chlorpyrifos. Chlorpyrifos, also known as Lorsban for farm use and Dursban for home use, is the most heavily used insecticide in the United States.

5. Winter Squash: When tested, two-thirds of winter squash samples exceeded the safe daily limit for a young child of Dieldrin, a chlorinated, carcinogenic insecticide. Heptachlor, another powerful carcinogen was also found. Winter squash in baby food contained DDT.

What Fruits to Buy Organic

Organic vegetables are only part of the picture when it comes to produce. Organic vegetables are often peeled and cooked before eating. Organic fruits are often eaten unpeeled, especially by young children. Young children also consume much greater amounts of fresh fruit per pound of body weight than do adults. The pesticides are concentrated more highly in children.

So while you’re thinking about what vegetables to buy organic, you should also consider these 7 fruits.

1. Apples: Apples can contain methyl parathion. Whether fresh apples, applesauce, or baby food, they can also contain chlorpyrifos.

2. Cantaloupe: Like tomatoes, cantaloupes grown by conventional means have been found high in chlorpyrifos.

3. Grapes: Imported grapes can contain dimethoate. Grapes grown in the U.S. contain methomyl and methyl parathion. Methomyl is a carbamate insecticide listed as an endocrine disruptor.

4. Peaches: Peaches are perhaps the worst of all fruits when grown conventionally. They contain high amounts of iprodione residue, classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a probable human carcinogen. Peaches also contain methyl parathion, an organophosphate insecticide.

5. Pears: All conventionally grown pears, whether fresh or in baby food, can contain methyl parathion, as well as other insecticide residues.

6. Raspberries: Organic raspberries may be expensive, but you will be avoiding the fungicide captan, iprodione and carbaryl.

7. Strawberries: If you go for the beautiful red color of conventionally grown strawberries, you should know that it is caused by the fungicide captan, believed to be a possible human.

What Organic Vegetables Should You Buy?

Some organic vegetables are probably not worth the extra cost. When organic vegetables and fruits pose a health risk high enough to be listed by Consumers Union, however, you may want to take notice.

Watch the video related to organic

Help answer the question about organic

How do you plan and grow an organic vegetable and herb garden?
I want to have my very own organic vegetable and herb garden for my family and my consumption. Please share with me how to do so. Thank you in advance.

About Author


© 2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart invites you to read more of her articles about organic vegetables at http://www.organicspringtime.com. Anna is posting new articles every week on that site, each one dealing with some facet of organic gardening. If you want information for yourself or someone else on how to grow an organic vegetable garden, you will want to read Anna’s article on the subject.

18 Responses to “Organic Vegetables – Do You Know What To Buy?”

  1. antoniob35 says:

    whoa!!it looks like a PICTURE!
    ur an amazing painter!:D

  2. MustLoveDingos says:

    *sub*

  3. Lucifer says:

    All the berry varieties and apples.

  4. Hermann759 says:

    Great talent Der Mann.

  5. Hispanic! At The Disco says:

    apples.
    bell peppers
    celery
    cherries
    imported grapes
    nectarines
    peaches
    pears
    potatoes
    red raspberries
    spinach
    strawberries

  6. lidiabarbarita says:

    Very nice!!

  7. S says:

    Hello! You have quite a few options. Here is a list with a brief description of each:
    1) Local Farmer's Markets, as the person above said. They occoasionally have Organic seed for sell, but make sure you ask before assuming they are organic.
    2) Seed Swapping; Some websites and groups, like http://www.almanac.com, have seedswaps, where you can trade seeds with other people. Sometimes they have organic Seed.
    3) Local Hardware stores; Sometimes Local hardware stores carry Heirloom seed, Organic Seed, and Organic Heirloom seed. What is heirloom seed? heirloom seed is seed that you can plant, and then harvest seed from the fruit that is able to be planted. When you buy hybrid seed, if you plant it and try to use the seed from those fruits, the seed is sometimes sterile, making it not able to be planted.
    4) Online: well known websites such as http://www.burpee.com carry heirloom seed as well as organic seed. You can also look for other websites that sell organic seed, but I would recommend sticking with well-known seed companies so that you do not end up getting ripped off.

    Please note, that while I personally do grow my gardens organically and use heirlooms, I do not see a point in buying organic seed. If you plant a treated seed, and then harvest the seed from that plant, that seed will be organic. So, You can buy organic seed but i would recommend growing some heirlooms and harvesting the seed from them, that way you are sure they are organic and you learn the value of saving your own seed, thus making yourself more self-sufficient.

    The difference between Organic Seed and Heirloom seed is that if you plant an heirloom seed and you harvest a fruit from it (i.e., the tomato), that seed will be able to be planted and keep a similar type of plant the next time you plant it, assuming you seperated it from other varieties. Hybrid Seed usually cannot be planted again, as the seeds may be sterile.

    Organic Seed Just refers to the object that the seed is grown organically, meaning without synthetic fertilizers/herbicides/pesticides. It really has nothing to do with Heirloom and Hybrid. However, it is very common to find Organic Heirloom seed as they go hand-in-hand, because sometimes it takes chemicals to create hybrids.

    Hope i answered your question thoroughly and Good Luck with your Garden! :D

  8. imtrudil80 says:

    Incredible! He looks so life like. Just amazing…and what a beautiful subject

  9. precious_48034 says:

    You can either place an order with Woolworths and they'll deliver or you walk across to Sandton City (less than 20 minutes walk) to buy from them

  10. Crystal K says:

    This is from a book called, "The Purification Plan"

    Choose organic produce whenever possible. You can detoxify your body to the best of your ability, but if you continue to take in more poisons, you're more or less running in place. Study after study has shown that pesticide residues are found in nonorganic produce. (some residues are even found in organic produce, but the quantities are minute in comparison)."

  11. Gyorgyii says:

    Wal mart,Home depot, and lowes all now has an organic seed display usually right by the regular seed selections

  12. Forbidia says:

    Brilliant Willy, Just Brilliant =D

  13. monkeymanbob says:

    Nice work, you did pretty good.

  14. caribbeanbabe says:

    More and more I do look for organic. Partly my husbands influence and partly because I'm learning which veggies have a better flavor because they are organic. Some things, potatoes for example, are just potatoes. I don't pay big money for something that isn't any different than the regular counterpart.

    Cheers, thanks for the question!

  15. Teresa says:

    it is not necessary, but helpful for the body.

    It is more important you avoid sugars and yeasts etc.

  16. champ0y says:

    You’re really good man. You’ve got excellent talent.

  17. HappyNotGrumpy says:

    Excellent work. Pleasure to watch. Perfect music :-) ))

  18. atomicdoug171 says:

    not really. I buy the normal stuff because I'm trying to save money. I don't really believe organic is healthier for you. In my opinion, the normal stuff is good enough. I just rinse it really good. If organic was cheaper, i'd buy it.

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