Are Organic Foods Worth the Cost?

by Shereen Jegtvig

There’s a lot to think about when you buy foods at the grocery store.  Does the food offer good nutrition?  What kind of additives and preservatives are present?  How many calories are there?  And so on…

So here’s another question to consider.  Is your food organic, and does it really matter?

If your main concern about the food you buy is good nutrition, then whether food is organic or not doesn’t really enter into it.  A recent study looked at the research and concluded that organic food really isn’t any more nutritious than regular commercially grown food.  An organically grown orange has pretty much the same amount of vitamins, minerals, fiber and calories as a regular orange.  Same thing goes for other fruits, berries, vegetables, meats, dairy and grains. 

But the main reason for buying organic foods isn’t to get better nutrition – it’s to avoid exposure to chemical pesticide and fertilizer residues that are present on just about all commercially grown foods.  Organic foods are usually going to be labeled.  Be sure to look for ‘Organic’ or ‘100% Organic’ rather than ‘made with organic’ foods, which may only contain 70% organic ingredients.

The most popular organic food is milk.  Even though organic milk reduces your exposure to hormones and other residues, you still need to think about fat content.  Here’s a list of organic milk based on fat content:

When you’re browsing through our FoodEssentials lists, you’ll find lots of organic foods to compare with regular foods.

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