Question: Should you buy organic? Answer: At least some of the time.

And there are three reasons why.

I. Biological

Whatever you regularly eat or drink on a daily basis — buy organic. Why? It reduces your exposure to repetitive pesticides or pollutants that are in your favorite products.

For me this is tea, olive oil, eggs, milk, butter, and vitamins.

The more exposure your body has to the same chemicals, the more apt you are to develop a negative effect such as cancer or an immunodeficiency. Reduce your exposure and stay well.

The Environmental Working Group makes it easy for us when it comes to fruit and vegetables. Check out the EWG website for fantastic information on healthy living.

EWG’s Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen make organic choices simple.

I will note that studies on conventionally grown compared to organically grown fruits and vegetables have failed to find a difference in taste or nutritional value.

But that is not the point is it?

If you ask most people why they buy organic they will tell you that they are most concerned about the purity of the food they and their families are eating, and that the avoidance of pesticides and chemicals is their driving force.

Not sure about you, but that is my feeling exactly.

II. Moral

The second reason I buy organic is moralistic, although the term ‘organic’ is not usually applied to animal products such as milk and eggs, or even pork and beef. More often you will see descriptors such as ‘antibiotic and hormone free’, ‘cage free’ or ‘humanely raised’.

These I do look for and I hope you will too.

It is easy to forget that commercially raised meat like chicken, turkey, beef, and pork are frequently no more than meat factories with the animals living in deplorable conditions including overcrowding, standing in and/or eating their own feces, with limited if any exposure to the outdoors and sunlight — all of which breed disease and low body weight.

To counteract this, farmers regularly treat them with antibiotics and growth hormones — neither of which are healthy for our human biology.

Additionally, the unrelenting stress these animals live with results in elevated cortisol levels — a stress hormone that then transfers to the meat we eat. Cortisol is a known carcinogen.

And remarkably, some chicken feed has arsenic additives — also known to cause cancer in humans.

Not sure about you but eating chemically altered food from animals that led stressful lives by farmers with no respect for the creatures in their care is not possible for me — nor is it healthy — mentally or physically. 

If you do eat meat, wouldn’t you rather eat something that was humanely raised, that led a happy and stress-free life before it hit your plate? Chickens should be allowed to roost and peck as nature designed and not forced to live shoulder to shoulder with their like kind, beaks snipped off so they can’t peck one another. It’s so sad.

Whenever possible I urge you to buy ‘humanely raised’.

I always buy organic milk, cream, and butter; and humanely raised or cage-free eggs, chicken, and turkey — and beef and pork when possible. It’s my way of showing respect for these creatures and the farmers who provide them to us.

III. Environmental

So what about the environment? Can buying organic help the environment?

Definitely! This planet is a living, breathing organism. We depend on the earth for our own health and well-being so we have a responsibility to keep it as pure as possible for our children and grandchildren. Any pollutants created by us will eventually be ingested by us.

Organic farming relies on crop rotation, green-friendly manure, and biological pest control. According to the article: The Costs and Benefits of Buying Organic Food, organic customers are not only buying organics to avoid ingesting toxic chemicals, but are also supporting the environment by supporting organic farming.

But What About Expense?

Buying organic from conventional stores with small organic sections can be expensive. But you can cut those expenses by searching out stores with larger organic departments such as BJ’s and chains like Whole Foods.

Check out Thrive Market. This on-line retailer delivers “natural and non-toxic products at 50% less” than traditional retailers – right to your door.

Still, buying organic can seem expensive – but not if you take a look at the rest of your grocery list.

The last time I went to BJ’s I bought Dove Chocolate Covered Cranberries for me and a bag of M&M Peanuts for my husband. Did we need either? No. There was $20 right there that I could have put towards my organics!

What’s on your list that you could remove? My guess is that it involves something white – like these.

If you’re going organic, why not get rid of the sweets at the same time and treat your cells to a whole new experience!

Be happy. Stay well. Thanks for reading!

Check out my post on Drinking Water – Keeping It Pure to be sure your hydration is also what it should be.