“Should I buy Organic?”

As dietitians, we’ve heard this question from clients time and again. Given the higher

cost of organic foods and new questions being raised regarding their health benefits, you are

right to ask.

The most important thing to consider when choosing to buy organic foods is the reason

you are buying them. There is no evidence based research to suggest that organic foods contain a

higher nutrient content than conventional foods. So if you are spending the extra money to buy

organic foods for more vitamins and minerals the good news is you don’t have to anymore!

If you are taking the environment into account then, yes, organic produce is what you

should look for. Farmers can’t apply synthetic pesticides to organic produce, however, inadvertent

or indirect contact from neighboring conventional farms or shared handling facilities may reach

organic farms with their pesticides- so please wash your produce!

So where do we stand with organics? Unless your intent is to help the environment, there is no

reason to choose organic produce over conventional. The same goes for things like ‘organic

potato chips’, protein bars, etc, there will be no nutritional benefit to these products. The one

thing we will say that is definitely worth the money is organic meats, poultry, and pork. The

animals’ organic feed cannot contain animal by-products, antibiotics or genetically engineered

grains and cannot be grown using persistent pesticides or chemical fertilizers. Also, the animals

must have access to the outdoors.

Whether people buy organic or conventional, it’s the nutritional quality of the overall diet

that matters. The key is to enjoy a wide variety of foods!