Post Restructuring Cash Flow Review - To Buy or Not to Buy Organic

Should I continue to buy a product that is on average 50% higher (or more often twice as much)?  That's the question I started asking whenever I wanted to buy organic products.   Even if I limited the products that were organic based on EWG's shopper's guide to produce, they were still a significant expense.  Was it worth it?  To me, it was.  

What does it mean to be organic?

According to the USDA's National Organic Program, "organic" means:

"Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used."  (See reference here). 


Why did I want to continue to buy organic food?    

A recent study came out where the researchers compared organic food to conventional foods.  They found that the organic food didn't have any more minerals or vitamins than their conventional counterparts.    The study noted that all pesticides found (some were actually found on organic produce but in smaller amounts) were within safety limits.

To me, the article by Brian Fung of the Atlantic in his piece "Organic Food Isn't More Nutritious, but That Isn't the Point" summed up my feelings the best.   I didn't expect organic food to be more nutritious (although milk was found to contain slightly more omega-3 fatty acids), I primarily wanted to avoid the consumption of pesticides, hormones and other additives and exposure to potentially to harmful bacteria.    Also, I believe in sound farming practices and thought that the best way to support this was to continue to buy organic food.

Why was buying organic so important to me?

My kids.  My kids were still young and I wanted to ensure that what they ate wouldn't have any potentially detrimental effects on their development.    They have smaller bodies and they were still growing.  Studies haven't been done to gauge the potential and cumulative effects of these contaminants on young kids.   Buying organic is a big commitment though, especially when it comes to buying organic meat.  Organic meat is particularly expensive, but I also wanted to avoid meat from animals that had been treated with antibiotics because I wanted to limit their exposure to drug resistant bacteria or other pathogens. 

I try to save money buy buying organic food in bulk from Costco (organic chicken breast is about $5.99/lb and they generally have organic raspberries and strawberries on sale).  Whenever I go to Whole Foods, I buy only as much as I need.  Also, I frequent stalls that sell organic produce at farmer's markets.