Organic Must-Haves

I am a very "organic" eater, at least when it comes to grocery shopping and what I supply in my home. The vast majority of the food items I purchase are labeled 'organic' but some items are not as important to me to be organic, in example: Bananas, mangoes, avocados, oranges and grapefruit.

However, some items will never cross the threshold into my home without being organic. Here is a list, and here is why:

Berries: (Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, and Blackberries)

These items have an extremely thin skin and absorb a lot of pesticides/herbicides/chemicals. These fruit cannot simply be washed and have some residue removed. Additionally, berries are an insect FAVORITE and are easily enjoyed by them, thus prompting a deadly amount of toxins to be used to kill the insects; berries simply are bathed in more pesticides than your average apple or orange.

Stone fruit: (Plums, Peaches, Nectarines)

Similar to berries, in 'conventional' farming these fruits are sprayed with poisons abundantly more than your average apple or orange. Especially because we typically eat the skins of these fruits as well, it is a no-go for consuming if not organic.

Soy: (Soy milk, tofu, many fake meats)

95% of American soybean crops are not just heavily sprayed with toxic chemicals, but also contain Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs for short) . GMOs are very new to our market Less than 15 years ago these genetically manipulated foods slipped quietly into the front door of our supermarkets without a peep. In the conventional market, more than 65% of ANYTHING you can buy has Genetically Modified ingredients. GMOs are scientists playing with the DNA of plants and animals and mixing genes together to create foods with certain qualities. Because this is so new, we do not know the long term affects of GMOs on our bodies or the environment. (GMOs are not yet allowed in Japan's food market or many European Union countries; they are observing us first to see how deleterious it could be).

That being said, according to the USDA, for an item to be certified "Organic" there cannot be any GMOs. Since GMOs are not labelled in any way in the United States, the only way I can know I am not consuming genetically modified Soy is if I purchase it organic.

Caveat: Silk brand items is famous for NEVER using genetically modified soybeans in their products, even their non-organic products.

Dairy (Cheese, Sour Cream, Yogurt, Butter)

First of all, I am not a big dairy consumer. However, every now and again, I want some cheese! Some really good cheese. I will only buy Organic and hopefully Raw cheese. As described in a much earlier post, conventional dairy cows are so sickly and ill, they produce a disgusting product that is laced with rBST/rBGH and antibiotics (not to mention the environmental havoc it wreaks on our soil and water systems). It is so detrimental to our health as human beings, in my opinion, it should be permanently banned.

I hope this has been informative for you. It is important to me to pass along what I have researched.

~ Turmeric

Going Organic

After about 2 years of being conscious that I had been an unhealthy person, I had controlled my fast-food addiction and soda consumption. I had read some information on foods in the supermarkets and the chemicals used to raise them. I read the effects said chemicals had over time on the health of humans, animals, plant life, and soil. I have always been environmentally conscious. In my decision to begin buying some produce and food organic, it was more for Mother Earth than for me.

I deduced that the most important products to buy organic was Dairy and Meat; and so this is how I began my Organic journey. I told myself that I would never buy non-organic meat or dairy from a supermarket every again...and I never went back on that. There are many many many reasons why I decided this is where my organic path should start. Some of those reasons I have spoken of in earlier blogs.

The second group of foods that I decided to only buy organic at all costs were berries: Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, and blackberries. The reason: 1- Berries are extremely important to health, so I eat a lot of them, therefore I need them to be good for me which leads me to 2 - Their thin skin. Berries have extremely thin and pourous skin that allows the pesticides to permeate the fruit. When tested for chemical residue, berries are amongst the highest in concentration. Thicker skinned fruit like oranges and bananas score lower.

If you are following my story, this is 2 years into actively becoming a more healthy human being that I began to buy all my Meat, Dairy, and Berries organic.

~Turmeric