As students price seems to hold presidency over everything else, except when it comes to a must-have clothing purchase, it is hard to justify spending extra money on organic food on a tight budget – but it is actually very important for your health. Non-organic foods contain toxins and chemicals, we are basically poisoning ourselves. The only way to ensure that you are not buying genetically modified food is to buy organic. In Canada, food does not have to be labelled if it has been genetically modified. Genetically modified organisms have not been tested to see how they can impact our health. There is also a risk of having an allergic reaction to a gene that has been put in the food products.
Buying organic does get expensive. I personally like to try to hit farmer’s markets when possible or shop at small grocery stores that carry local products. Since I am shopping for one, I find that I can usually buy a smaller amount because the good aren’t prepackaged like at major grocery stores. I also find that at the farmers market they are willing to negotiate. It helps to go with a friend and then split up your purchases. Buying organic is not only healthier, but it helps out your community.
If you can’t buy everything organic it is important to stick to the dirty dozen:
- celery
- peaches
- strawberries
- apples
- blueberries
- nectarines
- sweet bell peppers
- spinach, kale and collard greens
- cherries
- potatoes
- imported grapes
- lettuce
There are foods that have less contact with pesticides so it is less important to buy these organic, there are 15 clean foods:
- onions
- avocados
- sweet corn
- pineapples
- mango
- sweet peas
- asparagus
- kiwi fruit
- cabbage
- eggplant
- cantaloupe
- watermelon
- grapefruit
- sweet potatoes
- sweet onions
It is hard to make the decision to spend more and think long term, especially when we have a limited budget but buying organic food is very important to our health. If you are interested in learning more about organic foods, this link is a great resource:
http://www.helpguide.org/life/organic_foods_pesticides_gmo.htm
List of farmers markets in Vancouver:
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