Why and What to Buy Organic
We see the little sticker or sign everywhere: organic, from our apples to our sheets, and if it were up to us there would be a huge alarm and smoke machines to go with it, especially when it comes to fruits and veggies.
You know how now we look back and say, I can’t believe there was a time when people smoked cigarettes in offices, airplanes and restaurants. In five to ten years that will be “I can’t believe people consumed non organic produce, remember pesticides? Poor souls.”
We like to be ahead of the curve and know you do to, especially when it comes to our numero uno investment, in our selves and in our health. We like to err on the side of awesome when it comes to the substances coming into contact or literally inside our body, the more times its organic, the better.
Here’s the deal on what it all means, what you must buy organic and how to read code, see, we make you smarter, healthier, energized and informed. We got you.
It means that on the farm all the fruits and veggies were never treated with toxic agents, genetically modified in any way and were grown without pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, or chemical fertilizers.
Why organic matters for juicing
Juicing puts the fruits and vegetables straight into our bodies in a form that is absorbed very quickly. Organic produce contains more nutrients and does not carry pesticides that will be carried into the body. Produce with pesticides has actually been linked to short term damage and long term issues like cancer and birth defects!
Know the Dirty Dozen. If nothing else, these are the guys to watch out for and err on the side of organic, especially when consuming raw.
EWG’s Dirty Dozen™ is a rundown of fruits and vegetables that are commonly contaminated with highly toxic insecticides that are poison to the nervous system and in dispute to be removed from the farming process because of their negative effects.
Organic, all the way with: Apples, celery, bell peppers, peaches, strawberries, nectarines, grapes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, blueberries, potatoes. Get your hands on the full list here.
How to become an organic sleuth. Want to impress your friends, drop your PLU knowledge on them. These are the stickers on fruit and veggies and just with a glance you can get the whole down low on your produce.
· 4 Digits on the pLU. Grown conventionally, with the use of pesticides. If you end with this, give that apple a bath and a good scrub for sure before consuming.
· 5 Digits on the PLU + starts with an 8. Hopefully a red alarm will go off when you pick it up, but if not, cease and desist! This little number is genetically modified and not organic.
· 5 Digits on the PLU + starts with a 9. Hooray! This means the produce is organic, not treated with pesticides and not genetically modified.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Ali Van Putten is a blogger, entrepreneur, and obsessive compulsive juicer who collaborates with the Raleigh Raw crew to spread the good vibes. She is a certified Holistic Health Coach through the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and a Jivamukti Yoga Teacher. Her site Createapreneur provides tools for creative entrepreneurs to build their brand, business and most importantly, to live life outside of the conventional lines.
