Purchasing organic foods is a personal choice, based on your health concerns and personal priorities. Let these priorities guide your decision-making around which foods to purchase organic.

For example, if your goal is to minimize personal exposure to pesticide residues, you may want to choose organic for the foods you eat daily, like cereal, but not occasional items such as ice cream. Or choose organic for any produce items that rank on the Environmental Group’s Dirty Dozen and purchase the Clean Fifteen conventionally.

If your goal is to avoid genetically modified organisms, you will want to make organic choices for foods such as soy, corn, canola, and papayas. Foods that are not currently genetically modified, such as broccoli or bananas, may be less of a concern for you.

However, if your goal is to support a more sustainable agriculture system or reduce your environmental impact, each and every organic purchase you make goes towards supporting this goal.

Take a close look at why organic matters to you…and then choose accordingly!

– Desiree, Registered Dietitian