Turn the box around....

You ever wonder what all the hype is about organic? and what is the difference between that and all natural, or free range, or this or that. All the words and labels can be confusing. I have spent a lot of time reading the labels on the food that I buy and I cant tell you how many products I have stumbled across that claim to be healthy or natural, but contain a high amount of fat or sugar or chemicals. I have even stumbled across "turkey" products that contain pork, or "vegetarian" products that contain a meat base. Its all a little disconcerting sometimes.

Now we all know the long fought battle between all natural and organic. I have heard so many people say "Well, there basically the same thing."

Wrong

According to the website wisegeek.com:

"...For example, animal products raised with the use of artificial hormones can be labeled natural. So can genetically modified organisms. Most importantly, natural does not mean organic, although many companies would like consumers to think it does. Organic food has a stringent set of requirements, policies, and procedures that must be followed for certification. These requirements are much more explicit and in depth than the single paragraph definition used for “natural.”

Some companies who cannot afford organic certification may choose to use USDA labeling to define their product. For example, the USDA also defines the use of labeling regarding hormones and antibiotics. A company could label a product to indicate that it fulfilled the conditions for natural, hormone free, and antibiotic free USDA definitions. This method is, however, imperfect, because a variety of things that are certainly not organic could fall comfortably into all of these categories."

So which one do we buy? how do we know what is better? And most importantly, how do we afford it all?

Simple solution. Turn the box around, and READ THE LABEL.

It depends on the food that I am buying. I dont eat a lot of meat, so when I eat meat I prefer organic. Not only due to the amounts of hormones and steroids injected into the animals, but buying organic meat(and anything organic) also promotes the support of fair treatment of animals, the way they are cared for and killed, and also the farm in which they are raised.

When I buy fruits and veggies i usually do not buy organic because I eat a large amount of both and I just can not afford to buy them organic. Fruits and veggies are at their most natural state anyways so as long as you are eating them and cooking them right, the organic-ness of the food isnt too big of a deal. When it comes to fruits and veggies I recommend either buying them fresh or frozen, not canned if your able. (Some items, like beans or stewed tomatoes usually only come canned.) The food retains its highest nutritional value this way, and when a food is canned it is usually added with a salt or sugary syrup and some chemicals to maintain freshness. All which just adds unneeded calories and chemicals to your diet.

For other foods it depends. I buy foods in the most natural state. For example if I want some canned beans i immediately look at the ingredients first (as everyone should do with everything the ever buy!) the ingredients listed on kidney beans was like 10 items long, full of chemicals and added stuff, including HFCS. no clue why, so I opted to go the little extra money and get the organic kind. However black beans were just black beans, salt, water. So I bought the regular kind of those. (apply that too all other foods in the store) This way you are getting the best health benefit for the cheapest you can.

I think if you can afford organic, go for it, buy everything organic, it can only help. But most people can not. So just buy everything in its most natural state, dont eat processed foods, dont cook with excess ingredients (butter, salt, sugar) and eat tons of fruits and veggies and you cant go wrong. I think there is so much more then organic vs. non organic that people need to focus on first when it comes to food and health.

When asked what the secret to healthy eating was, a famous foodie answered "eat food, not too much, mostly plants" - Michael Pollan