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Community PageI believe there was an EU study that showed organic foods to be up to 50% more nutritious - especially in some categories like antioxidants and minerals. You'd have to google it. Minerals come into the plant directly from the soil. Conventional food is often grown in depleted soil, so the nutrients aren't available to the roots thus the edible parts too.
In addition to pesticides for bugs, conventional produce uses fungicides (for fungus), herbicides (for weed control), and chemical/petroleum-based fertilizers and soil treatments. Bad for the body, bad for the planet, bad for the farmworkers and communities. Like Indigo Moon I want to support sustainable farming practices. I know the regulations about being certified can be oppressive and onerous, but that's not my fault.
I find organic foods taste way better, especially stone fruits and citrus, and that's reason enough for me. There's a list of the "dirty dozen" foods all over the net - the food crops where pesticides and other chemicals are most heavily used. Bell peppers and strawberries are two examples that come to mind. If I can't find them organic, I won't buy them. Then there are other foods like bananas that have little to no discernable pesticide residue. In the case of bananas, according to VegNews magazine, it's best to look for fair trade labels versus organic or conventional because of how the workers are treated.
I have heard that raw eaters need to be much more conscientious about choosing organic foods because those nutrients and chemical compounds are so much more absorbable from raw foods (in most cases). I don't know if she's still around but Zinfandel, one of the old-timers here, developed some real sensitivities to chemicals in conventional produce. Frankly if you're not largely raw, you may not even notice the reactions you can have from certain foods.
To Pastelpudding, yes, Farmers' Markets are preferable to grocery stores, even Whole Foods. Cheaper too. I like to support the farm-to-consumer model versus the corporate food system. You might have to ask each individual farmer if they grow their crops organically. Since many of them are small farmers, they may not be organic certified (it's a lot of paperwork), but they will tell you if they use any sprays.
