Why I Don’t Eat Organic
I’ll be honest: I don’t eat much organic food.
That may make me an oddity in the raw food world, or just someone who will admit to it.
At the moment, I would say that 75% of the food I consume is not organic.
Around 25% is.
Most of the fruits and vegetables I buy are not organic.
Most of the grains, condiments, and any animal food I may occasionally consume are organic.
So what’s my excuse for not being organic?
1) I get better non-organic fruit
I live in Montreal, close to an awesome market where I purchase the best-quality and best-tasting fruit imported by Italian grocers. They truly get the best stuff from all over the world, and it’s not organic. In my case, I choose quality over organic. The taste of the fruit, how long it lasts, and the variety are more important to me than the organic certification.
I do buy organic apples, bananas, and a few other items.
2) I don’t believe eating organic is necessary
Do I think that organic agriculture is better? I personally think that it’s not a main factor in health. Some people believe that organic food contains more vitamins and minerals, but a recent study showed that it’s not the case.
Others still think that the consumption of pesticides will lead to long-term health consequences, but so far that has not been established. If you eat at the bottom of the food chain (fruits, vegetables, etc. — exposure to pesticides is low, especially if you avoid the most-sprayed produce).
Some people eat organic because they want to avoid GMOs. That’s a discussion for another day, but I will say that I’m not worried about GMO fruits and vegetables. I will explain why in a separate e-zine, at the risk of being lynched by half of my readers.
3) I don’t live in a good location for organic food
When I lived in Vancouver or California, I ate a lot more organic food because more of it was available. Now, in my current city, I find the organic selection and prices to be lacking, but I’m much happier about my fruit selection overall. I’d take good quality commercial fruit over low-quality organic fruit any day.
In the end, what I think really matters in health is your overall diet (your percentage of fruits and vegetables, fiber intake, avoidance of stimulants, percentage of fat, and overall how clean your diet is), your fitness activities, and a few other factors.
Eating organic is not a factor that really impacts health in any major way.
At least, that’s my opinion about it.
You can do it because you want to promote organic agriculture. You can do it because you prefer the taste. But overall, I say that it’s a personal choice that will have limited impact on your health if you eat a diet composed mainly of fruits and vegetables.
There are a few foods that I would recommend purchasing organic, though: all animal products, as well as certain heavily sprayed fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries. You can find a list of those foods online by searching for it on Google.
If you can afford organic food and want to invest in it, then of course I don’t have anything against it. Go for it!
In my case, if I ate everything organic it would easily double or triple my overall food expenses. And at the same time, I would eat fruits that would taste worse, be less fresh, and not ripen properly.
So, I choose taste and convenience over something that hasn’t been proven to be a major factor in health. And I use the difference that I save to pay for a personal fitness coaching session once a week, for example. The latter has had a much bigger impact on my health than switching to organic food would.
You can certainly do this lifestyle without organic food!
To find out more about the high-raw lifestyle, check out:
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