Clark Tells You How To Get The Best Organic Food Deals

WsbTV.com
Published October 17, 2007

ATLANTA -- It's a sign of the times -- organic is going mainstream. People who've never bought it before are starting to consider it. That's one reason Sandy and Tony Brace made their first trip to Whole Foods Market. “We were at a family gathering a couple months ago and I watched my aunt and my cousin washing the outside of melons and so forth, and I kind of made fun of them a little bit, and she said, ‘The knife goes right through it,’ said Sandy Brace. The concern is pesticides. Scientists haven't proven pesticides cause any diseases, but Alex Lu, an assistant professor at Emory University, has concerns. "There's no other chemical that was designed and manufactured to kill something, on purpose,” said Lu. Emory tested children who ate conventional foods. Then gave them an organic diet and tested them again. Pesticide levels in the children disappeared. “It shows that the pesticide exposure that those kids encounter are coming from the foods that they eat,” said Lu. But here's the thing about organic food -- it costs more. Is it worth the money? The short answer is, it depends. A national non-profit organization called "The Environmental Working Group" analyzed huge amounts of government data on fruits and vegetables. Then it made a list called the Dirty Dozen, in other words, the foods that have the most pesticides on them after washing. On the list: peaches, apples, strawberries and spinach. The Environmental Working Group also has a "Cleanest 12" list. Consumer Reports says to buy these organic foods only if money is no object. Otherwise, stick with the conventional version. They include: onions, broccoli, pineapple and avocado. The organic market is still miniscule compared to the conventional food market. But people in the business say as demand increases and more farmers produce organics, the price will come down.