Moral, Financial Puzzles Face Organics Shoppers

The Oregonian, Shelby Wood
Published April 3, 2008

Every week, I steer my grocery cart past the organic produce without stopping and grimace as the guilt washes over me. I'm inconsistent at best. After all, I followed the herd and bought into $6-a-gallon organic milk for my toddler with barely a blink. But with food prices up across the board, it's tough to stomach a 50 percent markup for organic broccoli -- especially when a healthy diet depends more on eating lots of different vegetables and less on choosing the organic this instead of the "conventional" that. Even folks who want to support farmers growing fruits and vegetables without pesticides that spoil our soil and water might not want to make a political statement each trip through the checkout line, or perhaps they can't afford to. Can you reap some organic benefit for yourself and the environment without spending all your beans? If you're concerned about pesticides and willing to bet a few coins that organics deliver enough additional nutrients to justify the cost, start with a handful of the "Dirty Dozen" (www.ewg.org) -- the most pesticide-laden produce, according to the Environmental Working Group. Trade conventional peaches, apples and sweet bell peppers (among the dirtiest) for organics. Wait for their growing seasons (summer/early fall) and save more cash. Worry less about produce that is less vulnerable to pesticide pileup, including bananas, asparagus and avocado. Here is where someone might advise me to get off my rear and visit one of Oregon's famed farmers markets, or sign up for a Community Supported Agriculture membership. But they aren't always practical. I joined a CSA soon after moving to Portland. I gave it up after repeatedly failing to get out of work in time to make it to the pickup site before the trucks headed back to the farm. The farmers market strategy falls apart in the winter and on weeknights when the crisper is bare. With the Dirty Dozen in mind, I paid the $1 premium for organic spinach (No. 11 on the Environmental Working Group's list) at the grocery last week. But I saved $1 on conventional broccoli (No. 35) and 20 cents a pound on bananas (No. 37). After all, I've been eating those for 34 years. And I'm not dead yet. To check out organic resources on the Web or suggest a topic for PDXgreen, go to http://blog.oregonlive.com/pdxgreen or contact Shelby Wood at 503-221-5368 or shelbywood@news.oregonian.com