Buying organic fruits and veggies?

Greco1014 · February 2013

I've been making my own fruit and veggie purees, and my son has been doing great with them so far. I'm just wondering, for those of you who also make your own purees, do you go out of your way to buy organic ingredients? I asked one of our pedis about this (we go to an office with several doctors, so we typically see a different doctor each visit) and he said that he didn't think it was a big deal either way. I've done some of my own research, though, and I know some doctors feel differently.

I have no problem buying organic, but my regular grocery store has a pretty limited selection of organic fresh fruits and veggies. I would need to go to a different grocery store to get everything I need.

So just out of curiosity, how many of you go out of your way to buy organic for baby? Or do you not sweat it too much?

DCMerged · February 2013

I do but I don't have to go out of my way to get them (they are widely available in my city).

unaveragejane · February 2013

Parenting just did an article on this. Their list of the Dirty Dozen Plus is the "12 foods with the most pesticide residue, plus two that carry pesticide residue of special concern." These are the foods that I am trying to buy organically now. The list includes: strawberries, apples, celery, sweet bell peppers, peaches, nectarines (imported), grapes, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, blueberries (domestic), potatoes, green beans, and kale/greens.

Personally, I am also trying to find foods that are not genetically modified/engineered, but this is very difficult so far. I'm trying not to stress over it and just take a "do the best we can with what we've got" approach.

angelfire02 · February 2013

I also try to stick to at least the dirty dozen plus list, of the fruits and veggies with the most pesticides. I do buy only organic meat and dairy and will continue to do that. As for the fruits and veggies, if I can't get organic I try not to freak out about it, and buy local as often as I can.

dosafyre · February 2013

This is something I feel strongly about. They've done blood draws on people who eat organic versus conventional...and there was a detectable difference in levels of pesticides present between the two, and dangerous buildup levels in some. Children carry a greater burden in their bodies due to their size and being more sensitive to the negative effects.

https://www.organicconsumers.org/foodsafety/residues052404.cfm (other studies out there too). There was a misleading Standford study a while ago that said there was no difference...but they were looking only at vitamins/minerals, not pesticides, antibiotics, resistant germs, etc https://www.huffingtonpost.com/robyn-o/organic-food-vs-conventio_b_1857802.html

Definitely try to buy the worst 12 offenders as organic. We have local organics readily available in our stores as well...but eating local organic and in-season are great ways to get fresh, nutrient -rich and highly flavorful produce on your table. Consider also looking into an organic farm CSA near you or farmers markets. They are a wonderful value for your $$$, and can really help you eat better.

cmurphy09 · February 2013

I'm growing my own veggies. No questions there, wink.

If that's not an option, farmers market or city green market is the way to go. Very delicious inexpensive.

littleredfish · February 2013

I try to buy local as opposed to worrying about organic per se. The laws by which the FDA governs what is considered organic are too loose for me to make the difference in cost worth while. Also I am just as concerned about how foods are shipped as how they are grown. The idea of organic is all well and good, but being in a shipping container or truck with rats urinating all over it kind of defeats the purpose for me (my brother used to work for some of these companies and has seen/heard terrible things). Anything I do buy from a grocery store I usually soak it in the sink in water and a bit of vinegar, and wash the heck out of it anyway.

stever · February 2013

I buy all organic stuff for the baby. It's still cheaper than buying jarred stuff.

henrytviii · February 2013

We all eat together, all the same ingredients. I thought I would buy alll organic when I finally had a LO and iIf I could afford organic I would buy it but its generally not in the budget as almost all we eat is fresh fruits and veggies. So its probably even worse that we don't eat a lot of organic . . . sigh . . hopefully what we are doing is at least better than a lot of processed foods. I do try to buy the dirty dozen organic when I can or when its on sale. Saw a PP mentioned studies that showed a difference in bloodwork, I thought most studies had not shown that. Guess I have to do more research. If my LO starts to really love a particular fruit or veggie and consume huge amounts of it then I will probably make a special pruchase of organic just for him. For now we share conventional produce.

blushingbride_08 · February 2013

I thought I would buy organic for LO but I don't and neither does DH. Eventually I want LO to eat the same table food as us. I am more concerned with him eating well balanced.

APendola · February 2013

It depends on the product. Ie. a banana has a thick peel that you don't eat, so the part inside is unlikely to have come into contact with pesticides. So it's not necessarily worth the extra money for health reasons. If you eat the peel or don't peel the product at all, it is worth buying organic.

My hubby and I go to a Farmer's Market about once a month and they have a wider selection of organic foods as well as locally produced foods. So we like buying this but we don't worry about buying it every week.

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