My Organic Shopping Priority List

In a perfect world, we would be able to afford everything that we need. However, in this world most of us can afford the things we don't need like McDonalds, Ramen Noodles and fried bolonga sandwiches, while the things we do need, often times seem just out of reach.

We seem to live in a world where companies that provide us with toxic food and toxic ingredients get tax breaks that allow them to charge a lower price to its consumers while companies that actually make good food with amazing ingredients get charged out the rear end which means they have to charge more to their consumers just to make ends meat. It's really quite unfair and quite frankly really pisses me off, but since I am here to help provide solutions to problems not to just whine and tell you how unfair it is, I have created a list that I often times find helpful. I normally have a pretty strict budget when I go grocery shopping each week and while most of the time I can get 99% of my food organic, there are times when I don't have enough money and so I must prioritize. You may find that your priorities are different than mine, but listed below I have ranked my priorities from what I must absolutely buy organic down to what I can let slide if I have too.

1. Meat and Dairy

If I am choosing to eat meat and dairy, they are my number one must be orgnaic food. Conventional beef, pork or chicken is not only fed GMO feed that is laced with pesticides and herbacides but is also itself pumped full of antiobiotics and growth hormones. Don't think you dairy is any safer either, because not only are your conventional cows being pumped full of antibiotics and hormones, your dairy cows are being pumped full of a growth hormone called rbgh or rbst which is a growth hormone derived from e. coli bacteria. Yum!!!! If you are eating fish that is not wild caught, factory farmed fish isn't any better either. Factory farmed fish are fed the same type of GMO feed and are also pumped full of antibiotics since they are typically swimming around in their own feces day after day. I find conventional meat and dairy so disgusting that if I can't afford to buy organic than I just won't eat it.

2. The Dirty Dozen.

Number two priority is the dirty dozen and for those of you who are unfamiliar with the dirty dozen, the dirty dozen refers to the produce with the highest amounts of pesticide residue. The list includes apples, celery, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, grapes, nectarines, peaches, potatoes, snap peas, spinach, strawberries and sweet bell peppers with hot peppers, kale and collards greens very close behind. It's ideal to get all of your produce organic because ultimately they all contain some sort of pesticide residue, but if you are on a budget, the dirty dozen is a bigger priority.

3. Wheat

Now, you probably though that I would list all of the remaining produce next didn't ya? Well, before I do that I really have to squeeze wheat in their first. Wheat is number three on my list because it is the number one most altered food out there. Long before people started genetically modifing food and spraying it with pesticides, farmers were cross pollinating and hybridizing wheat through natural methods to create a variety of wheat that would be shorter and stronger in order to produce more. What wheat is today is very different than what it was orginally and when you start genetically modifing it and spraying it with pesticides, you're left with a product your body can hardly recognize. In my opinion I would only eat wheat thats from an organic, NON-GMO ancient straint like Einkorn, Red Fife or Khorasan wheat but if you would rather stick with traditional wheat than organic is the only way to go!

4. Remaining Produce.

Now I'm ready to list all of the remaining produce. As I stated above, all produce has some amount of pesticide residue on it and GMO's, no thank you!

5. Sugar/Sweeteners.

Sugar is extremly processed with lots of disgusting chemicals. Other sweeteners like high fructose corn syrup, often times are mixed in with non organic types of syrups and honeys. When you are getting pure organic sugars and sweeteners, you are not getting all of the chemicals or other hidden ingredients.

6. Coffee and Tea.

Coffee and tea are also at risk for being contaminated with pesticides and herbacides just like produce. Also worth noting that a lot of coffee growers are not paid fair wages for their coffee beans. When I buy coffee I usually try to go for Organic and Fair Trade, which means that you are supporting a company who pays it's growers accordingly. When it comes to teas, whether its tea leaves or bottled ice tea, you still run the rick of pesticide use and a lot of times there are hidden preservatives.

7. Spices, Herbs and Salt.

Again, spices and herbs can contain pesticide residue and preservatives. Regular iodized salt also offers no nutrients other than the added iodine. By sticking with sea salt or unrefined salt you are getting many needed minerals that most of us are deficient in, plus less processing.

8. Nuts and Seeds.

A lot of nuts and seeds are sprayed down with pesticides but because they are grown in some type of shell, they do have some protection against chemicals. They also are not something that usually isn't genetically modified very often, except for peanuts which aren't technically a nut.

9. Dried Beans and Rice.

Because these are food items that are not as prone to spoilage, they don't require as many chemicals to kill of bugs, fungus, etc. Genetically modifing them seems to be a lot more minimal than other farmed foods as well.

10. Processed/Pre-Packaged Foods.

You might be thinking that because of all the preservatives and chemicals in pre-packaged/processed food that this should be the first item, not the last. However, since I am not a very big fan of these types of foods regardless if they are organic or not, I have listed it last because it is something that you should just try to avoid all together.

So, this is my priority list for buying organic. It has helped me out a lot in regards to making healthier food choices. You may choose to prioritize a little differently, and thats fine, ultimately you do what works best for you. Hopefully my guide was helpful and gives you a good place to start when making healthier choices.

#gmo #organic #affordability #dirtydozen