Is Organic Fruit Really Better For You?

Organic fruit is very popular today and, indeed, it is very good for you. This fruit is grown without the toxic chemicals and pesticides that most of our fruit has been grown with over the years. Many of these chemical residues are left behind on the fruit even after it has been cleaned by the farmers that grow the fruit. Natural pesticides and fertilizers are used in growing organic fruit; therefore, the harm the immune and central nervous system may suffer from when using chemicals and pesticides on fruit are immense, as is the threat of cancer. By growing organic fruit these health risks are eliminated. This, of course, makes organic fruit much safer for the population, especially our children.

Children At Risk

Our children are at a higher risk of becoming sick when eating non-organic fruit. The United States Department of Agriculture, which monitors the pesticide levels in foods, states that 73% of the items tested have measurable residue levels. Even baby food contains residues from pesticides. In one test of eight different baby foods, it was found that these baby foods contained residues from 16 different pesticides. This is very alarming. It is as if we are poisoning are children from their onset in life. Children are more at risk because they eat the foods that contain many of the pesticides such as strawberries, blueberries, apples, grapes, green beans, spinach, cherries and apricots. So it seems natural and fitting that there are more and more organic fruit farms cropping up across the nation and the world.

Reducing Pesticide Exposure

Buying organic fruit is a good way to begin reducing pesticide exposure in your lifestyle. Organic fruit is not completely pesticide free; however, it is much less toxic. Standards vary from state to state on growing organic fruit, but in general it is grown with much fewer toxic pesticides and herbicides than conventional fruit. This does not mean that organic fruit tastes any better or is even more nutritious for you. It simply means that by lowering the toxicity in the fruit your chances at a healthy life have been maximized. Organic fruit is also slightly more expensive than conventional fruit. The reason for this is the farms which grow organic fruits are smaller than the larger farms that grow conventional fruit.  Their volume is not as great and their profit margin suffers, therefore, they have to price their fruit accordingly to stay in the market. But the few cents more you pay for an apple or apricot makes it worth the health risk in the long run.