"What's wrong?" asked my oldest son. "It's organic so that makes it okay, right?"
"It has stuff in it that I don't feed you," I told him and kept on shopping.
I was pretty bummed because the soup was laden with unpronounceable chemicals that I actually had to look up to see what they were. This got me thinking about what we eat and why I would drift towards the organic soup and why my son would think that Organic is always okay.
I think that we have become so enamored with labels, organic, GMO Free, gluten free, natural; that we lose sight that organic junk food is still junk food. Gluten Free candy doesn't make it any better or healthier. Certified GMO Free Plutonium is still inedible, even if it's organic.
To be certified organic you don't use synthetic pesticides, gmo materials, or antibiotics. You can read more about that here. This does not mean that you aren't using pesticides, or that your food is somehow healthier. To be fair, I will say that when it comes to the "Dirty Dozen" I always choose organic but if it's a packaged food I do some serious label reading before I make my choice.
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| Thank You USDA for your graphic. |
Love that you point out the misconception! I was having this conversation yesterday about sugar. Sugar is still sugar, even if it's organic! Ha!
ReplyDeleteExactly! It's a frustration of mine :)
DeleteI had this same discussion with the store nutritionist a few months back. Organic does not mean healthy or low salt or low sugar. People need to read labels better. It can be really deceiving.
ReplyDeleteExactly! It's all about marketing.
DeleteI am with you, I do make sure that if I am buying any of the "dirty dozen" then I make sure it is organic. However, everything else I am very careful about what is actually in the item. It amazes my how people see those fad labels and just believe whatever the items is, is healthy because it says "Organic", Gluten Free", Super Food", etc.
ReplyDeleteIt is rather astounding isn't it? Have you seen that spoof video of how things get labeled "natural," it's hilarious!
DeleteIt's so important to continue reading labels! Organic doesn't always equal healthy. My husband always jokes that organic sugar is still sugar! I think people use the thought that they eat "organically" as an excuse to eat unhealthy foods. Good for you for reading those labels!
ReplyDeleteYeah, organic sugar doesn't magically make all of the sugar go away :)
DeleteReading labels comes naturally to me since I also have food allergies! And you are right, organic isn't always better!
ReplyDeleteGreat post :)
Thanks!
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