Is non-organic fruit/veg diet still better than SAD?

Hi again,
As I can't afford organic fruit and veg I have only been buying the regular supermarket variety. But is this still okay?
Will my food still have enough good stuff left in it, and not too much poison basically?
Ie. will the good still outweigh the bad?

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Permalink Reply by Yogaranka on July 25, 2012 at 4:13pm

My concern is the long term pesticides consumption. When SAD eaters eat the non organic stuff, they cook the heavy metals and other poisons literally off the produce. Also, SAD eaters do not eat enough quantity of fruits to worry about that aspect of agriculture.

On the other hand, I still have Michael Arnstein's videos in my head about the dangers of high volume non organic fruit consumption. Remember him pushing his dad in a wheelchair? His dad was a high fruit eater possibly, and he was making an important point about minimizing the pesticides exposure.

Workers who apply these poisons have to wear complete protection, or else they will be ridden with many types of cancer. These poisons have to stick to the flower or the fruit so that the rain does not wash them off. How on earth are you protected if you eat fruit all day for a few decades in large quantities? Peeling fruit helps, but considering that the flower will actually become the fruit, encasing and retaining the poison ladden seeds, it makes no sense to think that eating large quantities of heavily sprayed figs or apples etc will keep you healthy, or healthier than steamed veggies.

I was shocked to find out that Wild Blueberries are sprayed heavily too!! Just a little research and I vowed not to eat those blue gems, unless they promise not to spray them with 58 different chemicals that cannot be broken down by the fruit, by the pests or humans. Some mildly toxic sprays are common, which I am aware of, thus washing fruit is a good practice.

I know, I will get blasted here for the above, but I felt the need to contribute in hopes to prevent a mass consumption of poisons via commercially sprayed fruits. If just one person reconsiders buying more organic fruit, I feel we are going forward in supporting our farmers and orchard keepers to keep it sane and healthy.

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Permalink Reply by Omni on July 25, 2012 at 7:45pm

Good post. You have highlighted a number of my own concerns and a few more. But what can we do? If a person does not have access to organic fruit and veg,like myself, is there any way to nutralize/mitigate the effects, such as soaking them in water or H2o2 , or some other method along these lines?

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Permalink Reply by Jelle on July 26, 2012 at 3:17am

@Yogaranka good points and thank you for letting me remember Michael Arnstein's video. The organic fruits are difficult and expensive to get by. Now I live in The Netherlands and I'm hoping the chemical use is a bit different here, my fruits often rot and get mouldy, within days or a week, which is for me a good sign. Does heavily sprayed fruit last longer? Is it a good indicator?

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Permalink Reply by Yogaranka on July 26, 2012 at 4:12am

That is right...worms in your peach or apple is an excellent sign of good fruit, just cut the bugger his share and eat the rest, that fruit is perfect!

Europe is just as bad as the Americas (north and south and in between) for chemicals. I still remember the picture of an Italian farmer dressed up in space suit spraying his grapes...brrr!

just do some research and see what is nearby, and what they use.

I used to enjoy mangoes by the case from Chinatown, coming from Thailand and other beautiful countries, but eventually I got symptoms from their fungicides and other whatever they use, just to ship and store the fruits. So now I only buy organic mangoes, and yes, the selection becomes very limited. Mind you, once I made this decision of only organic, rolling with the season is so much more affordable as well, and tastier too.

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Permalink Reply by Justin Lovenow on July 25, 2012 at 6:54pm

It seems that the organic fruits are often harvested unripe due to their faster spoilage compared to the sprayed conventional ones. I have noticed that oftentimes specially organic pineapples and grapefruits feel unripe hard at touch and taste unripe sour, and look unripe bleak or greenish in color. Also, the taste of organic fruits at times is quite unpleasant watery or even sour compared to the same conventionally produced counterpart...

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Permalink Reply by Darren Is bananas! on July 25, 2012 at 7:23pm

Yogaranka makes a good point. It seems a good idea to make an effort to eat organic when possible. It just isn't always possible. I buy bulk organic bananas which is the staple of my diet and in bulk the price is quite reasonable.

The other perhaps just as important reason is that by buying organic we support the increase in organic production. By buying non-organic we support non-organic industries. If we want plenty of good quality and cheap organic fruits and veg in the future then organic must be our preference where possible.

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Permalink Reply by DURIANRIDER on July 25, 2012 at 7:30pm

For me its about taste vs organic. Most of the time the good tasting fruits are organic. Supermarket fresh fruit in Australia is 9*% inedible IMHE due to is flavour deficiency.

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Permalink Reply by Yogaranka on July 26, 2012 at 12:35am

but taste vs. organic lands you with the same dilemma of not having a healthy food source. Just think all the chemicals you ingest! may as well buy some recreational drugs, and have a good trip while you are at it ;-)

My solution: prioritize! I don't buy clothes, other non-essentials, I don't spend any money on travel, and don't sponsor restaurants that don't serve raw, organic salads. I rarely purchase a book. Borrow more, and enjoy sourcing clothes and gadgets that don't cost anything. Juicers are my downfall, while I had my raw organic restaurant I bought every kind to try them all out, and a couple of different blenders too. So the majority of my earnings goes to seasonal, organic fruits, veggies, and a bit of nuts.

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Permalink Reply by Marlene on July 26, 2012 at 12:33am

i agree totally to the post about pesticides and so on. and i do recommend to have a look into non organic bananas in bulk as they are fairly cheap. this way it could be possible to save money to spend on organic fruit veg that will add to your nutrients. but if it's all not working, i'd buy organic quinoa, millet, buckwheat as they are easier to digest, but also rice and pasta as a much cheaper staple and then just the most organic fruit and veg i could afford. i've tried and it might get hard, but it's way better than loading myself up on chemicals or making big debts with some bank. i mean by all means, going cooked low fat high vegan is still not the end

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Permalink Reply by Yogaranka on July 26, 2012 at 12:56am

...and while I'm at this conversation, how about the ethics of veganism: do not harm!

sponsoring the petrochemicals applied to your food supply is causing a lot of harm. we must have the pressure on to stop this insanity. people who work in agriculture suffer a lot when coming in contact with the materials used to poison the veggies.

when a non vegan argues with me, that the taste of meat is much better than tofu cutlets, I feel motivated to describe the atrocities that come with that decision, and what his lifestyle promotes. the same goes for people who say that they cannot afford organic fruits, and yet buy iPhones, new jeans monthly, or buy houses with huge mortgages, or other decisions that will eventually prevent them from buying the healthiest choices.

and here, I know some families with many kids will jump in and say that to support a family of that size on organic fruits is impossible, I understand, but that choice was made consciously in the first place.

if someone is in the survival mode, getting anything to eat, then the choice making is mute.