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Lately I've been having trouble finding quality vegetables. I don't have a car, and I don't have time to take a bus and lose an entire morning. I could go to the supermarket and buy non-organic stuff, that's why I was wondering :

Did anyone here see any health benefits when eating organic vegetables, fruits and nuts instead of non-organic ones?

I heard anecdotes about tons of things improving people's health, but I never ever heard someone say "I got better when eating organic".

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6 Answers

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I see eating organic produce as a long-term approach for good health, not likely to show effects in the short-term.

Also, I like to think I "vote" with my food dollar. So I "vote" for sustainably-grown food where farming practices enhance the soil, avoid polluting the watershed & preserve wildlife.

It's a good investment for future generations, too. Both for the health of future children, but also of their descendents.

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indeed. not everything you ingest will have immediate effects, degenerative diseases doesn't come overnight. Good to support sustainable agriculture. – Primordial Dec 3 2011 at 21:31
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+1 answer all round and especially for voting with your dollar. – JayJay Dec 4 2011 at 1:45
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Great answer! The only thing I would add is that I've found organic produce tastes much better which means I'm likely to eat more fruits and veggies. So, my health is positively impacted by increased fruit and veggie consumption. – Kewpie Dec 4 2011 at 2:59
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Thanks dragonfly, didn't think about it this way. – Korion Dec 4 2011 at 12:27
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Nope. Plus, I feel a lot better not spending as much on regular veggies. :-) Of course, I scrub 'em furiously in an attempt to get rid of any chemical residue.

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No. But I had significant improvements when I eliminated nuts and vegetables from my diet and replaced them with fruit. Generally fruit where I lives tends to be of high quality, I judge this by shelf life, it just doesn't go bad. I haven't had American farmed fruit in 6 years or so. I'm feeling fine. But since I wasn't eating like I do now it really isn't a fair comparison.

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I would argue that getting grass fed over conventional meat (and pastured eggs) is a much bigger qualitative improvement than the switch to organic produce from regular. But if you eat a lot of the heavy pesticide stuff (apples. strawberries...) - it might make sense to try to find organic. I just don't eat much of those anyway.

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Hard to know whether your "organic" food is really organic. It's all based on the honors system. I don't bother with organic, but grow everything myself using organic practices.

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What do you mean? – Korion Dec 4 2011 at 12:26
Nobody checks to see if food is organic. Or X or Y. It's all on faith of what the producer says. Organic prices are 50-200% of conventional prices, so the incentive to be unethical is there. – Matt Dec 4 2011 at 19:42
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If your supermarket has an "organic corner" as mine does, here's an article that might help prioritize when it's worth paying for organic. Some crops tend to have more pesticides than others.

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