Her: Do we go organic for baby?

With the days counting down to the arrival of our little one, I've been considering some specifics as to what baby will eat. I am pro-breastfeeding (as long as baby will take!), so I won't have to worry about formula. We do plan on making our own baby food; in fact, we already have some applesauce canned and ready! However, something that I read in "The Eco-nomical Baby Guide" has made me think about where we will be getting the food that baby will eventually ingest. Namely, this is the fact that babies are more vulnerable to the toxins in pesticides than adults just because of the small size of their bodies.

Wow. I never thought of it this way. Purchasing only organic foods has never really been a goal of mine, but when it comes to baby, I may be inspired to reconsider. I don't mind going to Whole Foods a little more often (yay)! Actually, organic produce can be found at most supermarkets now, so we won't have to search hard.

An alternative to buying everything organic is looking at the Environmental Working Group's Guide to Pesticides in Produce, which lists the top 10 or so types of produce with the highest and lowest pesticide residues. For instance, onions, pineapple, and cabbage top the least pesticide list, whereas apples, celery, and peppers are the worst for pesticide residues. This combined with the idea that produce that you peel (e.g. bananas, oranges) don't need to be organic can satisfy any "lazy" organic wannabe. Let's just say that I may be second guessing my non-organic apple, celery, and pepper purchases next time at the grocery store.

Another idea I've been toying with is signing up for weekly delivery of local organic produce, something like Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). This is certainly something worth looking into, and I'm sure knowing where exactly your produce comes from, and the fact that it hasn't travelled thousands of miles to reach you, will make the produce taste even better!

Happy (organic) eating!