How can you afford organic foods?

Our family cannot afford to buy all foods organic and let's face it, not everything labeled organic is really worth buying at twice the price of a regular item. I did find a store though that saves us when it comes to our decision to eat healthier. I have found that Trader Joe's not only has the cheapest prices for organic products but they have a myriad of items that are not necessarily certified organic but are made from natural ingredients that are all easy to pronounce. Many of the products they sell are imported from Europe where the standards for food safety were always much higher than in the United States and meat is not treated with hormones to artificially increase production. Europe's new pesticide regulations truly leave the US in the dust: "The new law prohibits chemicals that can cause cancer, disrupt hormones, or interfere with reproduction, whether or not they’re likely to do so when the pesticide is used correctly. Under U.S. law, on the other hand, such chemicals can still be approved as long as the potentially negative impacts seen in lab tests don’t show up in real world use. This leaves the U.S. door open for a long list of substances that may now be banned in Europe."

A good rule of thumb for buying organic produce is to stick to the twelve crops that are worth buying organic because normally they have very high pesticide content. In addition, try buying at small local farms in season, they are less likely to use pesticides in the horrendous amounts that large scale farming is accustomed to. Finally, for all the other pantry staples, check out Trader Joe's if there is one in your area, they have stores in the following states: Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington D.C., Virginia, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.