Natural vs. Organic

Recently, my friend Corrie was excited to tell me that she found another grocery store that sold lots of organic products –
she knew this would thrill my socks right off!

So what’s the hype? Why organic?

And what if the label say’s “All Natural”?

Here’s the simple way I would explain:

ALL NATURAL – means that the product contains things that came from nature, i.e. fruits, vegetables, dairy, meat, sugar, etc. And probably does NOT contain UN-natural ingredients, such as preservatives, partially hydrogenated oils, processed foods, artificial flavors, dyes, or chemicals. (Yes, many foods we consume actually contain all that other stuff!)

ORGANIC – on the other hand is of course, all natural, but does NOT contain natural products that have been enhanced. In other words, the fruits & veggies were grown without the use of pesticides. The meat came from animals not injected with growth hormones or antibiotics.

Make sense?

But it may be a bit overwhelming to empty our cupboards today and fill them up with only organic foods. My advice: baby steps. Start with fruits & veggies. Consumer Reports just published a list yesterday of the foods you should definitly buy organic. It's worth the read!

If you don't know how to find organic food, go to http://www.localharvest.org/ to enter your zip code and find the food grown closest to you.