Five food and drinks worth buying organic

To mark the launch of Organic September this month, we look at the top five foods that are definitely worth buying organic.

There is growing research to suggest that your health could benefit if you switch to organic. Here are some foods that could really make a difference.

Milk

They may look identical, but scientifically there are huge differences between glasses of organic and conventionally-produced milk. Researchers at Newcastle University found that organic milk contained more beneficial nutrients throughout the year when compared with conventional milk.

The Soil Association, which is promoting Organic September, told us that it’s the cows’ natural diet of grass that enhances the quality of the milk, while non-organically farmed dairy cows rely on proteins and grains for their food.

Additionally, the Universities of Glasgow and Liverpool found that organic milk contained 68% higher levels of omega-3 acids, and a Dutch study found that if mother and baby consumed organic dairy products, the infants were 36% less likely to suffer from eczema.

Fruit – especially apples, peaches and strawberries

According to The Soil Association the average non-organic apple is sprayed up to 16 times with up to 30 different pesticides. Other intensively-sprayed fruits include strawberries, pears, peaches, nectarines and grapes. But the Food Standards Agency insists our food is safe, stating: “not all foods contain pesticide residues, and where they do occur they are typically at very low levels.”

However, research conducted in the US and Canada linked pesticide residues in the body to a higher risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children.

But it’s not just eating pesticides that concerns people - it’s clearing them up, too. We spend an estimated £20m each year mopping up the pollution caused by the 4.5 billion litres of pesticides and chemical fertilisers sprayed on crops annually. Organic farming bans the use of these artificial chemicals.

[See also: The 10 most polluted fruit and vegetables]

Prawns

While wild fish can’t be classed as organic because we don’t know what they’re eating, farmed fish and shellfish can. And if you switch to one type of organic seafood, make it prawns.

Writers including Felicity Lawrence (author of ‘Not on the Label’) and Alex Renton (Daily Mail) have visited prawn farms in Vietnam and reported back on the extent of chemicals used.

Prawns are packed in at 20 per square metre and doused regularly with antibiotics, growth hormones and drugs controlling everything from colour to shell thickness.

Alex Renton also saw the chemical methyl hydroxybenzoate being used – a chemical that has been linked to cancer. So what can you do? Go organic. Organic prawn farms ban the use of drugs and artificial chemicals. Farmers feed prawns an organic diet, avoiding the use of antibiotics and pesticides. They are also stocked in low densities with other species to help support the farm’s ecosystem.

Meat

We’ve all heard scary stories of growth hormones being used in the meat industry. But using antibiotics as a growth enhancer was banned in the EU in 2006. However, conventionally-reared animals are routinely given antibiotics to prevent disease which had the World Health Organisation concerned.

They said: “there is growing concern that antibiotic residues in meat and dairy products could result in antibiotic resistance in bacteria prevalent in humans, reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics used to treat human disease.”

In short, it could be making us resistant. In organic farming, animals have access to fresh air, space to wander, and live longer lives, with antibiotics used only when absolutely necessary.

Wine

Next time you’re soothing a headache the morning after, it might not be the hangover that’s to blame. A 2008 report by the Pesticide Action Network found traces of an average 4.4 pesticides per bottle of conventional wine, but one bottle contained 10.

Some groups claim that organic wines will give you less of a hangover, but there is little research that proves this. In organic vineyards, chemical pesticides are not allowed, so wild flowers are planted between vines to tempt insects away from the fruit.

Ivan Jordan, owner of Silverton Vineyard in Devon told us, “we have let huge thistles grow this year, which are a pain, but the goldfinch population really loves it, and they could do a lot to help keep aphids down if necessary.”

To find out more about Organic September, visit the Soil Association website.

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