By Emily “Emy” Wood
You’re in the grocery aisle faced with a decision: buy the organic potatoes for $3.50 or the inorganic for $1.50. The price tag alone will complete the decision for most shoppers. But if you’re one of the growing number of people wanting to eat organically grown, non-GMO foods without breaking the bank, solutions exist. Buying organic food isn’t only the smart option for your health, but it can also be a smart option for your wallet. Following these basic tips can help you avoid pesticide-rich products for less.
Make Choices
To avoid GMO foods is to avoid anything containing ingredients that might possibly be genetically modified. Corn, soybeans, zucchini, yellow squash, canola, sugar beets, papaya, and cottonseed oil are all high risk GMO crops. When buying packaged food, always read the ingredients to see if it contains any by-products from one of these (such as fructose corn syrup). If it does, look for the USDA organic label before purchasing.
When eating healthfully, we can’t always afford to over-haul our diets overnight. An easy way to lessen the burden is to make choices. Cutting meat and dairy from your diet is one of the cheapest ways to save money when buying organic. If you’re going to eat animal products, though, make this area the top priority for organic purchases. Conventional animal products are laden with a deadly combo of pesticides, antibiotics, and growth hormone exposure. Do not cut costs on meat.
If overhauling your entire cabinet and fridge seems over-whelming, begin with the most important foods and work your way up. The Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides identifies produce with the highest pesticide residue, named their “Dirty Dozen.” This list includes: strawberries, apples, nectarines, peaches, celery, grapes, cherries, spinach, tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and cucumbers. Make buying the organic versions of these products your priority. Conversely, the “Clean 15” lists produce with lowest pesticide residue. Luckily for you, this means you don’t necessarily need to buy organic produce for the following: avocados, pineapples, cabbage, sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangoes, kiwi, eggplant, honeydew, grapefruit, cantaloupe, and cauliflower.
Buy in Bulk
After prioritizing produce for organic and non-GMO shopping, an easy way to increase the organic food in your life is to buy bulk grains, legumes, and nuts. Even if you can’t swing shopping at Costco or Sam’s Club, many stores now have bulk food dispensers. Buying items like rice, cereals, beans, nuts, and oats in bulk may seem more expensive initially, but it is cheaper in the long run. Also, if you notice a sale on organic potatoes at a farmers market or a huge slash on the price of organic frozen vegetables, buy more! If you’re budgeting weekly, I recommend stashing $5 each week for the “buy bulk and stash” category.
Buy Seasonally and Locally—or Grow!
If you’re looking to buy fruits or vegetables out of season, buy them frozen. Organic frozen goods are typically cheaper. Whenever possible, try attending local farmers markets. While this means you can only buy in-season produce, you can usually score good deals—especially if you go towards the close of the market. Make friends with some of the organic farmers and they may let you in on more deals, too.
Another way to lessen the financial burden of healthy eating is to grow food yourself. Easy gardening ideas include starting a simple window planter filled with herbs. Other easy-to-grow indoor crops include carrots, garlic greens, micro greens, scallions, tomatoes, and ginger. Buy seeds or starter kits organically.
Some General Tips
The easiest and cheapest tip for eating more organic and non-GMO food is to avoid purchasing packaged items. Some companies seem to double the price for anything with an organic label. By limiting your intake of sweets and extra packaged products, you can cut your grocery bill significantly. And, by removing processed foods, you can avoid nearly all GMOs commonly found in ingredients like soy lecithin, high fructose corn syrup, and other additives.
Another way to save is to look for deals like coupons and rebate apps. Ibotta and Checkout 51 are great rebate apps that often give coupons like “$0.25 off produce.” In-store apps (think Sprouts or Target), can get you double savings and more coupons. Instead of buying brand name, try choosing the organic generic version of various products such as Simply Nature by Aldis. Store ads often have sales on organic goods, so make it a priority to watch your local paper or sign up for emails.
Get to Cooking
As time consuming as cooking from scratch can be, it saves buckets of cash. And it typically means healthier meals with greater control over ingredients. An easy way to cut your kitchen time in half is to double your recipe and freeze half for later use. Use the slow cooker to make bulk soups and casseroles. Leftovers? Throw them together to make a hearty casserole or add some flour and flax meal to make quick bake/fry patties.
Do Your Best!
I wish there was a magical way to save money and eat healthy. Just like exercise, eating organically takes time and dedication. In the long-run—and even short-term—buying more organic foods will benefit your health. If you begin to lose motivation or forget why you went organic in the first place, try checking out some great documentaries like Forks Over Knives, Food, Inc., Food Matters, Simply Raw, and The Future of Food, or books such as To Buy or Not to Buy Organic, A Field Guide to Buying Organic, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, and Organic Manifesto. We all need a little reminder of our priorities every now and again. Remember: you’re doing your best, even if it’s just one more piece of organic produce at a time.
Emily “Emy” Wood is a senior communications major with emphases in emerging media and public relations at Union College.