Deciding whether to buy organic or conventional bananas is a toughie. Organic ones are more expensive (usually at least 30 cents more per pound), and I've noticed that they seem to bruise more easily – anyone else notice that, too? The major difference between the two are that conventional bananas are grown with synthetic fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides to protect the crops from mold, bugs, and disease. On the other side, organic farmers use natural fertilizers such as manure and seaweed, insect predators and barriers to prevent pests, and they weed by hand or mulch in order to prevent weeds.
You may be thinking that all those chemicals used to grow conventional bananas are no big deal because you peel the fruit. But the chemicals are not just on the outside of the banana — they leach into the soil that is used to grow the produce. So even if you peel your banana, it doesn't prevent you from ingesting small amounts of those chemicals. Although you may feel better knowing most experts agree that the amount you ingest poses little threat to your health. If you're concerned about the nutritional value of your food, there are ongoing studies exploring the connection between pesticides and nutrients in foods; so far it looks like organic is healthier. Organic produce is also better for the planet since chemical pesticides make their way into the soil and run off into water sources.
With the sky-rocketing prices of food, buying organic may not be feasible all the time. Bananas, along with avocados, mangos, papayas, and pineapples have been found to have the lowest pesticide residue. However, apples, cherries, grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries have very high pesticide residues so you might want to splurge on organic.
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Ally Capellino
My Whole Food store stopped carrying conventional bananas so all I can buy is organic. I do not notice any difference at all between conventional and organic, which is good.
1I've always heard that bananas were one of those foods with some of the least amounts of pesticides on them, so I've always bought the regular kind. Except when I was in Central America...when I was there, I could buy about 20 different kinds of bananas and a lot of them were organic. They WERE a little more expensive, even there, but they were really yummy. Especially those little red ones!
2We buy the organic ones because they ripen better. We use them all the time in smoothies and no one likes a starchy banana smoothie. I've also noticed they are smaller.
3"Toxic pesticides used during banana production include benomyl (linked to birth defects) and chlorpyrifos (a neurotoxin). In Costa Rica, a major exporter, only 5 percent of cultivated land is used for bananas, but 35 percent of the country's pesticide imports are used on banana crops. " http://www.loe.org/favorites/foods.htm
4A supermarket near my house was selling cherries for $2 per POUND so I went crazy and bought 5 batches.
Then the next day... I went to Whole Foods and saw that they were selling for $8 a pound or something ridiculous like that..
I felt like throwing away the cherries I bought earlier..
5hmm..cheaper isn't always better..
We go to Door County during the summer and go to a pick-your-own cherry orchard where you get a 10-lb bucket and you have to fill it. They bag 'em up and they cost all of $1 a pound. And they're organic, which is a major plus. Gotta love local farmers
6thanks! this is always something i've wondered about!
7So, basically, food with skin you peel off is a bit safer in non-organic, and food with skin you eat should be organic. Yeah?
8I have noticed that they ripen differently. The first time I tasted an organic banana, I instantly had a memory of the first time I had ever tasted a banana. They are so much better tasting and the consistency is also better. In our area they are only about .20-.30 more per pound than regular bananas.
9I don't consider buying organic to be a "splurge". Conventionally grown thick peel fruit like bananas may be less toxic to the eater than other types of conventionally grown fruits. However, consider the impact on the farmers and the environment where it is grown.
I'd rather cut back on other expenditures rather than compromise on food.
10"Deciding whether to buy organic or conventional bananas is a toughie."
11Not if you care about your health, and the health of the planet. Its not a "maybe" or a "it could be". Its not something we don't know about people. Get the facts, organic IS better. Far better. As a matter a fact its actually REQUIRED for the survival of the human race. So you can deny it if you want to save your wallet, but not if you want to save your children's future.
Farming today should be called "chemical farming" and "organic farming" should just be called farming. Organic shouldn't get the special label. Organic farming has been done all over earth for thousands of years. Chemical farming has only been done in some places for a few decades. Chemical Farming should carry the special label. Chemical farming is the exception not the rule.
The same goes for the medical industry. They've got us all brainwashed too. Brand new and even untested chemical pills and toxic drugs are normal "medicine", and plants and herbs that have been used for thousands of years are "alternative medicine".
"Organic" farming and "alternative medicine"aren't new they're old and they're proven. We ARE the proof. The new ways of chemical medicine and chemical farming are killing us not helping us survive. It's easy to see and its easy to see why. The PURPOSE of chemical farming is not to feed, the PURPOSE of chemical medicine is not to heal. The purpose of those things is to PROFIT. Profit does not = survival.
Joseph Simonetta said "The final outcome of any endeavor will be painted by the motives present at its origin."
Why would you buy organic?
Why would you buy non organic?
What's more important?
It's a toughie? C'mon!
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