I was in a nostalgic mood for comfort food last night, and I was thinking wayyyy back into my childhood.  I went onto Twitter and asked people if they still produced “Spaghetti-O’s,” one of my past favorites.  Sarah, who also blogs here at Brita, sent a message that she buys an “organic” knock-off of Spaghetti-O’s for her son. I made fun of her for being overly-green.

“Organic Spaghetti-O’s?  Now that’s going too far!”

Since I don’t have kids, I sometimes joke with my friends who are parents about their over-protectiveness of their kids. I was raised on formula and Spaghetti-O’s — and I grew up to become semi-normal!

A little research online has made me better understand the fear of parents. While organic Spaghetti-O’s may be on the extreme part of the spectrum, there are legitimate reasons for parents to be on watch, especially with products containing fruits and vegetables. While children are the ones who most need these healthy foods, they are also most vulnerable to the pesticides and chemicals that are used in production.

As we all know from every visit to playground, the growth rate of children is very fast and their metabolism is on overdrive, so they eat more in relation to their body weight than do adults. Many of the tests done by the government and the EPA concerning pesticides are conducted using adults, so the exposure levels do not take into account the faster growth rate of children.

Studies in 2003 and 2006 showed that children who ate a conventional diet had six to nine times higher amount of pesticides in their urine than those who ate organic foods. That alone should give some pause to every parent out there.

I still believe that the “organic” label is being manipulated by some food companies and grocery stores for profit. Not every product is dangerous to us, and I don’t always make the organic choice for myself. I have no idea if organic Spaghetti-O’s are any better for a child than the conventional ones. I have no problem eating regular Spaghetti-O’s myself. In fact, I’m still in the mood to buy some today and see if I still like them! However, now that I better understand the special concerns for children, I will not make fun of Sarah anymore for her organic choices.