Since starting this personal “green” journey, I knew that this day would come. I would need to confront the issue of organic fruits and vegetables. I’ll admit it openly. I do not buy them. I don’t want to pay the extra price. I’m not the only one who feels this way. My local supermarket in Queens does not even sell organic fruits or vegetables. I asked the manager for the reason. He said they tried it last year, but no one bought them. They were too expensive. I find myself confused over the issue. I am presented with three reasons for going organic, and I find it hard coming up with a singular motivation.

1) Organic fruits and vegetables are marketed as an upscale item. They taste better. They are local. The tomatoes are juicer. Chefs on The Food Network are always shopping at their local farmer’s market. The farmer’s market seems like the new singles’ scene.

Organic produce does taste better than the mass-produced fruits and vegetables at the typical supermarket, but that is not enough to make me go organic. I’m not going to spend extra for an organic tomato, just to improve the taste of my tuna fish sandwich at lunch. This tomato is being presented as a luxury item. A BMW is a better car than a Honda Civic, but that doesn’t mean I go out and buy one. I can make do with cheaper, less tasty tomatoes.

2) The health issues of pesticides on fruits is a more compelling reason to go organic. Organic farming emphasizes soil fertility. Each farm is certified by an independent third party organization which makes sure that no synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms are used. The EPA considers
the 60 percent of all herbicides, 90 percent of all fungicides and 30 percent of all insecticides are carcinogenic.

As scary as this statistic is, I don’t think this will change the buying habits of most Americans — including my own. After all, most of us still eat fast food and don’t get enough exercise. Good health is never a strong motivating force. Not surprisingly, most of those who I know buying organic produce do it because they have young children, and not necessarily for themselves.

3) Of all the arguments for eating organic, I am most moved by the “green” reasons. I knew very little about these issues until this week. It never occurred to me to think about the health of our nation’s farmers. They are in far more danger than the average consumer. A Natural Cancer Institute study found that farmers exposed to herbicides had a greater risk, by a factor of six, than non-farmers of contracting cancer. Why should farmers be exposed to such harmful herbicides?

Organic farming is a friend to the environment. In conventional farming the soil is used more as a medium for holding plants in a vertical position so they can be chemically fertilized. This causes soil erosion throughout the world. The pesticides then contaminate our ground water, polluting our drinking water. Modern farming also uses more petroleum than any other single industry, consuming 12 percent of the country’s total energy supply. Organic farming is more labor-intensive (one of the reasons for the higher price) but energy efficient.

Finally, here was a strong reason for buying organic fruits and vegetables — to help save the planet. I can live without tastier tomatoes. I can wash and peel my apples. But we only have one home.