Two More Grocery Staples You Might Want to Buy Organic

Aug 14, 2018Emma Zang-Schwartz, MPHFood

For all those nights when wine and cereal count as a meal

What’s the one thing we all learned from Shondaland Thursdays? Wine is a meal. No questions asked. And what about those nights when working a corkscrew and washing a glass is just too much work? Then cereal straight from the box totally counts.

To make those nights a little bit healthier (haha), we have a buying tip for you. Go organic. With interest in organic options growing, it’s pretty easy to find your favorites in an organic option.

But, why should you cough up the extra couple of bucks for an organic bottle of Cabernet and or box of frosted flakes? While we think of those as food groups in their own, both are made with ingredients that are often heavily sprayed with pesticides, like grapes and grains.

Grapes, the essential ingredient in wine, are number 5 on EWG’s dirty dozen list (1). So, if you should be picking up organic grapes if you are just going to eat them, you also probably to want to pick up organic for anything that highly relies on them as an ingredient. Even if you think you are safe because you aren’t eating the outside, the grape skins are still part of the process and pesticides are getting in there (2). A tip we have learned when shopping for wine is you can also read the bottle for ones that are made with organic grapes. Because other ingredients are added to ferment the wine, it can be more difficult to get an organic certification for the wine itself, but they may have still used organic grapes. You can also look for wines with a biodynamic label, meaning they don’t use pesticides and have a larger scope for how the farm should be run to create less waste.

Now, let’s talk about cereal. Most cereals are made with oats, wheat, or another grain often grown in large fields that are commonly sprayed with pesticides. Even though the cereal is processed, and we aren’t eating it fresh like berries or kale, there was a study done recently that found many cereals had traces of glyphosate (Monsanto’s Roundup pesticide) (3, 4). That means, with every bowl (or handful – no judgement here), you are also getting some pesticides.

Sorry for the bad news that your fav meal might be introducing pesticides into your diet, but at least a bunch of brands are making organic options. Shop around and find your new go to brands. Bonus: the more you shop organic, the more you are also protecting those who grow the grapes and grains and telling companies that you appreciate the steps they are taking to use fewer pesticides in their products.

Your Health

Two More Grocery Staples You Might Want to Buy Organic