To buy or not to buy organic : what you need to know to choose the healthiest, safest, most earth-friendly food

Format:

Book

Title:

To buy or not to buy organic : what you need to know to choose the healthiest, safest, most earth-friendly food

Author:

Burke, Cindy.

ISBN:

9781569242681

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

xvii, 221 pages ; 21 cm

Contents:

Why choose organics? -- How pesticide exposure impacts your health -- Growing organic foods -- Organic economics -- "Beyond organics" : local and sustainable -- The dirty dozen : twelve foods to eat only if they're organic -- To buy or not to buy organic? : helping you make the decision -- Where to find healthy food.

Summary:

Seattle-based food journalist and former professional chef Cindy Burke helps readers make the right food choices as they make their way through their supermarket. Burke's crucially concerned with the use of pesticides, which are widely used to grow fruits and vegetables and which, even in trace amounts, have been linked to many cancers, infertility and birth defects. Among the topics she covers here (always from an extremely real-world perspective) are how to Know the difference between organic and non-organic food; Heal your body and avoid toxins; Find and buy safe food; Choose foods with the least risk to your health; and Pursue strategies to cut exposure to toxic chemicals.

Subject(s):

Natural foods -- Health aspects -- United States.

Natural foods -- Economic aspects -- United States.

Grocery shopping -- United States.

Consumer behavior -- United States.

Geographic Term:

United States

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... McMinnville Public Library	641.302 Burke	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Food journalist and former professional chef Cindy Burke writes in the introduction to this book: "Organic food can be so expensive and difficult to find that I always wondered if I was spending my money wisely. I decided to become informed, really informed, about the options -- organic, conventional, local, sustainable -- so that I could choose the healthiest, safest food available." To Buy or Not to Buy Organic is the result of Burke's investigations. It tells you how to choose the healthiest, safest, most earth-friendly food, as you make your way through the supermarket, your local farmer's market, or your natural foods store. Highlights include: Making sense of the choices presented by organic, local, sustainable, minimally treated, grass-fed and cage-free foods Reducing your exposure to pesticides Save money by knowing the foods you want to eat only if they're organic and the foods that are pesticide-free even when they are nonorganic Protecting your child's health from pesticides An at-a-glance shopper's guide to more than 100 foods

Author Notes

Cindy Burke is the coauthor, with Kim Severson (now the New York Times 's high-profile food reporter), of The Trans-Fat Solution . She writes often about food, organic farming, and nutrition for numerous publications. She studied at the school for American Chefs in Northern California's Napa Valley, before working as a chef and food consultant. She lives with her family in Seattle, Washington.

Reviews (1)

Library Journal Review

Food journalist and former chef Burke (coauthor, The Trans Fat Solution) here delineates the effects of pesticides on humans and the environment in excruciating detail, with scathing indictments of the FDA, agribusiness, and agricultural lobbyists. She argues that large corporations and even foreign nations are now selling foods labeled as organic even though they may well be tainted by pesticides. She encourages buying foods that are local (grown within 100 miles of home) or sustainable (not "organic" by the FDA's rigorous standards but still technically organic). Shoppers are provided with a rather confusing formula to help determine whether the value of organic foods is worth the increased cost, as well as lists of the 12 most pesticide-laden foods and the 15 cleanest foods. Tips on finding healthy foods and a shopping guide chart may help readers determine when organics are a better choice. Although Burke's topic is worthwhile and she is right to point to the harm caused by pesticides, her language is fairly inflammatory; the book would have been more effective if the facts had been allowed to speak for themselves. For larger collections only.-Janet M. Schneider, James A. Haley Veterans' Hosp., Tampa (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.