What are your thoughts on organic fruit and veg?

I have always prefered to buy organic but of course it is quite expensive. Do you think there is as big a difference between organic and non organic food as is made out in health sections/the media etc?

I remember someone once told me she worked in politics and that all the Prime Minister and the other MPs only ate organic, which is kind of telling as if they must know non organic is more toxic.

On the other hand, I had a friend who thought it was all hype and that organic produce was just another way of making more money by scaremongering.

I know that organic fruit and veg does still have some pesticides used but they are a lot more stricter about what is used. This did make me think well if they still use chemicals on organic produce then what is the point in wasting the money. However I still have in the back of my mind that it will be better than all the chemicals they put on non organic. Plus I have often tasted the difference in organic food, it really does taste more flavourful and is supposed to have more vitamins due to the content not being weakened from chemicals. What do you think?

I like organic, i also like heirlooms. They arent as pretty, but they have the flavor I crave. Plants uptake the chemicals in the soil, but the harmful stuff is heavy metals deposits. 3 years after no pesticide/herbicide use before a field can be declared organic if I recall right.
Otherwise its a choice- and I will use both depending on what I hunger for.
Seems like there are so many labels today, you have to be a PhD to work thru the deliberate confusion.

By the way- more and more produce is going organic. Higher because you are supporting a more labor intensive market, and smaller home grown farmers, usually.

More flavour is a tip-off that the nutritional content is also better. I've seen charts and read studies comparing the brix count (sugar and nutrition density) of organic vs non-organic foods (I know - without a citation here this statement does not hold much credibility, but google it to find actually sources) and there is ususally a huge difference between organic vs non-organic.

It also varies with the crop, as far as which tend to get more chemicals used on them than others. Very complex decision. I grow what little I can organically, buy the rest local in season if I can, then just take what the store has for the rest.

I don't think the Prime Minister's food choices are necessarily significant.

When we choose what foods to grow organically, we consider that some store-purchased plants can have more absorbed pesticides than others. These plants would be great choices to be grown organically, and include apples, pears, nectarines, cherries, potatoes, grapes and peppers.