Avoiding the Halo Effect: when buying organic really is worth it

There’s nothing like a morning stroll through the local farmer’s market to begin your spring weekend, as I recently discovered.  The newly harvested bounty is rising towards summer’s peak with season’s first peaches, asparagus, zucchini and berries starting to flow in. Early arrival ensures a slower pace, lots of options and decent parking, so it’s worth the effort.  This past Saturday I began my shopping at Pinnacle Farms, always a good bet for prices and variety, then worked my way through the aisles from there.  Fresh flowers, bins of greens, baskets of blueberries and colors galore, I stopped for some sweet white peaches my kids can’t get enough of before continuing on.

Fresh asparagus just emerged at the market a few weeks ago and the season is so short I didn’t want to miss an opportunity, so the only question left was one bunch or two.  I checked to see if I had the exact change while deciding one was probably plenty.  But then I heard some words that got my attention.  I knew the asparagus wasn’t certified organic, but I thought it was at least not being doused with pesticide.  Lots of small farmers can’t afford the certification but steer clear of pesticides, which works for me.  Unfortunately I overheard then this wasn’t the case.  “So what now?”  I wondered.  On one hand, the asparagus was local, it was fresh, and I’d already handed over my 3.50.  I looked beseechingly at the woman behind the stand.  “But I’ve been told in the past it wasn’t sprayed”, I ventured hopefully.  “Only if it needs to be, but it grows quickly so it usually doesn’t” was the non-committal and not overly helpful response. 

Knowing that asparagus is included on the Environmental Working Group’s list of non-organic produce which doesn’t retain lots of pesticide residue was assurance enough to go for the asparagus, but the incident still gave me pause.  It reminded me of a term often used in processed foods marketing known as the “halo effect”.  It’s used to describe the positive impression terms like “natural” or “healthy” evoke on packaged foods.  Unfortunately those terms are used very deceptively and therefore not necessarily true, but the halo effect influences shoppers into believing the product described that way must be good for you.   

The same is true of farmer’s markets.  There too shoppers need to be careful.  The cherry and stone fruit stand perched in the primo corner spot at Cabrillo charges top dollar for their produce, which people assume is organic based on price and location.  The farmer there actually became visibly annoyed when I asked if they sprayed their produce (they do).  Since cherries are near the top of the EWG list of produce which retains pesticides even after washing, and knowing you can buy the organic variety for less at the local grocery, I passed.

The point I was so starkly reminded shown of is we need to pay attention, even at places like health food stores or farmer’s markets, where we assume we’re immune to unhealthy choices.   It’s important to shop consciously, as in think about what you’re buying, as often as you can.  Pesticides are poisons used to kill insects, but pesticide exposure also harms people, animals and the environment. Chemicals like pesticides don’t evaporate; they stay in the air, in the water and in our bodies.  As we’re increasingly learning, the foods that are good for us are the same ones that are good for the planet, and eating sustainably make sense in both the short and the long term. So before your next shopping trip, think about taking a moment to visit EWG for a list of produce to always buy organic, even at the farmer’s market!