Organic Foods vs. Conventional

We all see them. Many of us may buy one or two of them when we're in the grocery store. A coupl...  More »

We all see them. Many of us may buy one or two of them when we're in the grocery store. A couple of us might try and stock our cupboards chalk full of organic products. But the term andamp;quot;organicandamp;quot; can cause a lot of confusion. What's it mean and what exactly does it guarantee? We hit the aisles of a local grocery store with an expert and talked to some shoppers about buying organic. Sherris Richards/Shopper: 47:57 andamp;quot;I like the natural product. I don't like the things with pesticides or all those preservatives on them and I know that they don't spray the bananas.andamp;quot; Sherris, a shopper we ran into on a recent trip, likes organic bananas. Claudia she's a connoisseur of other organic products. Claudia Dietrich/Shopper: 43:13 andamp;quot;I try and buy especially meats, fats, cheese, proteins those kinds of things. I try and buy organic as much as possible.andamp;quot; 43:26 With so much to choose from and so many foods nowadays claiming to be made organically or with organic ingredients - what does andamp;quot;organicandamp;quot; even mean? June Kraft/Extension Agent, andamp;lt;a href=andamp;quot;http://www.kxnet.com/t/ndsuandamp;quot; class=andamp;quot;kxInlineLinkandamp;quot;andamp;gt;NDSUandamp;lt;/aandamp;gt;: 4:07 andamp;quot;They have to be produced without using conventional pesticides, without using bioengineering and without using chemical fertilizers.andamp;quot; NDSU Extension agent June Kraft and I hit aisles to separate fact from fiction. Lesson 1: when buying organic, read the ingredient list on the package. June Kraft/Extension Agent - NDSU:31:36 andamp;quot;This says nothing about being organic and yet they're right next to each other. And if you look, it has no seal. And then when you look on the ingredient list, it actually indicates that there is organic cheddar cheese and organic buttermilk powder.andamp;quot; Back to shopper Claudia for a minute now - Claudia Dietrich/Shopper: 43:31 andamp;quot;I just believe that there's a lot of chemicals that in these products that I'd like to avoid if possibleandamp;quot; Claudia stocks up on organic meats. How does an organic hot dog or a chicken drum stick make its way from the slaughter house to the store shelf? June Kraft/Extension Agent, NDSU: 4:28 andamp;quot;In order to be an organic meat, poultry, eggs or dairy products then it would be products that come from animals that have had no antibiotics or no growth hormones.andamp;quot; Perhaps the best advice on what to buy - and why to buy it - comes from shopper Sherris Richards. Sherris Richards/Shopper 48:35 andamp;quot;I knew that they didn't have all the stuff sprayed on them to make them look so good. I knew they were natural - that's why I purchased them.andamp;quot; And if it looks good and tastes good - buy it. June Kraft does stress that, at this point in time, there is no conclusive evidence that organic foods are healthier for you than their conventional counterparts. She also says because preservatives aren't used, oftentimes organic foods will spoil faster.  « Less