A more than 26 billion dollar industry, organic food is big business. In an effort to avoid ingesting high levels of pesticides over the course of a lifetime, many of us are buying into the idea that organic is healthier, and for the most part, it would appear that it is. New research links pesticides to Attention Deficit Hyper Activity Disorder in children.

An item with USDA organic certification must utilize only healthy or natural ingredients that do not cause any harm to humans, animals, and its overall natural surroundings. It is guaranteed to be free of toxic chemicals, antibiotics, and hormones.

The major obstacle that lies in the way of consumers eating exclusively organic, is the hefty price tag. Organic foods cost more to cultivate and so it’s not surprising that the price tag is higher in the grocery store or at your local farmers market.

So for the average consumer who is careful how they spend their hard earned cash, is it worth while eating a partly organic diet or do we have to buy strictly organic to truly reap the benefits?

The Environmental Working Group has a list referred to as “The Dirty Dozen” of fruits and vegetables, that experts say should always be bought organic. These include foods that have a delicate skin such as nectarines, strawberries, peaches, grapes and apples. A delicate skin makes them more prone to pesticide contamination. Lettuce, potatoes and celery are examples of  vegetables that may require a variety of chemicals to grow them and so should also be bought organic. Conversely, save your pennies, and don’t buy organic produce that you can peel as it generally has less exposure to chemicals.

Where dairy is concerned, it is beneficial to buy organic. In the long run we will save ourselves exposure to pesticides, hormones and antibiotics and help protect the environment as well. Consequently, it is also healthier to buy organic meat as much of the conventional store-bought meat is treated with hormones and the other icky stuff. In particular, beef should be bought organic, where as all chicken and pork, organic or not, legally sold in the US, is always free of growth hormones.

Finally, there are other packaged or highly processed foods such as cereal bars, bread and pasta that don’t have to be bought organic. These don’t offer a significant enough difference in safety or nutritional value to warrant spending the extra money!