Sarah Morry, registered dietician, talked about organic eating and basic tips for healthy eating at a joint program between National Council of Jewish Women of Canada Winnipeg Section and Rady JCC

Morry started off by giving the 23 member audience the definitions of organic and organic farming.

Organic describes food produced without the use of pesticides, fertilizer, and food additives such as antibiotics and growth hormones

Organic farming relies heavily on crop rotation and recycling of plant and animal wastes

Canada produces organic fruits and vegetables; meat, fish, and poultry; eggs; dairy products; breads and grains.

“Organic foods sales account for over 1% of the total food sales in Canada. 23% of Canadians regularly buy organic food,” said Morry.

There are a number of myths why people buy organic foods: for health benefits, eating cleaner, better for the environment, more nutritious, etc.

But, Morry explained, “The nutritional benefits of organic food are not higher than the nutritional value of conventional foods. Organic grains have a lower protein content of a higher quality than commercially grown grains. “

“There is no difference in the nutritional quality of organic fresh produce and conventional grown produce, but they do have less pesticides. This can be counteracted simply be peeling and/or washing produce with water and mild soap to remove pesticide residue.”

“Studies show that there is a higher chance of salmonella in organically raised chickens than in conventionally farmed chickens.”

Morry brought samples of organic and non-organic carrots, strawberries and grapes for the audience to taste and compare. [In all three cases, I preferred the commercially grown produce over the organic for taste, texture and overall appeal. This experiment convinced me that I don’t need to buy organic produce as is not nutritionally superior and I don’t like the taste of the samples I tried.]

Morry concluded the lecture with five tips to healthier eating:

1. Go for Whole grains
2. Load up on frutis and vegetables
3. Have at least 500 ml of milk or milk products a day
4. Use lean meats
5. Choose limited unsaturated fats up to a maximum of 45 ml a day