Photo: Flickr user Bludgeoner86
If you still find yourself purchasing produce at the grocery store, you may wonder just where it’s come from and if it fits within your personal food requirements. I can’t help you with the origin of your fruits and veggies, but I can offer up a little trick for finding out if the produce you’re considering is grown conventionally, organically, or is (shudder!) genetically modified.
You know those little stickers on produce? The International Federation for Produce Standards uses a four or five digit code to identify certain types of produce. If you know what you’re looking for, you can utilize those stickers to make buying decisions about your family’s fruit and vegetable consumption.
- A four digit code (or a five digit code that begins with a zero) indicates your run-of-the-mill piece of produce, grown with traditional farming methods which may include the use of pesticides and herbicides.
- A five digit code beginning with the number nine indicates an organically grown fruit or vegetable.
- A five digit code beginning with the number eight indicates a piece of produce that’s been genetically modified. (See update, below.)
With all the uncertainty about the safety of GMO (genetically modified) crops in the news these days and the unscrupulous business practices of GMO giant Monsanto, many families (including mine) are doing their best to avoid GMO foods. And of course, the pesticides and herbicides commonly used in farming have been linked to cancers like melanoma and breast cancer.
I find I’m purchasing less produce at the grocery store these days, but this is a good guide for those times that I do! What produce do you find yourself buying at the grocery store? What can you get at your local farmers market?
UPDATE: After much conversation about this on the Attainable Sustainable Facebook page, it’s come to light that since this sticker program is voluntary, it’s pretty unlikely that you’ll actually see a 5-digit number beginning with an eight. In this post, Jeffrey Smith says, “the 5-digit PLU codes on produce do not tell you what is genetically modified or natural.” His argument that the stickers are useless is based on the fact that they are not meant to be used by consumers. I disagree; they may not be intended as a tool for consumers, but that doesn’t render them entirely useless. Will producers voluntarily use the number eight, announcing the fact that an item has been genetically modified? Probably not. But a proud organic grower will certainly use the number nine, meaning that consumers can use the system to identify organic produce. I think the bigger issue here is that here in the USA we are having to have this conversation in the first place. Consumers should have the opportunity to decide if they’ll eat GMO foods; it’s time for these foods to be labeled as such!
Kris…a friend of mine saw your article and he’s in radio and he has also reposted. We are getting the word out bit by bit. Keep up the great work!
I love it! The more informed people are, the better choices we can all make.
Kris… can I possibly send you a quick email?
Great blog! I’m learning so much. I buy the Dirty Dozen organic and make sure all our meat and eggs are antibiotic free at the very least if not organic. But organic is expensive and I cut corners outside of that. I will certainly be looking at stickers (I had NO clue about their importance) AND checking out local farmer’s markets (just moved to MD so have to find them).
During the growing season, I buy as much produce as possible at my local farmer’s market. I’m probably not as concerned about pesticides, GMO, etc as your other readers, but I do like the sense of community that buying local at the farmer’s market provides. I think it’s a great way to build a sense of togetherness that’s too often absent in our world.
Thanks for the information on the stickers – it will come in very handy when I shop at the grocery store.
Tracy, I think community is SO important. As is knowing where our food comes from!
I wish they’d start using the tatooing method rather than those damn stickers. They’re usually plastic — on organic food — and decorate all sorts of odd scraps of paper at my house. I’m sure it renders it unrecyclable. I remember being so happy to get the single Chiquita sticker off of a bunch of bananas when I was a kid — winning a battle with my brother. Now, it’s just more garbage.
This is good to know. I think it’s something most people are not aware of. Now, if only there was total “truth” in this practice to make sure everyone involved came clean about the origin/treatment of the food we are buying.
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