These two concepts may seem interchangable, but they aren't. I thought all morning how I could best explain the difference, and came to the conclusion that Wikipedia (in it's infinite, unchecked wisdom) was the best way to go about it.
"Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat.[1] Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains; fruits and vegetables; unprocessed meat, poultry, and fish; and non-homogenized milk.
The term is often confused with organic food, but whole foods are not necessarily organic, nor are organic foods necessarily whole."
"Processed organic food usually contains only organic ingredients. If non-organic ingredients are present, at least a certain percentage of the food's total plant and animal ingredients must be organic (95% in the United States,[4] Canada, and Australia) and any non-organically produced ingredients are subject to various agricultural requirements. Foods claiming to be organic must be free of artificial food additives, and are often processed with fewer artificial methods, materials and conditions, such as chemical ripening, food irradiation, and genetically modified ingredients. Pesticides are allowed so long as they are not synthetic"
So, to summarize:
Whole food is unprocessed, not necessarily organic.
Organic can be processed.
While I am striving to incorporate as much organic food into our diet as possible, I'd like to stay reasonable. Organic is expensive. Organic isn't always realistic. We exist solely on my husband's paycheck, and I'm not about to compromise our future savings to ensure that every little thing we consume hasn't been touched by chemical pesticides. To me, not everything is worth the cost. If I intend to continue this lifestyle, it has to make sense, financially.
I have at least half a dozen bags of frozen fruit & other "out of season" produce in my freezer - none of it is organic. Why? Because a bag of frozen organic broccoli was $5.50, and the non-organic was on sale for $1.25. Organic condiments are, on average, twice the cost of their non-organic counterparts ($9.50 for a small jar of organic almond butter? I'll pass....) And to be completely fair, just because something is labeled organic, doesn't mean that 100% of the ingredients are.
What I buy organic:
Meat & Dairy
Celery (it has no protective skin)
Peaches
Strawberries
Carrots
Lettuce
Pears
Tomatoes
I pass on the organic with these fruits & veggies
Onions
Avocado
Asparagus
Broccoli
Eggplant
Pineapple
Sweet Potato
Great summary!
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