 Dr. Jillian Finker is definitely biased when it comes to eating organic foods. "I have always been an advocate for organic foods, including baby foods," the naturopath from Plainview, New York, tells OrganicAuthority.com. "I was brought up on organic baby food, I always purchase organic products, and I recommend that my patients eat organic whenever possible." Dr. Finker's professional experience has reaffirmed her commitment to the organic lifestyle. "I have personally seen patients whose lives have been ruined by their exposure to pesticides," she says. "Their bodies were loaded with pesticides from either spray exposure or from ingesting heavily sprayed fruits and vegetables. These patients have a variety of symptoms, ranging from paresthesia (a sensation of burning, prickling, itching, or tingling, with no apparent physical cause) to skin rashes. It saddens me that we still use pesticides on our foods, even though there are organic farming options available to us." It's hard to argue with Dr. Finker's logic-unless you work for a nonorganic food manufacturer whose products are laced with pesticides. But ask average consumers about eating organically, and one issue seems to emerge universally: "It's too expensive." Wrong. Eating organically needn't be a wallet buster, says Debra Stark, owner of Debra's Natural Gourmet , a retail store in Concord, Massachusetts. Buying organic beans, grains, pasta, herbs, spices, leafy greens and other produce is not only economical, but far healthier than plunking down a few bucks for a prepackaged meal that contains only one nutritionally questionable serving. "There are times when our organic fruits and veggies cost less than commercially grown ones in the supermarket," Stark tells OrganicAuthority.com. "But even when they don't, there are always items that are affordable. Besides, look at the bottom line: A commercially grown head of romaine, for instance, is subsidized by the government. By the time we all pay for the damage to the environment that the chemical fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides wreak-the extra health-care costs incurred by farm workers because of their exposure to the toxic stuff-a regular head of romaine costs each of us over $3.50. I saw these figures some years ago from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Organic farmers receive no subsidies, and last week our organic romaine was $1.49 per head." And the price gap between nonorganic and organic foods continues to narrow. "Whenever economies of scale come into play, prices go down," Stark says. "With big players entering the natural products industry, many products like cold cereals, for instance, are being produced on a larger scale." Another source for economical organic foods is farmers' markets. "They're great fun," Stark says. "They allow us to meet the people who work hard growing our food. Even if that head of lettuce costs more than the tired head sitting in the supermarket, the value is greater. J... | 