Sometimes I come across one or two items that are the same, even lower cost when you buy from other stores or in bulk items that are labeled as, Organic, Non GMO
Is it better to purchase like if it’s the same or less price or is that just some kind of marketing ploy as well?
It depends on the quality of the soil the produce is grown in. If the produce is grown in top quality organic soil the produce will without a doubt have more nutrients. (I’ve been to a farm in California that utilizes methods to increase the quality of their soil and the nutrient density of their produce is far beyond anything you can buy in the stores. You can tell by the colors, the size, and the taste.)
Also when buying organic produce you are significantly reducing your exposure to toxic pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Not only are these chemicals causing disease in humans and animals but they are destroying our top soil. Nothing good comes from GMO food it is literally destroying our planet.
I only buy organic foods and produce for my family. People can say whatever they want about organic, however, organic produce uses way less pesticides than non organic.
If you aren’t committed to doing that (I know few are) I would at least not buy “the dirty dozen”
https://www.ewg.org/consumer-guides/ewgs-dirty-dozen-guide-food-chemicals-top-12-avoid
Plants produce more phytochemicals in stressful situations, in some cases as found in organic farming practices, and phytochemicals are antioxidants, which are most definitely “nutritious”, so YES, organic is more nutritious than conventional.
> are organic items more nutritious than non organic items
No. Sometimes you can taste a difference but this usually comes down to harvesting, often industrial farmed produce will be ripened artificially after its out of the ground/off the plant while “organically” grown food is harvested later. There is little to no nutritional difference between “organic” produce and industrial produce.
IMHO the most profound difference is with fruits and root vegetables in flavor. Its nice being able to get carrots and bananas all year but would prefer an intermediate price option between hellishly expensive locally grown and harvested in the last week or two and industrial grown harvested 6 months ago.
Often the safest bet is to buy frozen unless its a leafy green (because they have to have been recently harvested, they do not keep).
> Non GMO
I wish there was an organic movement that used GM crops too. It would make real organic food cheaper.
Organic just means no synthetic fertiliser was used. Not sure where you are, but a lot of the USDA certified organic produce grown outside the US is not verified organic.
Whether certain produce is more or less nutrient dense depends on the variety, maturity and freshness of the produce. Something conventionally grown locally and sold ripe will be more nutritious than the equivalent grown organically, harvested early and shipped half way around the world.