Buying organic

[Neesy228]

I've never payed much attention to organic foods, but after some family and friends have gone through serious health issues and after I spoke to my doctor at length about "anti-cancer lifestyles", I'm seriously thinking of switching some of our foods to organic.

Do you buy organic? How do you make it more affordable? How do decide what things are worth buying organic and which are not? Any information/insight would be great! TIA!

Happy New Year to all!

 

[2bearsmom]

I try to buy mostly organic fruits and veggies...apples, grapes, lemons/limes/oranges if I'll be using the rind, potatoes and carrots especially. Organic tea and coffee and yogurt too. I just spend more on organic grass-fed beef (we purchased a 1/2 cow this fall) and pastured chicken and eggs, raw milk from pastured cows and butter, raw cheese and raw honey all from a local farmer. I'll buy minimally processed lunch meats for when the kids feel like a sandwich. I feel that organic snacks/cookies aren't worth it and they tend to have more sugar in them, sugar is still sugar no matter if it's organic or not and too much sugar in the diet causes so many health/dental issues. As long as they don't contain hydrogenated oils or HFCS and GMO's I'll buy "regular" snacks. I shop mainly at Trader Joe's now which really helps the food budget. It's a big step and can seem very overwhelming at first so taking baby steps and incorporating organic things here and there can help.

 

[zeferjen]

We belong to a csa, which provides organic veggies and some fruits for about 6 mos/ yr. I get organic milk and eggs and some meats from Costco too

 

[cornflake]

I buy organic things in which I've noticed a difference between organic and non, and in which I eat the skin/entire produce and the produce is exposed to spraying.

So for the things where the entire thing is consumed and open to spraying - like, apples, broccoli, etc., but not potatoes.

Things where I've noticed a marked difference - carrots (once you try organic carrots, you'll never go back, it's shocking), yams (same), eggs (the visual difference between organic, vegetarian feed eggs and "regular" is enough to turn most people to the organic), bananas (organic last a ridiculous amount of time longer before they go brown - I've not noticed a difference in taste), etc.

Things like citrus, limes, lemons, I've not noticed a taste difference and they have a thick rind that I don't eat. If I'm buying ones I'll zest, I'll usually get an organic just to cut down on the pesticides. I know organic produce still has pesticides, but I consume more produce than most so I try to reduce wherever.

 

[lizabu]

Joining a CSA is a really affordable and convenient way to go. Some places will even deliver your groceries right to your door. There's a huge difference in taste with eggs. Basically the rule is things with a thick peel that you remove like an orange or banana are pointless to buy organic unless of course you are going to consume the skin (as the pp-er mentioned with zest)

 

[SDSorority]

I've never payed much attention to organic foods, but after some family and friends have gone through serious health issues and after I spoke to my doctor at length about "anti-cancer lifestyles", I'm seriously thinking of switching some of our foods to organic.

Do you buy organic? How do you make it more affordable? How do decide what things are worth buying organic and which are not? Any information/insight would be great! TIA!

Happy New Year to all!

We buy as much organic food as we possibly can. I'd rather spend on organic food now, than cancer treatments later.... it's much cheaper that way.

In all seriousness, our house is 80% organic, in food we ingest and products we use (shampoo, soap, makeup, toothpaste, you name it- EVERYTHING). There are too many pesticides and chemicals out there making everyone sick- it's scary stuff!! So, we don't have cable or a home phone, and instead spend that money on our food and products.

 

[SDSorority]

....and just a note about the thick skinned fruit not needing to be organic....

when conventional fruit is sprayed and then it rains, the trees suck up the water from the ground and they're sucking up the pesticides as well. So, the pesticides actually DO go in to the fruit you eat, thick skin or not (it's just being absorbed a different way- through the roots, rather than through the skin). Just something to think about. That said, if you absolutely cannot afford to go 100% organic, definitely go organic on the thin skin fruits and veggies. If you don't go organic on the thick skinned fruits, you're still better off than the folks not doing any organics.

 

[ellone]

If your really concerned, you should have a blood test done that first checks out your vitamin and mineral levels so you know if you are deficient in anything and check if any levels of chemicals are too high. My husband actually had one done a couple of years ago and was surprised by what vitamins he was low on and what chemicals were high for someone who just works in an office environment (one thing he had too much of was arsenic).

We eat a lot of organic. Corn is almost always organic (unless it's non-GMO). Frozen organic veggies aren't too bad in price - Trader Joe's carries some.
We eat organic on the 'dirty' fruits and veggies (berries, apples, potatoes, celery).

I'd also suggest trying to eliminate artificial colors and flavors from your diet. They are just plain chemicals.

 

[Happiest mommy]

wow what a difference Organic food tasts so much better, fresher last longer incredible worth every penny

 

[Nettle]

Growing up on a small (200 acre) fruit farm which is NOT organic (gasp) I have a hard time believing in the hype surrounding the organic movement. I have been in and around pesticide since I was a baby, and so has my family for over 6 generations.. and that includes the DDT era. Not one person in my family has been diagnosed with cancer or any other disease.

Unless you test every piece of fruit or vegetable, how are you going to know if it is truely and completely organic?

Coming from the farm point of view, people huff and puff over a spot or bruise on their apples or peaches.. God forbid if we were to have gone organic and a bug were to eat part. Do you think we could sell anything? Not a chance.

Organic also doesn't mean your backyard growers anymore either. They are doing it commercially, which in turn is not sustainable crops anymore and is still taxing on the environment. Grapes are still coming from Venezuela, lots of fuel to get here, etc..

My thoughts? Buy from small local farms.. you know where and WHO your food is coming from. Less footprint on the world, and you support those who work ridiculously hard for their money.

 

[ellone]

Growing up on a small (200 acre) fruit farm which is NOT organic (gasp) I have a hard time believing in the hype surrounding the organic movement. I have been in and around pesticide since I was a baby, and so has my family for over 6 generations.. and that includes the DDT era. Not one person in my family has been diagnosed with cancer or any other disease.

Well, your family is lucky. Conventional (pesticide) farmers have higher rates of several cancers than the general population.

My thoughts? Buy from small local farms.. you know where and WHO your food is coming from. Less footprint on the world, and you support those who work ridiculously hard for their money.

Organic means that you don't have GMOs - genetically modified organisms. I truthfully don't want to eat something that's been genetically modified with herbicides and pesticides. Other countries ban them, but since the US has people who formally worked for Monsanto (the big genetic modifier) working in the FDA, we get to eat that crap.

 

[susianew]

This fall I was in a 2 month long online focus group regarding organics. After that experience, I no longer feel guilty for not buying organic...there is a lot of hype and anecdotal evidence, but very little hard data supporting the health benefits of organics. I think it's better to eat a well balanced diet (lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains etc.) than to worry too much about organics. (For instance, just because they're organic, it does not mean those potato chips are healthy!)

I do think that local or home grown produce is MUCH better than commercial, weather it be conventional or organic. Taking part in the study has made me decide to start gardening and investigate some local food sources.

 

[bumbershoot]

...bananas (organic last a ridiculous amount of time longer before they go brown - I've not noticed a difference in taste), etc.

We've noticed the exact *opposite* with bananas. They ripen overnight (which is a problem for DH and DS who like greenish bananas), and they go brown within a few days. We just buy pesticidey ones now.

I also think organic artichokes taste horrible. Which is SUCH a bummer, since I love eating artichokes, and the combo of bitter organic ones and chemically conventional ones means we almost never eat them.

Coming from the farm point of view, people huff and puff over a spot or bruise on their apples or peaches.. God forbid if we were to have gone organic and a bug were to eat part. Do you think we could sell anything? Not a chance.

Established organic fruit buyers do NOT do that. They KNOW that weird looking, natural-looking fruit is normal and good.

Well, your family is lucky. Conventional (pesticide) farmers have higher rates of several cancers than the general population.

I agree.


There are people who smoke every day and never get cancer or emphysema, etc etc, but it doesn't mean I'm going to emulate them. Some people are impervious (though I often wonder "but how much BETTER would their lives be if they didn't have that in their lives?").

 

[ellone]

(For instance, just because they're organic, it does not mean those potato chips are healthy!)

Ah, but organic potato chips would not have artificial colors or flavors in them. And the oil used to fry them would not be from a GMO source.

 

[2girlsR2good]

Buy from small local farms.. you know where and WHO your food is coming from. Less footprint on the world, and you support those who work ridiculously hard for their money.

This. Sometimes organic, sometimes not, but I'm fortunate to live in a area where there are many small farmers and a local market that is more functional than touristy. I think there's a big difference in a local farmer who is trying and a mass produced commercial farm far removed from the consumer.

For example, we visit the peach orchard weekly in the summer months and get to talk with the owners. He told me what he sprays, which bugs it is that he has to spray for (and when) and how hard he works to minimize pesticide residue in the fruit.

A close friend is a beekeeper and his bees are the ones who pollinate the orchard. There's a strawberry farm in between, so the honey is peach/strawberry, although I can't taste that in it. Yummy though!

I buy beef that is grass fed, the field is not organic (but not sprayed), and if an animal gets sick and needs them, it gets antibiotics, but they do not have them all the time.

Mennonite farmers use no/minimal chemicals but do not certify their produce/eggs as organic.

The farmer who sells us eggs told me (and I don't know if this is true) that she can't claim her eggs are organic because her chickens are truly free range and she can't certify that the grasshoppers they eat are organic!

When all is said and done, this way of eating is more complicated than just hitting the store for everything. However, it is much cheaper than going to a Whole Foods for everything. Plus--I do feel like our outings are educational and fun--not a vibe I get at the grocery store.

This time of year, there aren't local veggies and I buy both organic and non, depending on price/type. There's a list you can get from Environmental Working Group-- http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

 

[SandrA9810]

Eliminated products made with dent corn, that will help in the long term. There's a few documentaries on the corn production in the US. Truthfully, it's the biggest load of road apples possible.

You can also check out "slowfoods.org". They're all about bringing local farmers together and making them known for others to find.

I believe to see the biggest benefit, is changing to grass fed beef, and other natural feeds for meats. Even if you don't eat corn, you'll still get it in your system by eating beef from a local McDonald's. Corn based diets are severely unhealthy for the cow, and makes the beef unhealthy for human consumption.

If you have a backyard, you could also invest in a chicken coop, to have fresh eggs available any time you want.

 

[Juliah]

It's expensive, and in our area difficult, to buy all organic, so I try to at least get the things that I think are most important to be organic.

I generally buy organic produce that's on the Dirty Dozen list but buy conventional from the Clean Fifteen:

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

BTW, there's a free app for the Dirty Dozen, too--handy to pull out when you're in the produce department.

I also try to buy organic of the things we eat the most, whether they're on the dirty dozen or not, for example, for us, that includes green tea and cilantro.

And I feel pretty strongly about avoiding dairy products unless they are free of antibiotics and hormones. When I can, I get dairy products from grass-fed cows, but they're hard to find in our area.

 

[Ashlotte]

....and just a note about the thick skinned fruit not needing to be organic....

when conventional fruit is sprayed and then it rains, the trees suck up the water from the ground and they're sucking up the pesticides as well. So, the pesticides actually DO go in to the fruit you eat, thick skin or not (it's just being absorbed a different way- through the roots, rather than through the skin). Just something to think about. That said, if you absolutely cannot afford to go 100% organic, definitely go organic on the thin skin fruits and veggies. If you don't go organic on the thick skinned fruits, you're still better off than the folks not doing any organics.

That's a great point. Organic oranges have also been shown to contain more vitamins: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/06/020603071017.htm

Great way to keep costs down are to join a CSA (sign ups are usually in January, so now is the time to find one). You can search this site for one near you http://www.localharvest.org/csa/ Also, another idea that someone mentioned is to buy beef in bulk. We split 1/4 of a cow every year with another family and that is plenty for us.

 

[cornflake]

I do buy small local but not organic from the local farmer's market - there's a noticable difference in taste there and yeah, I believe they're more responsible, they tell you flat out they spray but will tell you what, how often, etc.

As for the thick-skinned, I know, but given what I use of a lemon or whatever, and that generally potatoes don't get a ton of pesticides to begin with, I'm ok with not spending $1+ per lemon. I'll spend the $$ on the organic lettuce, which I absolutely won't buy from any non-organic factory farm, or etc.

In general, I haven't found the price differential to be much. Broccoli and cauliflower tend to be very pricey, apples and pears too I think but they're not much more than from the farmer's market and I haven't bought "regular" apples from a market market in so long I don't know what they cost really.

That's so weird about the bananas - I wonder if it's a certain supplier/manuf. or what...

 

[Princesca]

Organic IS overhyped. You're better off meeting some local producers, visiting their farms, and being sure that you're comfortable with their methods. I highly recommend the author Joel Salatin. I heard about him from reading Omnivore's Dilemma, and the man has an amazing approach to agriculture and animal husbandry. His books are both fascinating and enlightening. ANd entertaining! He's a pistol. He'll change the way you think about food.

We don't buy organic so much as we eat whole foods. We used dried beans now instead of canned, make our own bread. Sometimes baby steps are easier, and we've noticed a huge difference in our health. We also buy grass-fed beef from local farms, and have started to eat much less dairy. That alone has made a huge difference for me. When I eat/drink a lot of dairy, my skin breaks out like crazy. Since I quit having more than a splash in my coffee, my skin has almost entirely cleared up. Kinda makes you wonder.