Should You Go Organic? What organic will and won't do for you

[CountAllVotes]

"Organic," as a label on produce and other groceries, finally has real meaning, and a new age of agriculture has quietly begun. Organic foods usually cost more—and now consumers will know that what they are getting is really organic, if it carries the "USDA Organic" label. Farmers, too, will know exactly what they may and may not do. Farmers, processors, and packagers must earn the right to put the new government seal on their products—and must pass an inspection. Violators making false claims face substantial fines. The Organic Trade Association and farmers across the country have hailed the new system of labeling and certification.


When you see the "USDA Organic" label on foods, here's what you can safely assume:

For all foods:

No irradiation.


For plant foods:


The new act prohibits many pesticides, but it permits the use of others, including "botanical" pesticides and a limited number of synthetic ones. Seeds are produced under the same organic standards (there are some exceptions, but edible sprouts must come from organic seeds). Farmers are responsible for preventing any drift of pesticides, pollutants and non-organic seeds onto their land.
No genetically modified crops can be sold as organic.
No sewage sludge or fertilizers containing anything synthetic. Animal manures, green manures, and biological pest control must be used. Farmers are supposed to minimize erosion and runoff and rotate crops to maintain soil fertility.


lots more here:


http://lifestyle.msn.com/FoodandEntertaining/ExpertAdvice/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=35966>1=7112

[Cha]

1. Good! Sure it costs more now..but

in the long run you will save on health costs and good health is priceless.

Plus, you're supporting a cleaner greener Planet Earth.

[CountAllVotes]

3. I've been doing it for about 3 years now

I was turning diabetic and lots of other bad things were going on with my blood work. Now it is "fantastic".

I am convinced that paying the extra money is worth it and to me the food tastes much better and has a lot more flavor.

Those potatoes I mentioned on another thread that are GM'd are these huge suckers and they have no real taste. You know they can't possibly be good for you!

I am glad that this story clarifies that organic = NO GMO!

Whew!

:dem: :kick:

[Cha]

13. Great! I believe it..same

thing happened to me for other health reasons. And, I forgot.. I'm glad you brought that up about "tasting better" cause it surely does!

If the gmoers had their way they would advertise it as "organic" just to fool the masses..so I'm really glad it stipulates..Organic=NO GMO!

[GrumpyGreg]

2. I'm gradually trying to wean myself from the crap we call food-

these days. It's hard,and expensive,but worth it.

Thanks for your post.

[CountAllVotes]

6. Once you start seeing the results

You'll never go back to eating that 2 for 1 junk food they sell at Safeway, etc.

After you give up the junk and especially anything with the word HYDROGENATED in it, you are on the right track. I try to buy as much organic food as I can. I eat very little meat - no red meat for 3 years now (Mad Cow = no BULL!).

:toast: to your health! :D

:kick:

[GrumpyGreg]

12. Thanks!

[Warren DeMontague]

4. I'm personally more worried about pesticides than about GMOs

Just my take on it.

And I might be mistaken, but I think California has it's own organic labeling requirements... how does that tie in/conflict/gel with this.. do you know?

[CountAllVotes]

7. both require equal worry

That GMO crap is NOT good for you AT ALL.

Check out this link from Ireland - lots of info. here:

http://www.gmfreeireland.org/

:kick:

[Vinnie From Indy]

5. It took a while for me to commit to organic as much as possible.

I look back and wonder why I took so long. Better, safer food, yeah, I'll do that!

[meganmonkey]

8. FYI - the standards were generally higher before the Feds butted in

in the late 90's with the National Organic Program. The state and private certifiers had a closer relationship with the farms they certified and the industry itself was based on principle, not profit.

The NOP standards implemented in '98 were not ideal but were acceptable to most people in the organic industry.

What the USDA is doing now is trying to water the standards down even more to placate the food biggies like Kraft, Nestle who are jumping on this very profitable bandwagon, and even Whole Foods (which isn't as pure and natural as they would like people to believe, let alone local and sustainable).

Real organic farmers who are not backed up by agri-business do NOT think what the USDA is doing is a good thing - we need to keep an eye on this:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/sos.cfm

[CountAllVotes]

11. thanks for the info. & link

Information is knowledge. Knowlege = power! Thank you! :D :D :D

:kick:

[randr]

9. When you go organic not only do you improve your health

you improve the planet's health. The people in the organic movement are driven by a desire to make the world a better place. Even when large food corporations offer organic products they are supporting this movement indirectly.
I assume that the reason I buy food is for my nourishment. If I can buy food that is more nourishing I need to consider the cost factor.
An organically grown vegetable has more of what I am paying for: vitamins, minerals, good land use, etc, etc. It is actually cheaper for me in the long run.

[undergroundpanther]

10. Organic sounds great

But if you are poor you are SOL.
That'ds one thing I HATE about the whole foods alternative movements,push to get more people to change lifestyles.. they are not all that accesable because they require MONEY ...More money than most poor folks will ever afford,andthat to me says elitism. Because if these people were so good hearted and wanting to help they'd be helping poor people too .But what gets me is in this society the poor are throwaways..Look at NOLA.Do you think these organic health nuts cared about the poor of New Orleans? They didn't cut prices of organic stuff for poor folks before the Hurricaine..Seems like im America only the rich deserve healthy food and vitamins.

[CountAllVotes]

15. it depends on what you buy and what you eat

If you are buying a bunch of pricey organic food, it is very expensive no doubt about that. However, if you buy a few vegetables, some rice, and cook up a huge batch of stir fry you have 4 enormous meals. Total cost = $2 - $3. That is not a lot of money to spend, what is spent is time cooking and effort.

Organic convenience foods are very overpriced, but then again a lot of that junk they sell at Safeway, etc. is the same price in many cases.

It depends on how you use the food you buy and what you eat. If you are into junk, you can buy organic junk food too (candy, cookies, etc. - organic yes - price - more but still the same, this "junk" is costly even if it is not organic). Hence, don't eat the junk foods and you can likely handle it, especially if you avoid meats which are very costly organic or not.

Go organic and buy stuff on sale. That's what I do.

And my health is worth it to me. It means less money spent on doctors, drugs, etc.

and ... best of all, tasty too! :D

[cally]

16. I've noticed the price of organic products are going down

It did take a few well off determined few to push for the products. This was the California Cuisine push during the late 70s and 80s. Using fresh produce and then using organic produce. The hoity-toity restaurants served it and it became popular. Now, it is much less costly and more accessible. Have you noticed that many big brands now have organic products that aren't much more money. Still out of reach or low-income folks but as more people demand better quality then prices will continue to fall.

At our farmer's market, about 2/3 of the produce is organic. It is not more expensive on most product. Organic berries are much more, though.

I am trying to switch to all organic after my cancer. It is more expensive but most of my local markets offer good sales and if I buy whats in season then I can find good deals.

[CountAllVotes]

19. I've found some organic food at the Co-op cost less

These foods actually cost LESS than what they sell at Safeway! I buy the items on sale, not the items not on sale. I find it manageable and I cook in large volumes and break it down and freeze it.

I make one hell of a vegetarian lasagna btw - enough to eat for a whole week (takes one bunch spinach, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, 3 cheeses and organic tomato sauce). I've been making this recipe for years - was easy to convert to organic as are most recipes. :D

:kick:

[Cats Against Frist]

21. I'm pretty sure, though,

in the case of the more responsible, smaller-scale organic brands, that the increased cost is because it actually costs quite a bit more to produce organic foods -- you can't just "cut the price" of organic food, because it's not made as much in bulk as non-organic foods, which can weather an aggregate price cut.

And what do you mean -- "do you think these organic health nuts cared about the poor of New Orleans?" I just don't understand that sentiment -- am I supposed to stop feeding my son organic food, because other people are poor? This is a health choice, not a luxury choice -- and though I care about the poor, and donated a considerable sum of money to relief efforts, I still care about my little son a hell of a lot more than any other human on the planet -- and you can take that to bank-o. I'm charged with his care, and proudly accept that duty.

I've heard your argument a lot, and so I guess I'd like to ask: what is it, exactly, that is bad about choosing healthy food, if you have the means? It's not like a Beamer or a Plasma TV -- and, I would think, if one takes better care of him or herself that it would free up some of the waste in the health care system.

And, this is a wild shot in the dark, but I would say that most people who eat organic food are probably more in tune with the plight of the poor, politics-wise, than people who are oblivious. That could be completley coming out of my ass, though -- and I would love to hear other thoughts.

***edited for missing adjectives.

[nosmokes]

22. not entirely true U panther

i know that many CSAs in the region donated a lot of food and continue to do so. as for low income folks, the CSAs here in oregon that i'm familiar with most all have work options to help defray much or all of the cost and other members that can afford to donate extra money so that folks that can't afford the full tote are still able to participate and so that we can give a few shares each week to the local food bank.

[Visiongirl]

25. Trader Joe's very reasonably priced...

Although they don't have a great produce section, they do offer tons of organice products that are really affordable and almost always really good.

If there is one near you, it is well worth the trip.

A few years ago I knew some people who got into freeganism, and they also were happy with trader joe's - who left their dumptsers unlocked, even after it became very popular for them to be raided for slighly outdated products.

[sbj405]

33. I buy organic produce at the co-op, farmer's market, and even the natural

foods store for less than conventional. The farmer's market even takes food stamps and/or WIC. All my grains come from the co-op in bulk, less waste, and cheaper.

[Cats Against Frist]

14. We eat almost all organic food

And it took me forever, miser that I am, to be able to fully transition, and buy the meats and cheeses and other very expensive organic items. We started with milk and veggies & fruits, and then, just kept going. It's definitely a shock to the budget, but it makes me feel a lot better -- and organic items usually don't have high-fructose corn syrup in them, or hydrogenated oils, so you don't have to worry -- and my health has improved, along with cutting back on all processed grains and corn products.

Try Organic Valley OJ v. regular OJ, and be convinced!!! The only thing that I would say is that you should watch out for Horizon and Stonyfield, because they are both owned by larger companies that were named in the e-mail about relaxed organic standards. Organic Valley is the shizz, and, if I'm not mistaken, the most responsible of the national brands.

[CountAllVotes]

17. yes Organic Valley ...

Great stuff they make. I buy their milk and some of the other products they make. Have you tried their organic soy milk? They had coupons at the store - .75 cents off of a $3.00 carton of it so it worked out to $2.25 for a half gallon of this. It is very good, loaded with protein, vitamins, etc.

My health is better overall but I have not lost any weight, I am about the same weight, stable. My doctor says my heath has vastly improved. I attribute this to knocking out the junk. :puke: It was making me sick alright - borerline diabetic - now blood sugar = 85 now! :D :party:

:kick:

[cally]

23. Horizon treats their animals horribly

Salon had an article awhile back about them. I won't buy their products.

[all.of.me]

18. once you grow your own food organically,

it's hard to eat non-organic food. i had my first garden in 1977, and i can't stomach supermarket food. yuck.

[tyedyeto]

20. I buy some organic but not everything

If an item does not say organic but is good for you (olive oil is one I can think of), do I still get kudos for using that product? I don't recall ever seeing an 'organic' olive oil or some other products I purchase.

[KittyWampus]

24. Best source of organic veggies- grow your own. Live in an urban area?

start a community plot w/ help from the city.

Gowing your own food is a very subversive act.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

26. Organic farms around here

plus a neighbor who raises and sells open pollinated plants. For most of my organic stuff, I actually know the folks that raise it. And yes, they are all liberal politcal activists!

[lakemonster11]

27. My family participates in a CSA program.

That's Community Supported Agriculture.

Basically, it means that once every two weeks we get a large box of fruit and vegetables from a local organic farm. We've been doing this for almost a year now, and we've even gotten some of our friends to join.

The quality and taste of the food is amazing, and we've found that we eat a lot better with a bunch of fresh, seasonal produce already in the house.

If nothing else, it feels great to know exactly where our food comes from.

[SpiralHawk]

29. More on CSA - are over 2,000 in USA - link

This will lead you onward. Real security. Real local economy. Real clean food.

http://www.chiron-communications.com/farms.html

[newswolf56]

28. I was an organic gardener for 18 years, but then a change of owners...

ousted me from the rural land where I had lived for the last 11 years, and though for those 18 years I grew nearly all my vegetables, now I will never be able to garden again. (There is no safe vegetable gardening here in the city where I live -- the soil is too poisoned by ASARCO for anything grown here to be edible -- and I will never be able to afford to live anywhere else.) Nor will I ever again be able to afford organic foods: moving back to a city -- the only affordable housing alternative that was available to me -- raised my living expenses nearly 600 percent, with the result I can afford only the very cheapest foods: the "American welfare diet" -- way too many carbohydrates, way too few greens (and all those canned or frozen), cheese and peanut butter as meat substitutes. Already in just a year my health has deteriorated substantially: such is the fatal affliction of poverty in America.

[I Have A Dream]

30. The things that happened to you are the things that we have to work...

to change. I'm sorry that these things have happened to you, newswolf56.

[newswolf56]

31. So true: not just me but everybody else. Every one of us...

who is not independently wealthy is just a few paychecks -- sometimes only one or two paychcks -- away from total destitution.

What's worse, far too many Americans are in denial about it, also about the fact Bush policy demonstrates every Republican alive is the sworn personal enemy of anyone who is not truly rich.

I will say this: rural poverty is much easier to endure than urban poverty simply because (by the very nature of rural living) you can be relatively independent -- gardening, fishing, hunting, building things, being inventive about tools and utensils, heating and cooking with wood etc. -- all of which not only helps you maintain your self-esteem but dramatically improves your quality of life -- this with only minimal cash outlay. Also (something which for me was of infinite importance) there is the daily recharging of one's spiritual batteries that comes from intimate contact with Nature. Moreover -- because rural values are so much radically more forgiving than urban values -- rural poverty neither ghettoizes you nor automatically turns you into a pariah: apart from the obvious aristocracy, everybody in real country is more or less chronically short of money.

Urban poverty by contrast is bottomless horror: you are trapped in a spiritual dead zone, surrounded by nothing but ugliness and noise, totally isolated from your fellow human beings, absolutely marginalized, utterly disempowered and damned as completely worthless -- and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it, neither to better your life in all the small but significant ways that are always possible in the country, nor to alleviate your sense of being thrust ever deeper into some cesspool-hell of untermenschen despair. All that keeps my head above the sewage is the fact I am still able to earn some money freelancing -- a pittance, but thus far (until some disaster strikes) just enough.

As to how such a wretched fate befell me, the fact I defied a southern-daily-newspaper employer in an early '60s civil-rights incident made me persona non grata in mainstream journalism. Foolishly, I believed for years I was talented enough the stigma would eventually wear off, but the increasing corporatization of the press -- complete with the ever-more-zero-tolerance imposition of corporate personnel-office standards of absolute conformity and unquestioning obedience -- finally made it obvious such absolution would never be granted: too late, so I never made enough money to buy a house or land (and now of course never will).

At least it gives me the advantage of a radicalism that is not the least bit theoretical: I truly am one of the oppressed proletariat -- precisely why I have such huge animosity toward the traitorous bourgeois Democrats who betray the New Deal and the acknowledgment of class-warfare from which it was derived.

That said, thank you for your concern. It is deeply appreciated -- all the more so in its expression of a broader consciousness: "the things that we have to work to change." Thank you again.

[I Have A Dream]

32. I wish that there was something that I could do to help.

This is the type of thing that should never happen in America. You are obviously a gifted writer; to think that you have been blacklisted because you had the strength of character to stand up for what you believe just infuriates me. Please don't give up, newswolf56.

I'll state the obvious here -- you're a wonderful writer. I hate that life is not fair sometimes. With Republicans in power, it's even less likely to be so.

:hug: