Do you eat organic...and why?

[CoffeeCat]

I went to a discussion/dinner the other night at an organic farm. It really was a cool experience. The owner of the farm has a restaurant in a barn--and you can eat there on Friday nights and hear him give a speech about nurtition/health.

He also allows you to buy a membership to the farm during the growing season here. You pay $15 per week and you get to haul out 2 big bags of fresh produce. Free-range chicken, eggs and other goodies are available as well.

During his talk--he discussed how nutrient-poor grocery store fruits and veggies are. He said that they are slathered with chemicals and grown so unnaturally that there are barely any vitamins and minerals in them. He also discussed how corporate fish farms are awful--producing salmon that lack vitamins and minerals. He said that these farms breed these fish in crowded, unhealthy conditions, and that the salmon are while, until they add die to the water--to make them pinkish. He made us promise that we would only eat wild salmon.

I've always considered myself pretty health conscious. I eat lots of produce, low-sugar and low-fat foods. However, after this discussion--I felt as if there was so much more I could do--and that I was really missing out on a lot by not going "organic."

Does anyone have any opinions or organic food---or any insight, knowledge of experience that you would like to pass on?

Thanks for any info! :)

[Horse with no Name]

1. The one thing that I know

is that if you buy unpasteurized milk, you have to trust your dairy farmer.

OT, I was in the grocery store today and my granddaughter wanted some apples. We were choosing apples and a "very" health conscious man walked over and started telling me about the benefits of the fresh blueberries that the store had. He said they were organic and told my granddaughter that maybe her "mother" (okay, flattery will get you everywhere:) )
would get her some.
So I did purchase some.

[Nicole]

2. I eat a lot of organic

Why? Because I can go out my back door & pick it. I grow it so I know exactly what has been added to the soil, or rather what has NOT been added.

I do it for a hobby as much as for health reasons. In fact the health reasons were just an added bonus. I was a gardener long before I became interested in growing my own produce.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. No, I don't eat organic very often...

too expensive. :(

I know organic is better, but my choices are, cheap mass produced produce (!) or nothing.

[bananarepublican]

17. I look at it from the "produce's" point of view!

To me, cheap usually ends up being expensive. If I can afford it, I'd much prefer to buy something home grown.

Since everyone in the western-world eats too much meat, I'd rather buy less, and pay more, knowing that the animal I'm eating has been well treated before (and during its) slaughter.

In the short to medium term I will be a vegetarian.

[wicket]

35. Are there any farmer's markets in your area?

Living in the city (Boston) I don't have much opportunity for fresh produce but this time of year there are tons of farmers markets around, all with fresh, locally-grown produce. And it's super cheap too!

[Gormy Cuss]

40. Before buying supermarket stuff, see if there's a good farmers' market

nearby. As other posters have noted, the produce can be very cheap and the quality is great. In my experience most farmers' market stuff is less beat up looking and lasts longer too. Most farmer's market participants who don't farm organically use less pesticides and herbicides than the big business producers because as one farmer told me, "My family lives next to those fields."

http://www.oregonfarmersmarkets.org/

[Kali]

4. Sounds wonderful .

We try to the best we can, grow some of our own (including beef) but do too much shopping at safeway (nearest town/store plus have 3 teens to feed - budget isn't always there to pay premium prices)- they have recently started selling organic labled processed foods...not sure that is exactly the route to take either, but one thing I do know is stay on the "outer aisles" of supermarkets


wonder if "your" farm is listed here? http://www.eatwild.com/

[killbotfactory]

5. I would

but I'm in deep debt and there aren't many organic options around here.

[derby378]

6. Maybe not as much as I should, but I'm working on it

The big thing with me is organic milk because it's free of bovine growth hormone (rBGH). One of my weaknesses is chocolate milk, and Organic Valley makes some damn good organic chocolate milk.

Just made a trip to Whole Foods yesterday, where I grabbed two pounds of 96% lean organic buffalo. Soon as I get a chance, I'm throwing it on the grill and creating buffalo burgers. I can't wait.

[Justitia]

10. Organic Valley chocolate milk is sinfully delicious!!! -eom

[ContraBass Black]

7. No, because the labels are meaningless without standards

And the food significantly more expensive.

[derby378]

8. Just go with those who produced organic foods before the USDA cocked it up

Just a suggestion...

[LostinVA]

37. "Certified Organic" does have standards

"Organic"? Not nearly as much.

[Justitia]

9. Whenever possible, but definitely meat & dairy. Organic milk only.

I don't want excess hormones & pesticides in my milk.
I don't want to drink milk from cows that don't eat a diet that is natural to cows (grass).
Ditto on the meat products.

I like supporting FAMILY FARMS.

I live in a big city so it's easy to find organic stuff.
I know it's harder for those people in smaller areas.

The organic company I try to patronize as much as possible is: Organic Valley
I buy all my dairy from them. My milk comes from a dairy here in Texas (as local as possible is best), but they have farms distributing across the US.

http://www.organicvalley.coop/

and their sister company for organic meat:

http://www.organicprairie.com/

Here is an interesting article from Salon last year, it's about how Horizon Foods (and other mass production farms) are a bit deceptive in their "organic" definition:

http://dir.salon.com/story/news/feature/2005/04/13/milk/index.html

I think you'll find some enlightening info there....

[rumpel]

11. The sad part

take a cucumber or an apple from the produce of any supermarket - use the blunt side of a knife and scrape it - the white stuff you see on your knife- that is wax - and that is only the visible part

I like the way they do business. The membership and produce offer is a nice concept. Lucky you.

We dump so much pollution into the soil and the air - even with "organic" I am afraid we will not esacpe the chemicals...

People have to drastically change their ways around the globe of how we live, and truely ponder about what is "really" important- or our great grand children will have to live in a bubble on another planet.

All of us, have to make choices now.

[Nutmegger]

12. Yes

because I'm tired of eating chemicals and super-sized beef, if you catch my drift.

A Trader Joe's just opened up in the fall not to far away from where I work. It's a little out of my way but it's worth it and their prices are beyond excellent.

[politicat]

13. We eat local.

Kind of different than organic, though a lot of the produce and meat we eat ends up being organic. But given a choice between eating local tomatoes grown in a greenhouse 20 miles away that are non-pesticided and eating "organic" tomatoes grown 2000 miles away and flown in... I'll take the local ones. They're likely to have a better nutritional content.

I'm picky about fish; I don't eat anything from the north Pacific. Farm raised are dangerous to the wild fish, and the wild stocks are over-fished. We don't eat cod for the same reason - over fished. But we live in the Rockies - not much fish in the area to begin with that hasn't been flown in. As for salmon, if I lived in a place where it was local, I might eat it, but again, only if I could verify that it wasn't from an overfished river.

Read "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pallan. It's pretty new, but it really talks about organic versus industrial versus wild versus local.

[napi21]

14. NONE! First, It's too expensive and I can't afford it!

I also don't trust all "Organically labeled foods" are really what we thing organic really is!

I'd love to ba able to buy my own beef, raise it and butcher it for our own comsumption, but I can't afford to buy a place with enough land to do that! I live in an older sub division, but a sub division none the less, and I don't think they'd takk too kindly to me having a pig or chickens in my back yard, even though I have almost an acre of ground.

I'm not too concerned aboutthe veges since you can wash the, but I'm quite concerned about the meat products! Growth hormones, force feeding, etc, scares me, and it's been going on for a very long time!

[Kali]

22. try this

http://www.eatwild.com/

[pansypoo53219]

15. for some things only organic

eggs and lettuce and celery. i tend to be more carnivore in winter, but i am a big farmer's market person. i buy LOTS of green peppers and freeze them for cooking. grow peppers and tomatos. i am seriously thinking about the meat, but they wrap it in plastic and stuff and i get me meat from a butcher that uses paper.
the biggest reason is cause it just tastes better. and i know what all those chemicals are doing to nature.
i don't like salmon and i can't eat seafood, so i do what i can.

[KT2000]

16. Especially oils!

Try to eat organic as much as possible.

Many pesticides are fat soluble. They reside in our fat tissues and oils if not organic will likely have those peticides in them. The plant is treated with the pesticide and it remains in the oil of the plant - olive, sunflower etc.

A knowledgeable doctor I know advises people that "If you are going to eat nothing else organic - eat only organic oils." It is a direct path to our fat tissues. (also consider the makeup of the human brain)

[orwell]

18. As much as possible...

...better for the soil, and tastes better to boot.

[drthais]

19. I read all of the posts first...

and am impressed with those who support 'local' produce etc
rather than looking for 'Certified Organic' frm however far away....

we have an Organic farm here in Louisiana...
and although we do farm this way,
I believe that finding local growers
and that means meat as well as produce
is the way to go

and not as expensive as you may think!
If you don't 'do' farmer's markets, then go out there and find them
we don't sell at the market any longer
but strictly from our place...

and we don't do it 'for a living'
but sell organic produce year-round
and I suspect there are lots of others that do the same

kudos to all those DU'ers
that are finding a way to eat food
that has not been 'messed with'

also, to those who are posting about Organic Valley vs. Horizon
you are completly correct!
we fortunately have a local dairy
and I can get Organic Valey when necessary

yes yes
stay away from Horizon
From what I have read, they consider 'Free Range' cows
to be those that can look out of a small window
AAARRRRGGGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kaygore]

20. I try to eat organic and joined a CSA also Trader Joe's

is a good source of foods without MSG and all the chemical garbage and at good prices.

Joining your local CSA not only helps small farms survive but also will help your health in the long run:

http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Have you read read the ingredients in most processed foods!!!!! No wonder we have so much cancer, etc.

[kineneb]

21. not really

we are on a fixed income, so I get what is affordable. However, most of my vegetables come from my garden, which is "organic"- I won't use pesticides. (Hubby doesn't like many vegies; what he does like, he is not supposed to eat). Because of our budget, I wind up eating a lot of canned goods.

[Kali]

24. it's really hard to eat healthy on a budget

processed crap is mass produced and cheap. If there is ANY way you can swing it, the purchase of a freezer is the number one way you could increase the quality and nutrition of your diet. You can buy things on sale and stick them in the freezer - including frozen vegs...even conventionally grown frozen is way better than canned and if you watch the prices often same or near canned. i know (trust me) how hard this can be on a limited income, because you just don't have the extra $ to get much more than you need for that week or whatever, but this allows you to build up a little backup.

Another option is to go in halves with a Friend or neighbor and share not only the freezer costs but perhaps bulk meat or other actual food purchases.

[winter999]

23. Anyone want to chime in about GM (Genetically Modified) foods?

How bad? How wide spread? Any advantages at all?

[hedgehog]

26. I don't know if GM foods are OK to eat or not but I do know

that they're bad for the ecology. For example, organic farmers use specific soil bacteriums of the BT class to control insects when there is a serious infestation. Food crops are being engineered to produce the BT all the time, and insects are becoming resistant. Some GM crops are cross-breeding with weeds and producing super weeds.

[Kali]

29. I don't think there is much out there

Last I checked on it corn was the only thing and it's not supposed to be in food for human consumption but that is just so much BS.

I don't know if I buy all the scare tactics, but it's like growth hormones - it may or may not be safe, but if the CUSTOMERS don't want it, why the hell do we keep trying to force them to buy the crap?

People should have the option to buy food the way they want it grown. I'm not saying there can't be mass produced cheap garbage, but leave a small living/profit for the family farmers trying to hang in there too. When they are all gone, think of the knowlegde that will be lost along with the methods of doing things in a more natural/sustainable way.

And by supporting small family operations, I am not JUST talking about food purchases. People have got to start thinking about the other benefits provided in terms of open space and habitat...how can the small farm stay farming when land prices stuccoed cardboard boxes starts approaching a per acre price of a farm's profits per YEAR????

Edit to add this:

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml



"In 2003, about 167 million acres (67.7 million hectares) grown by 7 million farmers in 18 countries were planted with transgenic crops, the principal ones being herbicide- and insecticide-resistant soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola. Other crops grown commercially or field-tested are a sweet potato resistant to a virus that could decimate most of the African harvest, rice with increased iron and vitamins that may alleviate chronic malnutrition in Asian countries, and a variety of plants able to survive weather extremes.

On the horizon are bananas that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases such as hepatitis B; fish that mature more quickly; fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier, and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties.

In 2003, countries that grew 99% of the global transgenic crops were the United States (63%), Argentina (21%), Canada (6%), Brazil (4%), and China (4%), and South Africa (1%). Although growth is expected to plateau in industrialized countries, it is increasing in developing countries. The next decade will see exponential progress in GM product development as researchers gain increasing and unprecedented access to genomic resources that are applicable to organisms beyond the scope of individual projects.

Technologies for genetically modifying (GM) foods offer dramatic promise for meeting some areas of greatest challenge for the 21st century. Like all new technologies, they also poses some risks, both known and unknown. Controversies surrounding GM foods and crops commonly focus on human and environmental safety, labeling and consumer choice, intellectual property rights, ethics, food security, poverty reduction, and environmental conservation (see below for a summary of "GM Foods: Benefits and Controversies")."



more at the link

[hedgehog]

34. We need to re-examine the entire agricultural support program.

Right now it is tilted to support big agriculture. Just do a flyover of different states and you'll see the difference between areas with smaller family farms and monster ag operations. Family farms leave room for nature around the edges. Factory farms are just that. They're not good for the land, the animals or the people.

[hedgehog]

25. When I buy processed foods, I go organic.

I try not to buy processed stuff, but it is convenient some nights to grab a jar of tomato sauce. The only sauces I can find that aren't loaded with corn syrup are in the organic section. The same goes for flavored yogurt, or frozen mac and cheese, cookies etc. When I look at the labels, it's all stuff I have in my own kitchen (well, maybe not the tofu!) When I look at the same items in the other sections of the store, I can't even pronounce the ingredients!

[OnionPatch]

27. Yes, I eat organic as much as possible

and the labels are not meaningless. While the powers-that-be have tried to water down the meaning of organic, they have been only marginally successful. Organic food is still much higher quality than non-organic.

My reasons for eating organic are this:

1. To protect my family, especially my growing child
2. To support small, eco-friendly farmers as opposed to big agribiz
3. To protect the environment

I can go on and on about this subject but instead I will recommend a great book by a wonderful human being:

Harvest for Hope; A guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall (yes, the chimp lady)

[AngryAmish]

28. Sometimes

Organic tomatoes and chickens taste better. Organic beef not so much. Eggs are better and some potatoes. There is a great organic bakery I go to but it is expensive and gourmet, there is another great bakery I go to that is not.

I live in an area where there are many choices for organic (especially in pricier restaurants).

We as humans have innate choosiness about food (and for good reason - we eat the wrong thing it could kill us). Each culture expresses this worry slightly differently. In America most people don't understand farming and mechanized farming kinda freaks us out. Our grandparents somehow survived so we think it is safer to eat organic. (But remember that organic fertilizer is poo).

Bottom line: I eat organic if it tastes better. My food phobias are different (sour cream, bleah!) so I try to look at the organic/inorganic thing logically. For some folks they can't look at it logically but it doesn't bother me so I live and let live.

[NashVegas]

30. Flavor, No Chemicals and Hormones

Compare the taste of the conventional celery, bagged in plastic, in your supermarket to that you'd buy in an organic specialty market or your local farm stand. There's a world of difference.

As for animal products, livestock & dairy, I eat organic because I don't want the hormones that get pumped into the animals. In my years, I've seen too much evidence that messing with hormones, unnecesssarily, is asking for trouble.

[deaniac21]

31. I've gotten to where I LOVE free range veal!

[MadHound]

32. I'm growing, organically, an increasing amount of my own food

I also buy from other people who deal in organics, and am slowly but surely getting processed food out of our diet. It is healthier for you, the food tastes better, and it also reduces the amount of energy used to produce food, being that most normal store bought foods travels hundreds of miles to get to the grocer, while the food at your local farmers' market has traveled a few dozen at most.

One thing with organic food is that it is being pushed our of the hands of small farmers and into the clutches of the agri-giants like Monsanto and ADM. This is all due to the national standard of "certified organic" that you are now seeing on store shelves. These standards have become so increasingly onerous that it is driving the small farmers out of the organic business(or at least from becoming certified organic), thus leaving the field to the big players. So now, whereas before you had a national patchwork of small farmers and distributors supplying organic food, it has been relegated into fewer hands, whose farming and distribution methods go completely against the spirit of the organic movement. That bag of organic salad you buy in the grocery store has probably consumed just as much energy getting from field to shelf as the rest of the non-organic produce. And we're already seeing some of the standards of what is organic food being weakened in favor of more chemicals, etc.

So frankly, at this point I stay away from anything in a mainstream grocery store that says organic. Instead I get what produce I don't grow myself from the local farmers' market, same with my meat. It may not be certified organic, but I know that it was grown with true organic practices, and is better food than any "certified organic" food you buy at the neighborhood grocery store.

[calico1]

33. Yes, as much as I can.

And locally produced which often is as good because the local farmers tend to use less (or nothing) in the way of pesticides, herbicides, etc. According to an article I read recently in Consumer Reports there are things that are worth buying organic and some that are not. Things like peppers, melons, berries, apples, potatoes are good to get organic. But bananas, onion, garlic, avocados and tropical fruits like mangoes and pineapple is not worth it because you peel them anyway. Generally speaking (though not always) a good rule to follow is if you are going to eat the peel buy organic. If you peel it, its usually okay to buy regular.

Its at least a good idea to buy organic for things you consume every day. I buy organic milk, eggs because we consume them often. Oh, and I stick to companies that have always been in the business of organic. I do not trust the supermarket brands of organic foods creeping up, like organic milk that has my supermarket label. I just don't trust them. I pay more for my organic milk that comes from New England from a small farm.

[LostinVA]

38. Get this about "Nature Premise's" organic bread

THis is from the Giant supermarket brand: they all have HFCS in it!!! Even the flax bread. That is why I only go with CERTIFIED Organic stuff, and real Organic brands. You're right....

[calico1]

41. Yep, the small companies that have

been doing organics for years. The ones who's reason for existing is to provide organics. I usually either go to the local health food store though two supermarkets near me have an organics section. Now Kraft "organic" anything is at best iffy to me. They are only in it for the profit not because they believe in it. So I will continue to stick with the small companies.

[LostinVA]

36. I eat as much of it as I can afford

Especially dairy.

It's better for the environment an the animals, and it is also better for us. Just make sure it's "Certified Organic." Just saying "Organic" doesn't mean anywhere near as much.

[KansDem]

39. For health. And trying to cut ties with corporatism...

I began eating organic (as much as possible) several years ago for health reasons. But I also want to have as little to do with corporatism as possible.

I despise the entire corporate structure: from the crappy, processed food to the whole packaging and merchandising of it. I want to avoid the artificial flavors and colors, the preservatives, and high-fructose corn syrup which seems to be in everything (go to the local grocery store and take a look on the bread aisle. Try to find a loaf that doesn't contain HFCS!). And I can't stand the Madison Avenue approach to selling this shit. The few times I do go to a "regular" grocery store, I'm appalled at the rows and rows of processed crap in bright, shiny containers, accompanied by snappy slogans. F*ck it, life's too short...

Give me an organic market every time. The shopping experience is so much better!