Organic food or not?

[touchdowntodd]

im incredibly into health .. and have determined its not worth the extra $$ .. unless you are pregnant or a growing small child .. for us full grown adults there are too many studies that show no positives health wise

however, it does taste better

[TBH]

There's also an ethical question. Apparently farm workers on non-organic farms have long-term health effects from all the pesticides.

We buy organic when we can, when it isn't too expensive, and we also try to follow the dirty dozen rule. If it's a choice between local and organic, I usually buy the local, because my area has a lot of farms that are not certified organic but use low-spray pest control methods. We also tend to buy milk and eggs that are from animals fed a vegetarian diet, live in pastures, and aren't given antibiotics, even if they're not organic.

I guess what I'm saying is we take a middle road in all this, and part of it is about money and part of it is just about being an informed and ethical consumer.

[Mjenn]

I feel extra money for organic is worth it, but it definitely depends on the product. If I were living in the US I would be vegan or only consume dairy products from local farms, because I think the organic dairy and meat industry are mostly just as bad as the rest. Where I live currently, I can trace my dairy products to their farm of origin and I can drive past and watch the cows graze. This, for me, is what I want from organic products and what I pay extra for.

As for vegetables, it depends on price and depends on the vegetables. I eat a lot of peppers and berries and try to buy organic. We also grow a lot of our own vegetables. I tend to skip organic if it is already a prepared product - unless I know where the product is from.

Yes I want to know what I am putting into my body, but sometimes I wonder how much organic food actually helps with that.

[elessar78]

My father in law is a vegetable farmer. He has nothing against organics but he practices what is called sustainable agriculture. Minimal use of pesticides. Not all pesticides are created equal and with proper use have minimal impact on the human body. FWIW, his father was a farmer as well and died from cancer which they feel was caused to extended pesticide exposure—so they don't take the issue lightly.

He says that from a farmer's perspective it's very difficult to grow organic. It involves a lot of paperwork—the grower must perform a lot of documentation of his/her processes and the price difference can be attributed a lot to this bureaucratic work. Further, if a farmer wants to switch to organic then he must let his farmland lay fallow for a specified number of years to allow the pesticides to work themselves out of the environment.

Organic food has a negligible health advantage over "normal" food but have you ever tasted the difference? Plus, while the vitamins may be the same the exposure to pesticides surely isn't. Store tomatoes, for example, are genetically modified so they can be machine harvested and avoid bruising during transit. Try to find an heirloom tomato (Oxheart particularly) and compare it to a store bought tomato. Cut it open and visually it's much different. Taste-wise, it's out of this world. Compare regular eggs to cage free, organic eggs—the yolks are much more gold/orange color, the shells are tougher, the flavor is much more robust.

[ar_campbell]

I think the old "dirty dozen" mantra is a good guide. Say what you will about Organic foods but there are a few products that it is well worth buying organic. There are great environmental benefits to organic products but if your only concern is food quality, I'd stick to the organics on the dirty dozen but not for other products. If you buy organic bananas, for example, message me- I have a bridge to sell you.

Dirty Dozen:

• Apples
• Celery
• Bell Peppers
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Nectarines
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Cucumber
• Blueberries
• Potatoes
• (maybe green beans and kale as well)

[AccountantSalary]

I tried some organic food once -- some of it tasted great, and some was tasteless. It was more expensive that regular produce, so I switched back.

[elessar78]

Also, everyone should read the book Omnivore's Dilemma—it talks about the source of or food.

When it talks about organics, it's eye opening. To earn the organic label sometimes it's just a matter of agricultural gymnastics.

For example, standard egg laying operations keep chickens indoors 100% of the time and feed them grain. The natural way, organic way to do it, is to let them roam around on fields eating what they were evolved to eat (which isn't always grain). These are called "cage free" chickens. But to satisfy the legal requirements of "cage free" all egg layers have to do is to cut an opening on the side of their structure where chickens can walk out into an enclosed paddy. Whether or not the chickens actually go out is a technicality. So you might be buying "cage free" or "organic" but is it truly "organic"? Maybe not.

Additionally, not all species of vegetables are created equal. If you grow a flavorless strain of tomato, it'll still be flavorless whether it's grown organically or not.

[shiftins]

It wont let me vote but you should add an option for I dont think its worth the price but I do agree it has some benefit.

[cherryblossom]

We only purchase organic foods. It is not something we would be willing to give up. I am a big believer that commercial pesticides and GM foods are incredibly harmful for the environment and for our health. Yes, it is is more expensive--but the dietary changes we have made as a whole in the past few years have dramatically improved our health. I am certain that in the long run it is worth it.

To help save money we purchase a lot of organic frozen produce over fresh. We buy bags of produce from the dollar bin at our health food store and freeze them. We spend every weekend in the summer canning produce from the farmers market(we pickle summer squash and cucumbers, can beets, jams and applesauces, we make large batches of pesto and freeze them), we make our own soymilk and nutmilks and press our own tofu. Farmers markets and CSA's are great for buying low-cost organic. If you have the space, it's amazing how much produce you can grow in your yard!

[sherylgray]

Oraganic Food

Organic food is definitely better and much healthier. All the pesticides and preservatives these days are causing so many health problems. That is why switching to organic food is a good option. But the problem is the cost. It is highly expensive and cannot be afforded by most people to be purchased on a regular basis. What I do is I buy organic fruits but my veggies are our usual.

[susie michelle]

I agree that everyone should read The Omnivore's Dilemma. With three kids and an unusually hungry husband, our grocery bill each month can get gigantic if I buy everything organic. I stick to the rule of thumb that you buy organic from the top of the food chain (eggs, meat, dairy). For produce, I stick to the dirty dozen rule. I read that you can actually reduce your pesticide exposure by as much as 90 percent by just buying these 12 items in organic form.

[crazyliblady]

Organic Produce

They keep saying in the news that eating non-organic, GMO produce is not bad for you. GMO produce is genetically modified food, and not in a good way. The "experts" want you to think that GMO "improves" the food somehow, but it doesn't. It is taking a crop like corn and incorporating the DNA of a fish into your corn. That sounds like no big deal to some people, but the truth is that they have no studies of how GMO affects people, so there is no way for them to know what could happen until something goes wrong. Let me ask you something. Is that something you want to eat? Do you want to feed it to your children? That's not even getting into the issue of pesticides and fertilizers. Those things cause endocrine disruption, which results in stuff like fibromyalgia, endometriosis, and a host of cancers and other awful stuff. I buy cage free eggs at my local farmer's market and I buy as much produce as I can get there, also. I like knowing the farmer who grew my onions, cucumbers, lettuce, and raised the chickens that laid my eggs. I don't even figure money into the issue, but it does sometimes even works out cheaper to buy local organic food. Not to mention the stuff I buy from there is fresher because it did not have to travel 2000 miles. So, do I think it is worth it to buy organic? I do, but whether you do depends on how you want to live your life.

[Ramose]

I think sometimes people forget that there are regulatory bodies that are set up to stop the sale of harmful products. What I have read is that there is little evidence either way (not better or worse for you) with Organic and Genetically Modified foods. I doubt it is worth the money myself.

[chrisburke21]

Organic or not

I am a fan of both organic and locally grown!

[p_wyt_12]

How do we know if a certain food is organic? If it's sold in the market, are we really sure that they are what they claim to be? I've just recently learned about this organic stuff and its becoming a fad. I believe a certain food is organic if we planted or raise it ourselves without the use of any pesticides or insecticides which I am doing right now.