Do you eat organic food?

FiddleFit

FiddleFit

Cathlete
Hi! I was wondering whether anyone here eats (almost) completely organically grown foods? We have a terrific organic food store here in Edmonton, and I think it would be really nice to be able to do all my shopping there, but as it is I only go for the odd little things I can't find at my supermarket. I don't think I could afford to buy all of our foods and household products at an organic store. I'm not sure I'm convinced that my local supermarket produce is so awful for me that it justifies paying more money for the same amount of groceries at the organic market. Anyone got any thoughts or opinions on this?

I want to make a distinction between eating organic foods, and eating healthy foods. Organic sugar is still sugar, and fried foods are still unhealthy in large quantities, even if the fat is mono- or poly-unsaturated. I already know the value of healthy eating; I'm just trying to determine the value of eating organically grown healthy food. :)

Cheers!
Sandra
 
Hi Sandra,

When I shop for groceries, I prefer to buy organic and locally grown/raised food.

We have a fantastic and recently expanded natural foods cooperative nearby that has made it really easy to buy mostly organic, especially when it comes to fresh foods and pantry items that are sold in bulk. The prices are not much more than non-organic, and in some cases prices are the same.

Also, our local chain grocery stores have started adding substantial natural food sections, which is a nice trend to see.

One thing I'll add is that I don't buy much in the way of prepackaged or premade foods, which can be quite expensive. I cook most of my food from scratch.
 
I eat mostly organic produce, and buy my bulk stuff like oats, beans, rice, organic also.

It's just something I've decided to invest in as part of my overall concern for long-term health. It's also a way to invest in the sustainability of human behaviors that affect the planetary environment. Organic farming is more "sustainable", so instead of giving $30 to several nonprofits, I invest in recycled paper, organic food, Polartec fleece, and so forth.

If you are wanting to be selective about your organic purchases, I've seen several lists of the the "Ten Worst" produce items. Usually out of season stuff grown in Third World countries is going to be heavily chemicalized, as a general rule. Coffee is very heavily sprayed unless it's organic.

I'll try to Google a list for you, and if that doesn't work, I'll tell you the ones I remember.
 
Here's a nice list of the benefits of organic farming:

http://www.newleafmarket.com/eco/organic/10reasons.htm

OK, here's the list, I got it from here:

http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/coping/article.cfm?c=3&s=40&ss=87&id=532
THE TEN WORST
Apples
Celery
Grapes (from Chile)
Green beans
Peaches
Pears
Potatoes
Red raspberries
Spinach
Strawberries


THE TEN CLEANEST
Asparagus
Bananas
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Cherries (from Chile)
Corn
Onions
Pineapple
Sweet Peas
Watermelon


I've seen different versions of these. But like Gayle said, buy local, buy in season and like I say, do the best you can.
 
I buy mostly organic food. Especially meat(although I eat it rarely) because I don't want the hormones that they feed those animal going into my body. Also organic food (epsecially fruit and veggies) taste a lot better in my opinion.
 
Before moving to a small town, I ate a lot of organic produce. Then when I moved here, my organic consumption decreased. I try whenever possible to get apples, grapes and strawberries that are organic (because I don't peel these, and they are usually on the top of the list of foods that have either high residues of pesticides on them, or have more toxic pesticides on them).

I have read that organic foods contain more minerals than most non-organics, because the mineral content of plants depends on the soil on which they are grown. There is not so much difference in vitamin content, because vitamins seem to be intrinsic to the plant.

I would love to go all organic, because I think it's not only better for me, but for the people who have to work in the fields and orchards (they are not exposed to such toxic pesticides, and are usually paid and treated better), and for the environment (organic farming replenishes the soil rather than continuously taking from it).
 
mogambo-thanks for that list.

I knew apples were bad. I usually wash them with a little dish soap and rinse really well. I don't know if that even works. I remember reading in the Dr. Sears books (pediatrician that writes how-to's on raising kids) that you should be very cautious with apples and buy American grown produce. My kids love apples. Thanks for the info on the Chilean grapes, I buy those all the time.

I need to make an effort to go out to my local organic shop. I do buy a lot of locally grown stuff at farmers market, but not organic.
I am a coffee nut too, I didn't know about that either. Thanks for the info.

Lori
 
We have a wonderful food co-op here that we buy all our bulk grains & flours & stuff like that from. We also have several good health food stores for "quick pickups" & a couple of the grocery stores have impressive organic (local) selections. Also, we are within spitting distance of one farm & I go by a second one on my way to work...they are both organic.

It seems to me it's much easier now to choose organic than it used to be. DH & I are both old hippies so...we've never really considered any other way.

Many years ago we made the commitment to only buy white unbleached paper towels & toilet paper, etc., certain types of cleaners (some of which I've made myself for years)...that kind of thing. We've been doing it for so long we don't even think about it anymore.

We've bought a particular whole grain (7 grain) organic bread by the case for so many years that it has become "white bread" to us. When people have come over & I've fixed a sandwich, they rave about the bread & my first thought has always been, "What is she talking about? It's just regular bread"!

Anyway...more than you wanted to know I'm sure. However, I will point out one more thing which I did...when my son was born, Pampers had just come out. My friends viewed them with disdain, so I never even considered buying them. I spent his whole babyhood using cloth diapers. Looking back on it, I don't know if I could do it again! Yikes!:p

Ruth:7
 
I sure would like to, but the prices are too high. I buy organic milk, eggs, bread, tortillas, cereal, peanut butter. The value in eating organic is to eliminate the additives and preservatives. Plus with organic dairy products, the cows and chickens are free-range and no antibiotics or growth hormones are used on the animals.

I do buy the supermarket produce, mostly because it's a lot more convenient. But I buy that Veggie Wash stuff and spray it on everything before I eat it.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies. You've given me some interesting points to mull over. I think I'm not going to attempt a complete overhaul all at once; too overwhelming. I think I'll start to keep an eye open to see what actually is available at my supermarket (their organic section is growing exponentially, it seems), and take notice of price differences. Maybe bring a small notepad next time and write things down. Start buying a few products at a time and test them out.

I'm also really, really interested in organic cleaning products that really work. Ruth (or anyone else), can you make some recommendations? I would like something to replace Comet,
Fantastic, and Windex, primarily.

Something interesting I noticed yesterday and today: my cat loves fruit, and will lick the inside of a banana peel, once I'm done with the banana. DH brought home organic bananas the other day, and Casey has licked the inside of these peels until there's nothing left. With non-organic bananas she usually licks about half of one peel. I personally don't taste much difference, but the cat sure can!

Thanks for all of the information! If anyone has more tips or ideas, I'd love to hear them!
Sandra
 
I have been gradually switching to primarily organic foods as I am becoming more and more convinced that our food supply is poisoning our bodies and environment. A major factor for me has been the added cost of buying organic - it is much more expensive, but there are ways to cut costs. The number one way for saving money on your food bill, and still buying organic is to make things from scratch, just like Gayle said. I have three kids who love to snack, but we make our own goodies, rather than buying boxes of packaged junk from the store. The other ways I have saved money are limiting how much we use of a certain product - i.e. my oldest daughter would drink about 1/2 gallon of milk a day if I let her, but since organic milk is so expensive, and drinking that much milk is probably not so good for her, I limit her milk consumption and she drinks water in between.

I also think buying from local farmers markets, if you have them, are a much cheaper.

The final way I have found to combat the high cost of organic is joining a food co-op. In my area a woman organized an organic vegetable co-op for the winter months (when our local farmers market is closed). She and a few others pick up the vegetables wholesale from distributors, then we all pitch in to divide up the produce. Every week I get a huge box full of fruit and vegetables that are organic (but not grown locally). I never know what we are going to get, so it is very exciting for the kids ("will we get strawberries and apples this week?") and it has also forced me to use vegetables that I normally don't buy (when was the last time you bought Swiss chard??) As a result of this co-op my entire family has dramatically increased their vegetable intake. In fact, Sunday dinner has evolved into Mom's suprise soup night, where I try to use up all the left-over veggies from the previous week

Anyways, sorry to make this so long, but my point is just that there are ways to buy organic and not triple your food bill. I think it is worth it for my own health and that of my family.

Tracy
 
Tracy, your co-op sounds great!! I wish we had something like that down here. I am thinking of making some raised vegetable beds in my backyard. I love to garden but haven't grown many veggies, except tomatoes.

Once the holidays are over I am making a raised bed for my kids and grow veggies and have a little project together. I can control the amount of spraying. I never sprayed my tomatoes. I have organic pesticides. Anyway, I live in Florida, and I have a lot of stuff to choose from.

About the cleaning products. I would love to hear somebody who uses organic cleaning products and if they work. I love comet and bleach. I cleaned my bathroom last night with Tilex soap scum remover, Tilex mildew remover, comet, bleach, and windex. I felt terrible afterward and could "smell" the chemicals forever in my head. Any experiences with organic that really cleans and discenfects?? I would be extremely interested in this because I have kids and I know I am killing brain cells when I am inhaling all of those strong chemicals. I am afraid I am going to get chlorine pneumonia!!

Thanks,
Lori
 
We eat almost completely organic foods. What with the new GMO foods (that's genetically modifying foods by adding fish genes to plants, by the way) and without anyone really knowing the results of what this will have on the human body, we decided to eat organic and have never looked back.

Nowadays instead of eating out, we cook our own food. As a matter of fact, we are so spoiled on the great taste of organic foods that anything else tastes like cardboard to us. We recently went out on my birthday and were surprised at how the food tasted -- like it wasn't really food at all.

If you don't eat out at all -- you really save money in the long run and that makes it economical to eat organic foods. And you can add candlelight at home to your meals...
 
My husband and I are members of our local mercantile co-operative and we buy all organic and natural food as much as possible. It's just so nice to know that the meat we eat isn't from animals that have been pumped full of hormones and fed on animal by-products. Yes it does cost more, but then we've found that we are actually having to eat less than we did before (because we're buying less junk food) so we are probably spending about that same money, if that makes sense!

Josie :)
 
Hi Lori,

I use a combination of homemade and store bought cleaning products. I swear by white vinegar and water for cleaning windows and floors (it's really cheap and works great!). My grandmother taught me that. Here are some links for some other homemade solutions:

http://www.parentingbookmark.com/pages/Enviroment01.htm
http://housekeeping.about.com/cs/environment/a/alternateclean.htm

The number of non-toxic premade products available is growing. A couple that come to mind are Simple Green and Citrus Plus. Simple Green is highly concentrated, so a little goes a long way.

HTH
 
A great non-chemical way to clean is to get a steam cleaner (you can find some on HSN, maybe QVC). Cleans, disinfects, all that with absolutely no chemicals.

I only use cleaning products I get from a health food store or order on-line (from Gaiam, for example). Citrus-based cleaners are good for cleaning. Hydrogen peroxide makes a good non-chlorine bleach alternative for clothes (the health food store "non-chloriine bleach" is just that, so I buy cheap hydrogen peroxide at Walmart and pour it into the n/c bleach bottle!).
 
I LOVE simple green. It's got an interesting sasparilla (?) scent to it. I just used some on a cat vomit spot on my Home Depot mats!
 
Speaking of earth friendly cleaning products, which I am all for, I bought the "Supercloth" from QVC. It's some kind of poly mix that uses only water. Works well, supposedly lasts forever. Oh- and they have steam cleaners also. I think they have a hand-held one for about $40.

Edited to say that the Supercloth works quite well on windows and mirrors- no streaks. (Just caught the Windex comment above :)
 
Thanks for all this great information everyone! Keep it coming, if you have more!

I went grocery shopping yesterday, and it took all afternoon! I brought my list and pen along to the supermarket, and took note of the products that had an 'organic' option, and what the comparative prices were. I bought mostly organic fruits and veggies, and a few packaged organic options, too. Organic milk is more than twice the price of non-organic, which makes me cringe. I then went to the exclusively organic market and compared their organic prices to the supermarket's. The supermarket was definitely the better buy, but the organic store had more options. I could probably find an organic version of every item on my list at the organic market, but I would definitely be paying through the nose for it all. I am reluctant to do that.

I like the home made versions of cleaning products mentioned in some of the emails and webpages. I'll definitely try some!

I LOVE beans. Any kind of beans. I usually buy canned, but the organic versions are more than twice the price, and I eat a LOT of them. I would like to begin preparing my own batches of beans from dried organic ones, which are much cheaper to purchase. If I prepare a large batch of beans, how do I store them for future use? Freeze them in freezer bags? Can them in jars?

Finally, what do you do when you are away from home? Either at a restaurant, a dinner party, or staying as a guest with a relative? Do you just eat what they have, or somehow smuggle in some organic foods?

Cheers,
Sandra
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top