Opinions on Organic

D

dlandkk808

Cathlete
I was just hoping for some feedback on what people thought of eating organic. I do buy certain products organic for myself and my kids like milk, apples, and certain vegetables. I read up on which fruits/vegs should be bought organic and which ones are okay if they're not. My question is that now that organic is getting to be so popular, how important is it really to go all organic? For example, I don't get the organic cereals. Is that really necessary? It's hard now to distinguish what is marketing and what is really good to buy organic. I've tried doing some research, but have to admit, I'm lost on some things. My sister is a total "all natural, all organic" freak so she won't even buy chicken that isn't free range. I can't afford to eat like her because I have a family and she's single, but at the same time, I don't know what is really the best way to go. Is it all hype or is there validity to the all organic, natural lifestyle? Any input and opinion would be welcomed.

Lisa
 
I think organic food is best for the environment, for the people working on the farms where the food is grown, and for our health. I think it was Johns Hopkins university that did a study of nutrients in organic vs. non-organic foods, and found vitamin, mineral and antioxidant levels higher in organics. Also, organics have higher levels of antioxidants because antioxidants are the plants way of protecting itself against predators, and organically-grown produce is exposed more to predactors, and thus develops higher levels of this protection.

There are certain foods that are good to get organically: red/green yellow peppers, apples, strawberries are some of them. They contain higher levels of pesticide residue, and/or more toxic pesticides, than do other foods (the list is longer, this is just off the top of my head). Also, it's a good idea to choose organics for any food that you wouldn't peel to eat. (Of course, that's just if you are concerned about any health risks from non-organic. If you are also concerned about the environment and the people who work in the fields, then try to go organic as much as possible).

Also, avoid produce grown outside of the US unless it's organic. There are certain pesticides that are illegal to use in the US because of their toxicity (usually carcinogenic qualities) but that US manufacturers, like Monsanto, still produce and export to other countries. When produce from those countries comes back to us, it may have residue from pesticides on.

Some foods, like parsley and hemp, don't require much if any chemical assistance to grow, so you don't have to get them organic.

That being said, I'm not sure how much I trust the multinational big corporations that are suddenly going organic because of consumer demand. I much prefer to buy from companies that have always been organic because they believe in it.
 
Do you know of a good website that I can refer to regarding organic foods? I definitely do buy from the local farms here before even getting mainland (I live in Hawaii)produce and usually 90% of the time, they're grown organically, but not always available. Thanks for the info. regarding produce grown outside of the US. I wasn't aware of that. We have small healthfood stores that are limited in their inventory, but no Whole Foods type of store here so it's a little harder to buy totally organic. That's probably why I appreciate any info. regarding what definitely should be organic and not organic. Thank you for your input!
 
Another thing: if you want to avoid GMO's and irradiated food, organics is the safer way to go, for certain foods especially (since those are two processes that aren't allowed in organics).

Most herbs and spices are irradiated nowdays, except for those labeled "non-irradiated" or organic ones (irradiation doesn't make food radioactive, but it 'deadens' them, changing the molecular structure. When you see kirilian photos of a raw food, and the sam food that has been irradiated, the differences in energy are striking.)

Most soy, corn and wheat that is not organic is genetically modified.
 
I knew that most corn was genetically modified, but I didn't realize soy was also. Do you know where I could get info. on that?
 
>I knew that most corn was genetically modified, but I didn't
>realize soy was also. Do you know where I could get info. on
>that?

Nowhere in particular, but I'm sure if you do a web search under "GMO soy" you could come up with something.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top