Organic

[imoldernu]

First I read this article...

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/organic-foods.htm

... an overview of the why's.

Were we still in our thirties, perhaps to make a decision based on the environmental aspects, but now, driving less than 1,000 miles/yr., feel we may have balanced off the sins of contamination.

Yesterday, at the market... organic milk gal. $3.49... we paid $1.28.... Brown eggs, $3.49/doz.... we paid $.64. Strawberries $3.99, we paid $1.24.

Frankly, taste (and smell) no longer a concern... one of the sad sides of old age for some people.

While the article cited some evidence of improved health from eating organically, the arguments/studies, seemed of somewhat less concern than certainties than the thousands of warnings that we receive on other health concerns.

Maybe if we were younger, or more affluent, the change to organic would be more reasonable, but for us, not an urgent concern.

Not meant to start an argument, but simply to explain why it's not a priority for jeanie and me.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Who knows, the preservatives may prolong your lifespan!

At one time the chemical BHT was viewed with some disdain as a preservative that made food less "natural. " Now it's sold as a supplement.

I often buy organic foods because I don't like the way corporate agriculture treats the animals that produce them. I can buy eggs, for instance, from neighbors whose hens I can see ranging in open pasture. That's a far cry from the crates where the birds are often kept in confined commercial
"farms."

 

[pacergal]

I will buy organic sometimes. I do try to go to the local farmers market during the summer for fruits and veggies. Cost is a reason for me, also. I went through a time when I did purchase primarily organic, didn't notice a difference in taste, but our grocery budget went through the roof. Now, I pick and choose organic based on what it is and what the price is.

 

[Born2BRetd]

We buy the "dirty dozen" organic (potatoes, apples, celery, etc.) You should read about what they do to potatoes. Sprayed for pesticides, sprayed to kill the green tops to make harvesting easier, then sprayed again to keep them from sprouting.

I was in the produce section of a store once and a young girl asked her mother what organic was. The mom said that organic was for rich people. They had a cart full of processed food but there was no budget for healthy food especially for a growing child who doesn't need years of exposure to chemicals.

 

[MichaelB]

Consumer Reports produced a report in 2015 that I thought was very useful. It's not the typical "pesticides are bad, organic is good" approach often found. Instead, it starts with a primer on the use of pesticide in agriculture, shows benefits and concerns, and creates a risk assessment tool that looks at the food type, pesticide, and place where grown. The tool is here and the report is here. The end of the report has a table summarizing the risk level of many common fruits and vegetables.

 

[Born2BRetd]

Consumer Reports produced a report in 2015 that I thought was very useful. It's not the typical "pesticides are bad, organic is good" approach often found. Instead, it starts with a primer on the use of pesticide in agriculture, shows benefits and concerns, and creates a risk assessment tool that looks at the food type, pesticide, and place where grown.
The end of the report has a table summarizing the risk level of many common fruits and vegetables.

Yes, that's the best approach. Finding out what is the most sprayed/toxic and making an educated decision.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

I will buy organic sometimes. I do try to go to the local farmers market during the summer for fruits and veggies. Cost is a reason for me, also. I went through a time when I did purchase primarily organic, didn't notice a difference in taste, but our grocery budget went through the roof. Now, I pick and choose organic based on what it is and what the price is.

Most people I know will tell you they can spot the difference between free-range and commercial eggs.

 

[Sanstar]

I was in the produce section of a store once and a young girl asked her mother what organic was. The mom said that organic was for rich people. They had a cart full of processed food but there was no budget for healthy food especially for a growing child who doesn't need years of exposure to chemicals.

I have two grand toddlers, so we only buy organic. May not make a difference to DH and I, but I won’t take a chance with an child’s health. Retiring after 25 years at a national children’s hospital, I am very aware/concerned that for many years the fastest growing service line is pediatric cancer and blood disorders.

We eat mostly plant based and organic.

 

[CardsFan]

Most people I know will tell you they can spot the difference between free-range and commercial eggs.

I am sure that is true, when making a fried/poached/boiled egg. Scrambled or in an omelet, probably less so. In any other recipe (pancakes, waffles, etc.) I doubt any difference could be detected.

FWIW, we occasionally get some free range eggs from a friend's son. The yolk is much more yellow, and has a much more pronounced flavor. I like them, DW, not so much.

 

[Bestwifeever]

I have two grand toddlers, so we only buy organic. May not make a difference to DH and I, but I won’t take a chance with an child’s health. Retiring after 25 years at a national children’s hospital, I am very aware/concerned that for many years the fastest growing service line is pediatric cancer and blood disorders.

We eat mostly plant based and organic.

Our kids buy only organic foods (and by organic I mean pesticide-free, hormone-free, etc.) for our grandkids and I don't blame them. I remember the pediatrician telling me in 1979 that most cows milk was full of antibiotics and hormones. I mentioned that to DD and she asked why I didn't buy organic dairy products, and I laughed. She couldn't believe only health food stores carried it, which were few and far between. Today even Aldi's has a ton of organic stuff--it's really easy

But for DH and me, we're on the damage-is-already-done train--we buy and eat what we think is good quality food for freshness, taste and texture, and it may or may not be organic.

 

[jled317]

As an FYI, yolk colour is based on what the chicken eats. Chickens are curious creatures...they peck at anything that catches their attention. Free range chickens, therefore, eat bugs and the poop of other chickens, as well as whatever feed is available to them. Perhaps that’s what makes the eggs so flavourful!

 

[audreyh1]

I often notice a big difference in taste. That ultimately drives my buying decision. I’m not price sensitive about groceries/what I eat.

 

[Winemaker]

I have gardening organic since 1985 an I think people have a lot of misconceptions of organic vs. normal. Just because it says the label says it is organic, that does not mean it is pesticide free. There are many organic pesticides, pyrethrin, is one I can think of off the top of my head. Fertilizers such as bone meal, dried blood and manure are all organic fertilizers, and can be a source of E-coli. Some parents are concerned about hormone treated cattle and the like. Well, there is hundreds of times more hormones in birth control pills and menopausal hormone therapies that are in your blood that are not from your diet. And that goes for antibiotics, also. Animals such as hogs, that are slopped with leftover human food, have to be treated with antibiotics by law. If fed leftover/imperfect produce from a produce store/grocery/farm, it's not required. Don't even get me started with drinking water. Although we have the most safest drinking water ever in history, whoever is downstream the furthest, has the chance of more contamination. Our water system relies on dilution, flocculation chemicals, settling and filtration, and that is gravel/sand/charcoal trap filtration. And there's a hell a lot of antibiotics, and hormones that were peed into drinking water for you, your regular cow and your organic cow upstream.

 

[6miths]

Will not pay a premium for 'organic'. Seldom eat anything inorganic. The CR report points out how dramatically pesticide contamination has fallen over the past 25 years. We are eating much 'safer' produce than we were in the 70s and 80s.

 

[CardsFan]

Will not pay a premium for 'organic'. Seldom eat anything inorganic. The CR report points out how dramatically pesticide contamination has fallen over the past 25 years. We are eating much 'safer' produce than we were in the 70s and 80s.

+1

Pretty sure everything I eat is organic. I seem to digest it. Doesn't that make it organic?

On a (little) more serious note, I find the new organic trend to be little more than marketing, for the most part. Here, try my veggies, no fertilizer, ignore the horse manure. Nothing wrong with "natural" fertilizer.