Paying extra for organic, free range, etc?

dfwo

What do you feel is worth paying extra for at the supermarket?

Hendrix7

No.

Although free range eggs do taste better.

DanaDark

Nothing.

camelid2

I've always wanted to avoid paying for "labels", but have really starting to rethink if this is paying for the label or extra effort and a better product. Meats, the "dirty dozen" of produce, cheese, and a few other things are what I've ended up shelling out the extra money for at the store. I would love to do more, but there is only so far the budget will stretch. I also tend to like to find local vendors and will pay a little more so that I can have a slightly better product and help support somebody that is literally around the corner! :laugh:

Keiko385

I guess it would depend..on a recent trip to the local farmers market the Amish now have a sign on their booth that proclaimed "organically grown" and jacked up the prices from the previous visits. I had to laugh as it was grown in the same cow dung in the week before but somehow now it is so much better for you

taylor5877

agree with no here.

rvagnoni

*

cliprunner

No.

Although free range eggs do taste better.

I agree about the eggs. We have chickens that are free range and the color and taste are much better than store eggs. I cringe when I have to buy eggs at the store:sad:

bathsheba_c

Depends on how gimicky it is. Organic oranges are gimick because you remove all the pesticide residue when you peel it. Organic apples, though, are another story, and I have noticed a difference in taste and quality. I also prefer to buy my eggs free range because I feel bad for the chickens (even though "cage-free" doesn't mean "happy and frolicky in the grass" in most places).

Short version is, I am willing to pay more if I get better quality for it.

ixap

For eggs, dairy, and meats I will buy as free range / etc. as possible b/c I'm concerned about animal welfare, and I think it's probably healthier.

For fruits and veggies, I buy organic for the "dirty dozen."

MinMin97

At the supermarkets, I am not convinced about their offerings of organic.
However, I try to buy at the farmer's markets, local stands.
I just buy the highest quality chicken I can, not always organic.
I try to keep a stock of locally grown (a local private farm) beef.

anacsitham5

I actually buy grass fed, free range beefalo once a year. It tastes better and it's nice to know that it isn't loaded with pink slime or other chemicals. Last year I bought a quarter, I will have to get a half this year as I ran out of some of the cuts. It was $3.70/lb. With that you get all cuts of beef. It's cheaper than buying it in the store and it's locally raised.

littlehedgy

If I wasn't poor I would buy locally raised meat. I feel better about it, not necessarily morally which sounds awful, but because I get really freaked out about meat. I also like organic tomatoes more than normal tomatoes. But not enough to shell out the dough right now.

Glasgow_Vegan

It's mostly for the sake of the environment and animals. It's definitely worth it if you consume meat, poultry and dairy. Especially eggs.

I don't usually eat organic but I know it's better.

quill16

I normally don't buy specifically organic, but if the cost is close enough I buy a few things. I grow my own veggies in the garden and do not buy packaged goods. I make all my meals from scratch.

dfwo

the "dirty dozen"?

Debbe2

No.

Although free range eggs do taste better.

^This^ and organic coffee beans too. Chicken & beef too!

needamulligan

Eggs. When my kids were little, I bought hormone free milk and meat.

gabrielled

What do you feel is worth paying extra for at the supermarket?

Store bought eggs are two or three weeks old. Find a local who will sell you eggs, at just a fraction more. Or if you have the room, consider a small flock. You can always raise some for meat too.

Everything else I try to buy from local farmers and ranchers. If you are into beef, you can find someone who will go in with you to buy half a grass fed and finished cow. Much better for you. Pork? Ehh. If you really gotta, buy from a 4-H or FFA kid. I avoid pork as much as I can, but baaaacoooon. Yum.

gabrielled

the "dirty dozen"?

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

m_wilh

I purchase free range eggs from a friend who charges $2 a dozen (not much more than the regular supermarket). I buy 6 dozen at a time. I buy all my veggies at the local farmer's market and I buy organic beef from a local farmer. The hamburger isn't much more than what I see at the grocery store and is a much better quality of meat. I can't find free range chickens that I can actually afford though so I buy poultry at the supermarket. If I could find free range poultry for a reasonable price, I'd do that too. Everyone talks about how expensive organic is (and it is pricier) but if everyone would stop eating the processed junk on the shelf and start eating clean, the price would come down and we'd see a much healthier nation of people.

However, I realize that many (especially with the American economy the way it is) purchase the cheapest foods possible to keep their families fed and they just do the best they can do. Personally, when I quit buying all the bagged chips, cookies, soft drinks, boxed cereals, etc., it freed up more money to purchase the healthier items. My grocery budget really hasn't gone up that much.

blackcoffeeandcherrypie

I don't buy organic, but I do buy free range. I just like the idea of big fluffy chickens running around, rather than sitting in their own urine, too weak and apathetic to move. It's partly because it icks me out, and it's partly because I would rather avoid causing an animal to have an unnecessarily miserable life.

FaugHorn

I pay more for cruelty free dairy and eggs, I also only purchase meat from my local farmers who I know how the animals are raised and butchered.

tragicpixie

I always buy organic for the Dirty Dozen (http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/) However, in general if I can afford it I will buy organic everything because it's a more sustainable practice and better for the environment, and people as a result of that. (Vote with your dollar.)

When I eat meat, I buy only local grass-fed, hormone free meat. Same goes for eggs and dairy: hormone free and sustainably produced. This means I spend a lot of time doing research on the internet - but completing a Master's degree which should have been in procrastination means I've had a lot of that for the last year or so. I pretty much have only a few brand names that I buy in the grocery store because "organic" "free range" etc. are not FDA regulated labels: basically they're marketing and anyone can use them.

So... yes, I would pay more for organic, local, and sustainable foods but in practice, I do research before I buy anything. Shopping at my local farmer's markets hasn't always been the best choice either, but it's something that matters to me. On that note, my biggest weakness is cheese (which I don't buy a lot): because I judge "good" cheese by how it tastes not how it's produced.

fieldsy4life

The grass-fed, 93% beef from Whole Foods that costs $7.29/lb is the best tasting ground beef.

The asparagus that costs $5/lb tastes the same as the regular supermarket.

The almonds that come in a 2.5 pound tub from Costco taste better than the organic almonds from Whole Foods.

The expensive canned tuna (Crown Prince, Whole Foods) tastes better than the supermarket kind.

I've tried everything at this point (these are the first examples that come to mind)...

So, I'm assuming you guys are cutting out Oreos, Eggo Waffles, and doughnuts out of your diets/budgets... Since that frees up some money, don't assume all of Whole Foods is bad - they have a lot of stuff you can't find at your regular supermarket.

michmill98

Always: milk, eggs, lettuce/spinach, strawberries, carrots, and ketchup (I don't eat the stuff but the hubby says its better tasting)
Sometimes: meat, chicken (I buy Sanderson Farms if I don't buy organic chicken), assorted produce (depends on availibility)

I'll buy other things too if I like the taste better or the price is enticing enough (i.e. I love Annie's mac &cheese over Kraft).

Athijade

When I can afford the splurge, I do so... but that doesn't happen all the time. I do try to buy my fruits and vegetables local either from my store (which partners with local farmers) or at the Farmers Market. I am trying organic and free range eggs for the first time this week and they were not too much more expensive then my normal eggs so we will so. I wish I could afford the meats and the like, but it is super cost prohibitive most of the year. I WISH I had space for another freezer so I could do the half a cow thing!

tragicpixie

True, I love Whole Foods and I actually spend less there than when I shop at regular super markets. The produce lasts longer in the fridge (which allows me to shop once every two weeks and still be able to make healthy meals). Their bulk bins are amazing because I can only buy what I need (helps not having to store as much or if I don't like something, I don't have a whole back left of that grain or whatever I'll just finish what I have and never get it again).

Also, I like that I can mostly avoid sweets and junk foods at WF. They sell them, but I didn't grow up eating them so there's a lot less willpower involved not buying chips I'm unfamiliar with etc. Also - some speciality foods are cheaper at WF than regular supermarkets if you do buy them. I'm not saying those just add water soups or miso bowls are healthy but they're at least a dollar cheaper not on sale at WF than at any of my local places. (Used to eat them for lunch at work all the time.)

MrsCCWoods

milk, egg, yogurt, some meats also

Tanglesaturnfly

My boyfriend and I have worked in the food service industry for years. As a 13 year butcher, he can tell you that most of the commercial supermarket meat that comes in is garbage. Over his time in the industry he has seen the quality of the meat decline greatly. It's not uncommon to cut into tumors in the meat and worse incidents that I won't mention here as it would prolly make you lose your lunch. And that's IBP, Swift, etc.... brands that are stocked in most every store now. I've worked in resturants, delis and bakeries. I pay more to get my food locally because the quality nowadays is straight garbage. As a cake decorator, I can assure you NOTHING is scratch from grocery store bakers despite what a lot of people think. Most frosting is water, corn syrup and oil. I've seen soup come squeezed out of a bag and heated in the microwave and mac and cheese bright yellowy-orange and squeezed from a tube. Yes you may pay more for good food but if you keep your meat portions in check and throw in a veggie based meal a night or two a week it all evens out. And the biggest thing for me is it tastes so much better and i"m supporting my community. For every $100 you spend at a chain $40 stays in your community, at a local business $60 does.

HerBravado

Meh. Sometimes.
Like...sometimes I'm more apt to buying "organic" meats.
But, usually, I don't seek out the organic stuff, like produce.