Why should I buy organic?!?

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24

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  • jeremyw1977
    jeremyw1977 Posts: 505 Member
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    Studies have shown that if you have extra weight, mainly in the form of excess money in your wallet, purse, or bank account, the healthy way to get rid of that money is to buy organic.
    Burning the money possibly polutes our atmosphere, and flushing money down the toilet isn't safe for your plumbing.

    You can try offering your money to a Nigerian prince, they're more than happy to take it off your hands.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    Because I want to support local farmers.
    Because I want produce that's not covered in pesticides, preservatives, E-numbers, food colouring.
    Because I don't want meat containing antibiotics and hormones.
    Because I don't support GMOs.
    Because the meat I buy comes from RSPCA approved premises.
    Because it matters to me that the eggs I eat come from hens that have a decent life.
    Because on the whole it's better produce.
  • lil_pulp
    lil_pulp Posts: 701 Member
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    I just listened to the Nutrition Diva's podcast on organic food this morning. (You can read it at http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/are-organic-foods-worth-cost?page=all.)

    Basically, she suggests avoiding the "dirty dozen" for pesticide reasons but not worrying about it aside from that. It's great to support local farmers--and food that was picked more recently has more nutrients--but local food is just as likely to have been sprayed with pesticides as food from farther away.
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    Studies have shown that if you have extra weight, mainly in the form of excess money in your wallet, purse, or bank account, the healthy way to get rid of that money is to buy organic.
    Burning the money possibly pollutes our atmosphere, and flushing money down the toilet isn't safe for your plumbing.

    You can try offering your money to a Nigerian prince, they're more than happy to take it off your hands.

    Good sentence pick out of my post :smile:

    That particular sentence wasn't a huge part of my post, but rather an explanation so people don't respond "its more expensive".

    Mostly I was wondering what other people's reasons were for choosing organic so I could start researching if that is a good option for myself and my family.

    :smile:
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    Because I want to support local farmers.
    Because I want produce that's not covered in pesticides, preservatives, E-numbers, food colouring.
    Because I don't want meat containing antibiotics and hormones.
    Because I don't support GMOs.
    Because the meat I buy comes from RSPCA approved premises.
    Because it matters to me that the eggs I eat come from hens that have a decent life.
    Because on the whole it's better produce.

    Thanks!! All reasons I'll look into. Thanks for taking the time to reply :)
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    I just listened to the Nutrition Diva's podcast on organic food this morning. (You can read it at http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/are-organic-foods-worth-cost?page=all.)

    Basically, she suggests avoiding the "dirty dozen" for pesticide reasons but not worrying about it aside from that. It's great to support local farmers--and food that was picked more recently has more nutrients--but local food is just as likely to have been sprayed with pesticides as food from farther away.

    Thanks for the link!! Much appreciated.
  • sealevels
    sealevels Posts: 123
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    I would buy organic if:

    It supports local farmers. (I live in the tri-state area, so I'd be supporting a ton of them)
    If you care about sustainability.

    Organic farmers do use pesticides - you kind of have to if you grow anything, really - but they use more 'natural' substances to rid their crops of pests. I grow non-edibles, and I have heavily considered the usage of pesticides. Luckily, rubbing alcohol works well enough.
  • sudmom
    sudmom Posts: 202 Member
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    I have been trying to go all organic, but find it is next to impossible to live a normal life (for me). I have done several "tests" though to see if there is a difference-some things like fruit with rinds it has very little impact on-but try this... Buy a dozen eggs generic brand and a dozen eggs that are grass fed, certified organic. Crack one of each and look at the difference in the yolk. I found it amazing that there was such a huge difference. Generic is a light yellow with a murky white. The organic egg has a clear white and a deep yellow orange yolk.
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    I would buy organic if:

    It supports local farmers. (I live in the tri-state area, so I'd be supporting a ton of them)
    If you care about sustainability.

    Organic farmers do use pesticides - you kind of have to if you grow anything, really - but they use more 'natural' substances to rid their crops of pests. I grow non-edibles, and I have heavily considered the usage of pesticides. Luckily, rubbing alcohol works well enough.

    Great points, I live not to far from that area as well.
  • JskC1893
    JskC1893 Posts: 156 Member
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    I have been trying to go all organic, but find it is next to impossible to live a normal life (for me). I have done several "tests" though to see if there is a difference-some things like fruit with rinds it has very little impact on-but try this... Buy a dozen eggs generic brand and a dozen eggs that are grass fed, certified organic. Crack one of each and look at the difference in the yolk. I found it amazing that there was such a huge difference. Generic is a light yellow with a murky white. The organic egg has a clear white and a deep yellow orange yolk.

    Interesting! What do you mean by live a normal life?

    I definitely know what you mean about the eggs, I'm fortunate enough to have a close friend who often sends me home with eggs.
  • CollieFit
    CollieFit Posts: 1,683 Member
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    Because I want to support local farmers.
    Because I want produce that's not covered in pesticides, preservatives, E-numbers, food colouring.
    Because I don't want meat containing antibiotics and hormones.
    Because I don't support GMOs.
    Because the meat I buy comes from RSPCA approved premises.
    Because it matters to me that the eggs I eat come from hens that have a decent life.
    Because on the whole it's better produce.

    Thanks!! All reasons I'll look into. Thanks for taking the time to reply :)

    Just a disclaimer, I'm in the UK, so there may well be different rules to the US about which pesticides are permitted etc.

    http://www.soilassociation.org/whatisorganic
  • CookNLift
    CookNLift Posts: 3,660 Member
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    I buy organic because

    I want to support my local farmers / economy
    I want vegetables I know are fresh and picked within a relatively close proximity to when I bought it without having it sit in the back of the grocery store in the freezer. (been back there, its gross)
    I like how long the produce lasts when I buy organic (bought organic - local - grassfed milk and it lasted way beyond the expiration date, and I had no issues....same was with some veggies I bought that lasted double to triple the amount of time the generic store bought ones lasted)
    I don't overbuy because of the price tag. I tend to shop more frequently and buy smaller amounts to guarentee I have fresh produce each time.

    I buy organic eggs because (1) they're f@cking cool and (2) my friend owns a chicken farm and i get a really good price on them.
  • Laststand2011
    Laststand2011 Posts: 42 Member
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    If you're buying organic to support local farmers, then do it. If you're doing it because you think nutritional value is higher and it's "safer", then you're just spending more money for nothing.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness industry for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

    :) yep!
  • sudmom
    sudmom Posts: 202 Member
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    LOL-A "normal" lif like eating out, running to the convenient store when I am in a hurry, etc.
  • Alairissa
    Alairissa Posts: 160 Member
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    Because if it is not organic- its not food, it's more plastic, or something else that doesn't have carbon molecules in it. :P - Please do not call it organic vs. non organic because it is all organic. ( not in the sense you are talking about, but through the eyes of Chemistry) :D
  • bcf7683
    bcf7683 Posts: 1,653 Member
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    Buying fair trade and local is more important to me than organic.

    I belong to an organic buyers club. I get a box of locally grown fruits and veggies every other week. It's like Christmas every time I open the box. I love it because I like supporting the local growers and because it's a great way to try things that I might other wise pass up on in the grocery store. This week for instance I got purple bell peppers which I've never seen before, rainbow carrots and heirloom tomatoes. I also get a dozen eggs and occasioaly a case of grass fed beef. It's nice to know where your food is coming from.

    ^Jealoussss. That sounds awesome.
  • kjoy_
    kjoy_ Posts: 316 Member
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    i'd do whatever you want. organic, not organic. just make sure you're always washing everything well. i don't stress over organic - there's so many toxins everywhere that i figure something else will get me first
  • highervibes
    highervibes Posts: 2,219 Member
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    I buy organic for things like strawberries, apples, peppers (the dirty dozen as someone mentioned) to avoid added pesticides. I also don't like to feed my kids GMO food, just in case. My MIL keeps chickens and rabbits and they pack and butcher meat from hunters so we have frequent access to that. Most of our other meat is pasture fed, again for my kids. I don't know if it's a big waste of money or not, but I'd rather not take the chance with my kids. I eat a fair bit of crap outside the home but I like to keep only the staples at our home. A lot of our veggies in the summer come from my MILs garden - it's insane what that woman can do! I'm not anal about it, but it's not impactin my life very much and I could think of worse things to waste a few bucks on :p
  • bound4beauty
    bound4beauty Posts: 274 Member
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    I pay $50.00 for my bi-weekly share which I split with my niece since I live alone and can't eat it fast enough. I don't think $25.00 a week on fresh produce is really that expensive. I do have to supplement with things from the farmer's market or the grocery store but not usually all that much. I do pay more for the eggs and grass fed beef but it's just me so a dozen eggs lasts me 2 weeks. I do buy a carton of egg whites at the grocery so that makes the eggs stretch. Sometimes local produce from the farmer's market is less expensive because you're not paying for it to be shipped from Chili or somewhere else. It really just depends on where you live and what you have available to you.

    I loved being able to talk to the local honey guy who helped me decide which honey to buy, how much to use, how to slowly increase the amount, etc... Yeah, I paid more for the local, pollen infused honey he sold me but to me, it was worth it. It worked great on my spring allergies. Here's hoping it works this fall when the oak trees start to pollinate!
  • wool_gathering
    wool_gathering Posts: 8 Member
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    I buy organic, not because of any health benefits per se, but because I'm interested in the humane treatment of animals and sustainable agriculture, practices which tend to be more prevalent in the organic food industry than in the generic food industry. That said, I don't actually buy that much in the grocery store, I subscribe to a farm share and get all of my produce and meat from local farmers!

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