Organic or not?

I do not buy organic. It's far more expensive with no measureable benefit.

I buy organic because to be certified organic it can contain no GMOs, it's pesticide free, and far healthier without the preservatives. There are measurable benefits. Check out dr. wiel's website for one.

I grow most of my vegetables in the summer and they are all organic. I also drink raw whole milk directly from a farmer. My goal when shopping is to make sure at least 10% of what I buy is organic. I don't want pesticides/chemicals on my food. If we would all buy at least 10% organic, then the demand goes up, and the prices will start to go down because more farms will see the need to grow more organically. Also love the farmer's markets.

I grow my own veg and do so organically. Whilst not fully self-sufficent it does mean I can choose types for flavour and not for speed of growth so it tastes better even if I do lose some to the bugs & slugs! When buying veg the only thing I buy organic are carrots as I prefer the taste & texture to the non-organic from the same supermarket.

I do not buy organic produce because I do not have easy access to locally grown organic produce. The organic produce in my grocery stores is expensive, and often wilted and old looking. I just wash my produce well. I will buy organic meat and dairy when I can get what I want, since it's just for me, but think what you will of me, I did not buy it when I was raising children, because it was cost prohibitive. It's hard for a young, cash strapped family to pay $3.50 for half a gallon of milk, when you can buy a whole gallon for $1.99. (And no, we did not have cable, label clothes, cell phones, pagers, or game systems.) I think that hormones, steroids and antibiotics are far more likely to stay in animal milk, meat and fat, and are just as, if not more, dangerous than pesticides. I would buy organic produce if I could get fresh produce for a reasonable price.

I buy fresh produce, I'm not spending double or triple the amount of money because it says "organic".

The Penn & Teller Bull**t episode on organic foods was great. My favorite was the test they did where they chopped a non-organic fruit in half, told people one half was organic, the other wasn't, and asked them to pick which was best. Most of the people surveyed said the organic half (I say again, both halves were from the same fruit) tasted and looked better. Don't believe the hype.

I buy what's cheapers.

I've found on produce, particulary fruit (and strawberries in particularly particular), there are certain varieties I like that are equally good as "organic" or conventional.

I think even taking taste into account 1.5-2.5x the expense is just not worth it. And often in my neck of the woods the organic vs. non comes from the EXACT same region when you check where the food comes from.

It almost makes you go "hmm...am I just buying the same basic product grown side by side?"

buying organic leads to chronic smugness.

there is no known cure.

and i don't want to feel the urge to buy a Prius.

that's why i avoid organic.

I eat about 98% organic. The occasional meal out is pretty much the only exception. I do it to keep the load on my liver/system lighter (all those chemicals, preservatives, etc. have to be filtered out somewhere), to minimize damage to my organs and body functions from the influences of those ingredients (like MSG) and to support the clean/whole food movement financially. Even though eating organic might not affect weight loss, it definitely affects my overall health, and I can feel that acutely any time I fall off the wagon.

I have a health issue that makes those chemicals and additives really mess with my gut with a lot of inflammation, water retention, urinary and bowel dysfunction, and nerve and muscle pain. The cleaner I eat, the better I feel.

I am especially adamant about eating organic, free-range and ethically raised meat and dairy for both ethical and health concerns.

I survived ovarian cancer and am acutely aware of putting anything in my body that does not fuel it as cleanly as possible. I wouldn't put junk gas in my car just because it's cheaper, and I certainly revere my body more than a car. I have given up a lot of comforts in the past to make this more doable in my lowest income days, like cable tv, air conditioning, dishwasher, and other luxuries because I just believe that the quality of what we ingest is so critical to our long term health. There's lots of evidence out there, but if you want to start with something easy and hugely important, try getting MSG out of your diet first. Check out "disease states" at MSGTruth.org (especially check out obesity ... they inject rats with MSG to make them fat for obesity experiments--imagine what eating it every day can do!)

Of course, it's all about balance. There's a big difference between eating non-organic veggies, fruits, lean meats and eating nothing but fast food. It's all about degrees. I have made the transition slowly over many years. Never regretted it.

And it tastes so much better!

I get most of our food (meat, vegetables, fruit and eggs) from the farmers market, so it's mostly organic, hormone-free, pesticide-free, etc. I started doing this to support the local farms, but appreciate keeping my kids away from the hormones and pesticides. We also drink organic milk.

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Most of the time I eat organic

I eat organic as much as possible, but not as much as I'd like. I don't like consuming the residue of industrial farming if I can help it.

Same here. I try to pay special attention to the dirty dozen and dont worry so much about the items on the clean 15.

Good thing organic farming doesn't use pesticides, oh wait a sec...

I dont think you bothered to look where i`m located. Quebec (and Canada in general) have very different farming and food regulations from the US. I grew up in a farming community, and here there are very specific regulations as to what is considered organic and can carry that label. Its not a perfec system by any means, but is controlled more so than our American neighbours.

my smug detector is pinging.