Oraganic Vs. Non Organic Food

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I buy organic when I can. The less pesticides the better but the idea that organic produce has more bioavailability over non-organic makes no sense to me. I have no problem with GMO or hybrid foods, either, because that usually means the produce is more resistant to bugs and disease. I am definitely anti-bug and anti-disease! It seems to me that with more resistant produce comes better sustainability as well.

Something to consider with organic, pesticides can still be used and can be more toxic than synthetic products, they may also use more pesticide because the natural product is less effective.

I just try to stick with locally sourced products rather than organic. They can be slightly more expensive but at least I know where my money is going.

I don't seek out organic food. However, I do seek out local farms as a source for my produce, when in season, and I will only buy meat (other than fish) and eggs that are from local farms where I approve of the way the animals are treated. (I should do this with dairy, but when consuming dairy it's mostly Fage and fancy cheeses and occasional cottage cheese, which I sometimes buy at a local farm.)

For me this is not about health, but because I like the idea of eating seasonally, supporting local farms, and the animal welfare bit. I don't think organic food is actually healthier, although a lot (not all) of what I get from local farms IS organic, simply because that helps them with their niche marketing.

Out of season I buy conventional produce, and lots of frozen produce, and canned tomatoes.

I will be able to expand my own garden quite a bit this year, so am hoping that will make up a larger share of what I eat.

Always organic for meat, eggs, and dairy. Organic if available for produce, but sometimes I won't buy it if it's not organic depending on the item. I've found over many years of sometimes buying organic and sometimes not that organic tastes much better and is more satisfying/filling. So I think it's worth the extra cost to buy organic.

jgnatca wrote: »

How do you raise an organic chicken? Feed it organic meal?

Couple of ways, there is the free range thing where farmer has chooks in big trailer mounted coop and moves them from field to field. (Chickens put themselves away at night, which is handy)
There are some market gardening styles whereby you feed any withered leaves or discards of your vegetable crops to the chooks, and after harvest, in between crops you let the chooks graze the beds. They pick out weeds, thin out pest insects and reinvest nitrogen rich chook poop into your soil. You can make your own shell grit with a hammer for great eggs and bingo.. Organic chickens.

I've posted on a few similar threads. I farm certified organic medicinal herbs.. (No not that kind lol) TBH, I found the process of getting certified far too easy and open to abuse. And from one state/country to the next, it can mean quite widely different things in terms of what is and isn't allowed. All you can be reasonably sure about is low or no heavy metals in the soil.(hopefully of that actual farm) Most ppl would be surprised at just how much pesticide and fertilizer is "allowed".

The idea of Organic is still cool. And some farmers are totally legit.. The eggs are bigger, the tomato's are richer etc. I just don't take for granted that the label equals the vision you might have about Organic.

One last thing. Because the whole Organic term traces it's history back to the writings of a botanist in England many decades ago, it completely excludes many modern farming techniques that are IMO much healthier. like Aquaponics.. Which is a shame since Aquaponic generally requires far less fertilizer or pesticide than Organic. I'd love to see the whole criteria for Organic be revisited and standardized.

I have a hunch that the organic food hype in America is one of the most successful marketing campaigns to date. Imagine getting people to pay more money for crappier quality produce.

On a slightly more serious note, I don't buy organic for most things, because I don't notice the difference in quality (and I don't buy into anti-GMO BS). I come from a country where produce almost always looks and tastes amazing, so coming to America and trying out the supermarket produce was...disappointing, to say the least. When organic started becoming really popular, I hoped this might mean an increase in quality. Maybe not to the level I'm used to, but an increase nonetheless. Alas, in most places, it's really just the same quality (or sometimes even worse) for more money. Probably because "organic" food standards in America are a bit of a joke compared to the rest of the world.

The only exception I can really think of is tomatoes and strawberries, if only because the conventional counterpart's standards are already so pitifully low. Even then, it's best to only buy them fresh in season. Meat is another story, though -- I tend to prefer organic meat, particularly beef. For some reason, it doesn't have that "off", slightly sweaty (?) smell when you start cooking it.

Regardless, I do this all for taste, not nutrition. Nutritionally, they are more or less functionally equivalent. The differences between them don't really impact weight loss at all.

hroderick wrote: »

Organic and locally sourced are creations of marketing teams to differentiate their products and justify increases to the bottom line.

I agree with your main premise totally: we are actually much healthier than prior generations whose main problem was malnutrition. We are now victims of our success in producing food so cheaply!

I do point out, however, that "organic" and "locally sourced" are totally different. You can find some truly crappy over-processed food products that are nonetheless labeled as "organic."

"Locally-sourced" is another matter entirely. We always join a farm share here in New England USA, and we've gotten some spectacular fresh vegetables at reasonable cost. Love that.

I buy what is cheapest because I am on a budget

Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »

hroderick wrote: »

"Locally-sourced" is another matter entirely. We always join a farm share here in New England USA, and we've gotten some spectacular fresh vegetables at reasonable cost. Love that.

That farm share sounds like a great one. There are a few in the Dallas area where a group combines $150-200k to own shares of a small family farm's annual production, a win-win deal. I wish those were more common. We have many local farmers' market but most of the produce from the same Dallas wholesalers that supply the grocery stores, but they double the price for the ambiance.

Being aware of what is in season and buying while it is delicious and cheap at the big box grocery works well for us. For example, we buy blueberries for the year at .88 per quart and freeze them