ORGANIC EATING (I'm ready to switch!)

PLEASE send any info you get my way lol!!! I have been interested in the same thing lately! I have been going to library reading various books (if you have any suggestions for reading material please message me) and looking up local places. I am thinking about even volunteering at a farm that participates in the local farmers market.

Good for you!!!

First, it is very overwhelming, and you don't have to do everything at once. One step at a time and you'll be able to successfully incorporate organic food and clean eating without going totally crazy about it.

Where I live the regular grocery stores have incorporated a health market area that has a lot of great organic food. They also sell some produce from local farmers. This helps because they tend not to be too expensive. When I started, I picked dairy first to change. I swapped out my regular milk for organic skim. The dairy was the most expensive switch but seemed like the best to start with.

A week or two later I started switching out the meat. My grocery store often has the organic turkey on sale so I get that when I can. I like Bare Chicken too, which isn't too expensive for just me and my husband. Here's their website if you want to read up on them: http://www.justbarechicken.com/

Next I did some research on what veggies and fruit I should start switching out. We have AWESOME farmers markets in the spring, summer, and fall. I read that if you can't buy all organic veggies and fruits choose the thin skinned ones first (like berries and peppers). These will take in more of the pesticides than the thick skinned ones (like oranges and bananas). I watch my grocery store ads and plan around what organic veggies they have on sale. This helps.

I saw my budget go up a little, about 15-20, but at the same time we stopped going out to eat all the time which saved us a lot of money.

I buy local honey from a seller at my farmer's market and other staples. I'm looking into a co-op to join this summer and I also grow a small veggie garden of our favorite foods in the summer.

Do research on what you can get easily around your city. The store I shop at is called Hy-Vee, but it's a Midwest store, and also Trader Joe's. Take one thing at a time so you don't get too overwhelmed by it all.

And also, this site is good for knowing what seafood to buy. Very good information! http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx?c=dd

As you get closer to spring and summer, consider growing a few veggies - like peppers and tomatoes, depending on where you are.

First I would like to say I work in the produce industry so I probably have a bit more knowledge than the average person on this matter but I don't claim to be an expert.

Making the choice to eat organic has many benefits that I will not dispute. During some times of the year organic produce actually tastes better, but not always.

I will dispute that all large companies do not care about health and only care about making money. There are many people in the produce industry like myself that are passionate about the commodities we work with and the health benefits are a huge part of that.
I love working in this industry! We are proud to be in the indusrty working and selling something that has positive benefits. And when did it become wrong for a company to want to make money? Making money = growth = jobs = substainable business. Basic economics, right?


With that being said there are some things that are not commonly known about produce and organic produce such as:


1) Organic produce regardless of who grows it (large farmers or smaller ones) can be treated with approved chemicals. The list of approved applications is regulated by the USDA? If you buy it in a retail grocery store and it's labeled organic, the farmer has gone through a certification program to prove its organic. All land has to go three years with only approved applications before it can be considered organic. In other words, anything grown on it for three years will be labeled conventional but it will be grown with organic practices until it is certified. That's an expensive investment.

2). Smaller local farmers do not always have strong of food saftry programms if they have one at all. Most food safety programs are self regulated and it's not uncommon for the "small" farmer not to have a program. For example the water used to irrigate the field... Where does it come from.... Are there and animals or other contaminants near the planted block of land? If you buy produce in a retail grocery store it has been through a food safety program, if you buy it at a farmers market it does not have to go through a program. Let me be clear, this does not mean all produce at a farmers market is bad! It just means it is not regulated?

3). There is a misconception that big corporations are driving out the small independent farmer. It may happen in some cases but do some research of the larger industry leaders in the produce field... They are either co-ops for smaller growers or marketers for a bunch of independent growers. in many cases the independent grower would be driven out of business unless it pooled it's commodity with other growers to get a good return.

4) growing organic simply costs more and has lower yields. The average consumer is not willing to pay the higher price at retail. If you really wanna organic produce pay the higher price for it or the grower is not making enough to be substainable. The premium needed for organic produce can range from 30% to 50% depending on the time of year or commodity. Sometimes it can be less than that but not often.

With that being said there is nothing wrong with eating produce. Organic or not, that's a personal choice. Just keep in mind large companies are not all bad!

Eat lots of produce it's good for you!

I would love to eat organic! But unfortunately it is VERY expensive and hardly any organic produce is ever on sale. I just try to eat organic when I can for now, then one day when I'm filthy rich I'll make the switch :happy:

Good for you! If I had enough $ I would do the same

I too am making my way towards a more organic lifestyle. Don't forget to look at what is in your shampoos and conditioners, and lotions, and lip gloss. sulfates, parbens, petrochemicals. all equal not good.

My husband and I eat organic diet, we try to stay about 80% organic on all food. It is EXPENSIVE, which everyone knows. I feel it would be wrong of me to preach to everyone and say you must eat ONLY organic food. It is very personal choice and also everyone has different financial priorities. Again, it is very expensive to feed the whole family organic diet. However, when switching to organic we started with animal products (dairy, meats etc) Yes produce is important but for me it was more important to start with animal products and then with fresh produce, pantry items etc. Making any changes towards better quality food already is a great step.
In addition, to comment on the movie, it is one of my "pass around DVDs" that I happily share with friends of friends and family. Some of the reaction I get from people: oh this is an eye opener, that's it I am throwing everything away and replacing with 100% organic stuff, then many get overwhelmed and give up or find excuses to go back to stuff they used to buy/eat...etc. My point is like with any new information that has an emotional impact on us, take time to digest it, research, plan and execute

bump

(no time to read it now, but organic rocks!! If only my organic avocados were not $3.49 each!)

Cook from scratch, meal plan, get in season and local whenever possible. Don't trust places like Whole Foods.

What a great choice - I wish we could do the same, but the expense is too much right now.

There are some great tips already - I wanted to highlight a few.

1. Check around locally - in Colorado, there are a lot of farms for meat, veggies, fruits, etc that don't have a lot of advertising (road side stands and such are the norm.)

2. Just because it's not labeled "organic" doesn't mean it's not! It can cost a lot to get that label and small farmers' cannot afford it...just ask them at the market (since local places have the direct connection).

3. During the summer, shop the farmer's market - if you don't see it, talk to someone! CSA sign-up is also really big at the market (and Groupon or LivingSocial often have deals to try them out for 1 month free).

4. Some things matter more than others - there's a list of "dirty dozen" (think thin skin, like peaches) and other things (like bananas, which you don't eat the skin and they don't touch the ground) don't matter as much.

5. A lot of companies are cashing in on "organic" by making prepacked snacks and such with that label - it's more important to eat healthy than to stick with "organic" foods so do read the packages and think for yourself.

6. If you can, grow stuff yourself - even basil, mint, etc are easy to make organic (pot, soil, water, seeds...put in a sunny spot).

Finally, don't forget the flip side - compost and recycle!

shop at costco. it is cheaper than whole foods and just about everything is organic.

Thanks for this tip. I did not know that carried alot of organic foods.

This gives a list of vegetables you should buy organic and those you can get away with buying conventional. It may help you make your shift as far as fruits and vegetables go:
http://www.prevention.com/dirtiestcleanest/

(edited to fix link)

http://www.localharvest.org/

That site will help you locate local farmers. If you are Northern CA, I can sell you free range/GMO free heritage pork or free range lamb.

It is true that organic food is expensive. But Americans actually allocate a very small percentage of their total budget for (conventionally grown) food; food is cheaper here than it is in most countries, because a lot of things here are subsidized. In fact, food prices in the U.S. were actually much higher in previous decades. When I get down about how much I'm spending on organic food, I try to think that really I'm just spending the "normal" amount that a person would normally spend on food if everything in this country wasn't made so dirt cheap by stores such as Wal-Mart. Besides, investing in nutrition is investing in health. It's also participating in a philosophy of how to treat the earth and the people living on it.

http://www.localharvest.org/

That site will help you locate local farmers. If you are Northern CA, I can sell you free range/GMO free heritage pork or free range lamb.

I don't live in California, but this sounds amazing! Thank you for providing good healthy food options for others!