<p>I have been buying organic milk for a while now, because D and I do consume a fair amount. The things I read about the hormones that are fed to cows convinced me. I don’t, though, buy organic meat–we don’t eat a lot of red meat and i haven’t really thought about hormones and poultry. I also don’t buy organic fruits or vegetables. But I am thinking maybe I ought to rethink this.</p>
<p>So I am curious, what do you buy organic, and why?</p>
<p>I try to follow the guidelines of the Environmental Working Group–it has a list of fruits and vegetables to avoid (the dirty dozen). This article provides a good summary of the reasons for going organic.</p>
<p>[Organic</a> Foods - Dirty Dozen Pesticide Residue Foods to Eat Organic - The Daily Green](<a href=“Easy Cooking Tips and How-Tos - Good Housekeeping”>New 2020 Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Food Lists Released by EWG)</p>
<p>I don’t really buy anything organic, can’t afford it. We tried that milk for a while, it just got to expensive and we couldn’t buy it in gallon size. In the end, it really doesn’t make a diffrence.</p>
<p>[Is</a> Organically Produced Food More Nutritious? : NPR](<a href=“http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129629752]Is”>Is Organically Produced Food More Nutritious? : NPR)</p>
<p>I grow a lot of my herbs & berries- so organic.
Our area has organics priced competitively, even though those products often do not carry the subsidies of other foods.
I buy organic meats when possible ( don’t eat a lot anyway)
Don’t buy farmed fish.
Fruit & vegetables mostly organic, especially where the peel/skin is left on or thin.
Organic milk- butter & cream cheese.
cereal organic- bread organic as possible.
coffee, shade grown is most important- but easy to also find organic/fairly traded.</p>
<p>Bromfield–thanks for the link but the methodology of that report confuses me. If I am reading it correctly, residue from a greater number of different pesticides makes a food worse in terms of consuming it. But it seems to me that what should matter is not the number of different pesticides but the overall level of all pesticides. One pesticide at higher levels seems worse than a lower combined level of many pesticides. And just a sort of personal thing, because I eat a lot of plums–they were not on the list, even though other “thin-skinned” fruits like peaches were.</p>
<p>Different pesticides are required for different types of produce.
Some contain more neurotoxins than others- which is perhaps why the list concentrates on those 12.
[What’s</a> On My Food :: Pesticides on Apples](<a href=“http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=AP]What’s”>http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/food.jsp?food=AP)</p>
<p>We don’t buy organic because as a previous orchardist in OR, you can’t grow marketable fruit without some type of protection. </p>
<p>As a former food producer, I don’t believe that we should have so much waste that raises food prices. There are millions in USA who are malnourished. </p>
<p>As a free marketer, I do believe that there is a market and price for everything.</p>
<p>As consumer, I want food that is affordable, tasty and bug free, not necessarily blemish free, </p>
<p>As a malthusian there is a limitation to resources</p>
<p>eat everything in moderation and in a balanced/varied manner. </p>
<p>remember, even cows don’t drink milk all that long.</p>
<p>That dirty dozen article is confusing. It links to another article which has the foods that are so clean you don’t need to buy organic, and tomatoes make both lists.</p>
<p>Milk. It’s worth the extra $ to avoid hormones and pesticides. Research shows its more nutritious too.<br>
Free range organic chicken. Wild lo mercury fish. Grass fed beef sometimes.
All the berries. Apples.
We get produce from the farm…a CSA. Not organic but pesticide free. Their pasture eggs are outstanding…they really do taste better.
Yeah, it’s expensive, but we rarely eat out and don’t drink anything but water/tea/coffee (and wine on weekend nights :)) so that helps. We also stay away from junky convenience foods like Lean Cuisine and canned soups…which can also be expensive.
Things we DON"T buy organic. Bananas. Avocados. Bread. Coffee. Tea. Butter.</p>
<p>Hormone-free milk, absolutely. Most important with kids.</p>
<p>I buy most fruits and veggies organic or local, both when I can find them. (and lots from our pesticide-free backyard garden.)</p>
<p>Non-factory-farmed, sustainable meats/fish. </p>
<p>Coffee is fair trade, organic, shade-grown.</p>
<p>It’s not primarily a matter of nutrition. It’s partly, of course, eating safer food. </p>
<p>But mostly, for me, caring about what happens to others. Pesticides are bad for workers, bad for communities. Factory-farmed meat is a nightmare for the people who live in those communities–read up on chicken factories and pig waste lagoons. Not to mention the painfilled lives the animals go through.</p>
<p>Because I know what I do affects others, I act accordingly.</p>
<p>I buy a lot of organics. Bread from Wegmans because it is so delicious. The few processed foods we eat are mostly organic-- cereal, corn chips, yogurt. I’m sure there are others. I have an organic garden and beyond that buy as much as I can from local farmers; they are good stewards of the land. I look for shade grown coffee, not sure if it’s organic. We don’t eat a lot of meat, so I figure I can spring for organic, though I never did when I was feeding two teenage boys. I think the flavor of grass fed beef is worth the extra money. I’ve also noticed that the price of an organic chicken breast is the same as the price of one from Perdue. The factory breast costs half as much per pound, but is twice the size because of the feeding regimen and hormones.</p>
<p>Garland - I hear you and have similar views (have read all Micheal Pollan’s books). But it’s a bit of a slippery slope. My yoga teacher would say the only safe and compassionate thing to do is go vegan. I can’t see myself doing this so I do what I can. I often wonder what I would do I had my own farm. I might eat eggs but would probably keep the chickens and cows for pets! Now fishing…that I can do… I think.</p>
<p>There was a big article about this in Time recently; it was very poorly written, and mixed up the reasons for buying organic food. When you look at safety and health alone, the bottom line is there’s not a big reason to buy organic fruits and vegetables, as long as you wash them. There is probably some health benefit to organic meat and milk.
There are other reasons that may matter to some people, but not others.</p>
<p>TR–yeah, I am drawing a line, of course. I try for it not to be arbitrary, but…</p>
<p>I have much respect for vegans, but of course there’s no easy answer except for someone who strictly gathers. Untold amounts of animals are killed by cultivation, not to mention its effect on the environment in many other ways. </p>
<p>I concur with Pollan and others that if one is going to eat meat, it should be from animals who are treated humanely and raised sustainably. </p>
<p>We do catch fish we eat, and clams we gather, though not on a regular enough basis to base a whole diet on. I respect hunters who hunt for food, though I can’t see myself doing that. Just personal preference.</p>
<p>A friend of mine who lives in an upscale suburban neighborhood raises chickens for eggs in her backyard.</p>
<p>You don’t need to buy organic milk in order to avoid the hormone rBGH.</p>
<p>In general, organic is most beneficial if you will be eating the entire plant, like lettuce. If the item will be pealed (like a banana), then the benefit is substantially reduced.</p>
<p>Roots, such as potatoes, are also another organic candidate. Roots absorb everything, and a lot of stuff are put onto the roots.</p>
<p>Another thing to look for is “grass fed”. That increases the amount of Omega-3 fatty acids (comes from the leafy part of the plant). Grain fed has Omega-6, not Omega-3. Omega-3 is short in the American diet. Note: “Free Range” can be grain fed.</p>
<p>Odad–agree on the milk. The key is to find the no-hormone stuff. Wawa sells that for much less than organic in the grocery store.</p>
<p>One of my pet peeves is that it’s hard to find organic milk in small quantities. All of the groceries near me sell it by half-gallon or more. I can’t use nearly that much before it goes bad. I can get Wawa by the quart; much more useful.</p>
<p>I live in an area with an abundance of orchards and I know several orchardists; they make the same argument as Long Prime–very difficult to grow fruit without using some pesticide. Most of the local orchardists practice IPM (integrated pest management) which (as I understand it and I’m not an expert) is a method of controlling pests economically and with the least possible hazard to people, property, and the environment. One orchardist/friend told me that as an ag student he would come home on weekends to work in the family orchards and would be covered with pesticides almost every weekend. Now, he says, the amount of pesticide that he uses is miniscule in comparison and he may spray every two-three weeks.</p>
<p>Bromfield–we have a very close friend who runs an orchard; he says the same thing. He is very, very environmentally aware, and practices integrated pest management. The orchard is a beautiful place fiilled with an abundance of life. I’ve stayed there several times.</p>
<p>My favorite “Food Rule”- Its not food if its called by the same name in every language. (Think Big Mac, Cheetos, or Pringles.) Have you read Barbara Kingsolver’s “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life”?</p>
<p>I believe the pesticides used on bananas are particularly nasty. Not a problem for the eater, but very hard on the pickers.</p>