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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Poll of sorts: Groceries.
What percentage of your groceries are organic?
What things specifically do you buy organic?
I would love to eat a little more organically than we do now but E is odd and considers organic in the ranks of fat free and gross. My husband is really weird when it comes to logic, and doesn't see the benefits of eating organically. We buy local a lot, we purchase most of our fruits and veggies at the farmers market. Not all are organic but some are. Meat wise I'm trying to buy most of our meat at the farmer's market from an organic farmer.
Basically I need help with ideas of what else I should be buying organic and what things are okay not to. TIA!
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Re: Poll of sorts: Groceries.
We specifically buy milk, eggs, chicken, spinach, and any other veggies we like that are available as organic. We trying to switch more of the other meats to organic, but it means either spending a lot on it or cutting it down. We're still working on cutting it down so we still buy some non-organic.
Milk is the one thing we definitely won't go back on because Bean drinks so much of it.
ETA: I know spinach is one of the "dirty dozen" or worst offenders for pesticide residue and we use it a lot in salads, so that's why it's on my list of always buy organic.
None on purpose. Organic is a fad that I can't wait to die. "Organic" means that it is something that contains carbon or is derived from living matter. "Organic food" is made up by the food industry. You can make a fruit or vegetable the equivalent to organic by washing it with mild soap and water - Dr. Robert Chapkin. Also, things like growth hormones in milk are bovine growth hormones and don't affect humans because they're not compatible (I heard that one from a Crossfit instructor and looked up scholarly articles to disprove it). Also, organic does not equal healthy (I laugh at organic, "wholesome" cookies).
Photo bomb, yeah!
Okay this is pretty much how I feel about the whole thing. I think I'm going to be better about buying local and just buy a few thinks like milk and meat organic. Thanks!
Photo bomb, yeah!
Washing produce with soap and water doesn't undo what pesticides and GMOs have done to it. I'm not sure where you're coming up with the sole definition of organic being carbon based. Of course that's one definition of organic. The USDA has standards for organic food.
A, prioritizing your grocery shopping is based on individual preferences. For some, it's a toss up between buying local and buying organic. If I had to choose, I'd go with local. Organic produce may not be so great for the environment if it still has to be trucked from Guatemala to get to you, for example.
Organic doesn't always need to be healthy. Some people vote with their dollars and care about the environmental impact that chemicals have on our earth and on our bodies. Sugar isn't exactly as evil as estrogen based pesticides and chemical fertilizers, unless you're eating some weird quantity of it.
It's a proven fact that animals who are raised on diets suitable for their species (e.g. grass for cows, rather than corn) are healthier, less prone to disease, better for consumption, better for the environment. In addition, their farmers are generally paid a more fair wage for their work, which is extremely important to some consumers.
I just can't imagine brushing off the dangers of pesticides, herbicides, and GMOs as "made up by the food industry" and a fad. That crap is deteriorating our health.
Okay so what I've been doing is good then. We are working toward a goal of buying as local as we can so I think I'm just going to stick with that and do organic as I see fit. Thanks Ojo!
This.
While the organic "fad" does go a little too far with some products, it isn't always false advertisement. Organic cookies, while not the healthiest snack, are made from ingredients that have not been doused in chemicals or preservatives. They are different from your standard Oreo.
Organic and inorganic foods are only different in how they are produced/farmed, not in their chemical structure, that much is true. However, organic foods are under strict guidelines to be free from chemicals and GMOs.
It may be a fad, but I don't think it's a bad one if it causes people to be more likely to purchase organically or stop and read the ingredients in their food.
Amen, Ojo!!!
I take Dr. Robert Chapkin's opinion, who is world renowned in nutrition and has research to back up his facts, over yours. Pesticides might leave residue along the skin and YES washing it off is a lot more effective than you think. Furthermore, if there is any pesticide residue, it is so minute that it won't cause harm to it's consumer. I'm also confused as to why you think only organic farms provide suitable diets. Also, I defined the term organic. Organic foods, as I said before, is a term coined in 1940 out of the concept as "the farm as an organism". I also believe, as I learned from my Food Science class, that some methods have been developed for food safety in the interest of public safety. These methods are monitored and are considered safe. I'm not saying I agree with everything every single farm that isn't organic does.
Seriously, have you seen people dropping like flies from eating non-organic foods? Have you given birth to some mutated babies? This is America and you're allowed to make whatever decision you like and I truly encourage you to do so. OP asked how many I buy and I said none and MY reasons why which are mainly backed up from my degree in nutritional sciences. Please continue to buy organic but I choose not to.
Photo bomb, yeah!
Are you seriously under the impression that chemicals in the soil don't show up IN food? Or that people don't inhale the chemicals what's being crop dusted? Or that all farmers are paid fair wages? These are all issues that are intertwined with the debate.
I didn't say animals need organic diets. I said they need diets suitable for their species. I'm not sure where you read otherwise in my response.
Yes, washing produce is a good idea. It doesn't make it organic according to USDA standards, however you and one man choose to define organic.
So what about the epidemic of early puberty in girls? Or the epidemic of obesity in our country? Tell me that it's not related to our current food structure. You can't make me believe that growth hormones used in the animals do not have an effect on our health. You can't tell me that genetically engineered food can be good for me, or the animals that are forced to eat it.
Unforunatley the food system has shifted from the interest in public safety to the interest in public money. And I haven't seen unbiased research that has been able to convince me otherwise.
Sorry, I am going to keep buying organic.
Photo bomb, yeah!
Brandie- Obesity in the country has risen concurrently with the introduction and overuse of high fructose corn syrup. There's no definitive answers for any of those issues or there would be a resolution. If I could post the article on growth hormones I would but you have to be a paid subscriber to the journal. Also the food system has ALWAYS been about money and I agree that it is really sad. I'm so glad you'll continue to buy organic because as I said earlier, you should. It's a personal choice and I don't think either choice is necessarily harmful on a safety level. I will continue to CHOOSE to not to for the reasons listed above.
I am already one long island iced tea in so I'm going to retire from my arguments now. I've been in such an argumentative mood lately...
Photo bomb, yeah!
Ive been argumentative too. Sorry, it doesn't help the discussion at all. It doesn't stop me from feeling passionately about what we consume. It would be great to see some research.
Currently, we live in Europe, so "organic" is easy when you shop on the economy. Dutch milk is pretty much all free range with no extra hormones AT ALL, so we are good there.
The pork and chicken is pretty much local if you buy from a butchery, which we do. So we are good there. The ONLY thing we cannot get is beef. They just dont sell it in its various butchered forms, so we are stuck buying at the commissary. Therefore our beef consumption is limited to every other week.
The BEST/WORSE part is that its illegal to use corn syrup here. I never have to look on the label for that...but I DO for Honig. My DD is allergic to honey and its in a ton of foods here.
When we get back to the states, we are going to be screwed a bit. DH is retiring, so our budget is tight. We WILL continue buying milk and meats organic. But we will probably have to iether eat whats grown locally or just deal with the veggies until one of us gets a job.
I so wish we could get away from this whole "supermarket" society and back to buying strictly local. Yes, it's a bit of a pain to visit a dairy, a butcher, a baker and such for all of your goods, but it is so much better for our bodies and our local economies.
I try to buy local as much as possible. There is a fruit stand near our house who we visit quite often. Everything they sell comes from with in 4 hours of us. They also have better prices than the grocery store and throw in free items when we spend a certain amount.
I also have a decent size organic garden in my back yard. I grow peppers, lettus, broccoli, peas, beans, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, and several types of herbs. We also have 4 different fruit trees, strawberries and blue berries. Our biggest dream is to live as self sufficiently as possible after J retires. I can't wait to have our own chickens and a small herd of cattle. Many of my family memebers in LA live this way. They use and can what they can, sell the extra and barter with others.
I don't really focus on organic vs. conventional groceries. I do pay attention to local or not, but it doesn't keep me from buying the produce from wherever when I want fresh berries in January.
Grass-fed instead of corn-fed is something I would pay attention to, as well, but I'll admit to the laziness of not going to find out where/how I can acquire that here. (I suspect it's easy, considering where we are, so this really does speak to my lack of concern regarding food, I suppose.)
I know the carrots I buy are organic, because I like the 10 lbs bags from Costco, and they just happen to be organic. Same with the bread I buy. It's awesome bread. I'd buy it even if it wasn't organic. I buy our dairy from a local farm, and they deliver weekly to our house. I don't think it's organic, but it's pretty cool to be able to get it delivered to our front step...
So, um... I'd guess about 5-10% of our groceries are organic. Maybe.
For starters, this is from 1998, so nothing new: Lawson, Michael A., Amy L. Lawson and Beth L. Lawson. ?Investigating The Antibiotic Resistance Problem.? It says antibiotic resistance is, in part, due to use of low dose antibiotics being administered to the animals we eat.
Unless you think MRSA is made up by the drug industry.
Also not a ground-breaking revelation, many pesticides are carcinogens. Plenty of pesticides have been banned because the EPA learned (after previously allowing them) that they were more harmful than they originally thought, like methyl bromide, which was (is) thinning the ozone. It's still used on some crops. Please, let's come up with a plan to repair the ozone with soap and water. Methyl bromide is known to cause cancer in the farm workers who have to spray it, but I guess it's cool, since it's not as concentrated by the time it lands on my dinner table. That stuff's not sprayed in a bubble. The people who live, work, and go to school around those farms inhale it.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46815289/ns/technology_and_science-science/t/beekeepers-ask-epa-ban-pesticide-toxic-bees/ Here's an article from six days ago about pesticides killing off bees. The declining bee population has been an issue for years now. We need those bees to pollinate our crops, lest we introduce yet another man-made way to alter our food.
There's a whole ecosystem being damaged and no amount of soap and water will fix that.
As far as your earlier comment about deformed babies, just last year, studies came out admitting that yes, GMOs are showing up in fetuses, although in years prior, consumers were told they wouldn't pass through to our children, they'd pass through our bodies as waste. I'm not even sure they're aware of the ramifications of that yet, but surely it's cause for concern.
And hey, here's the USGS talking about the dangers of pesticides in groundwater. http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/pesticidesgw.html
My apologies for not citing sources. My sixth grade Earth Sciences class, courtesy of the Chicago Public School System, apparently got me a pretty solid understanding of ecosystems. I've covered the ozone layer, eradication of important insects, human health, and the water supply, all with very basic, daily knowledge. Those concerns are enough for many people to demand more answers and to err on the side of caution by reducing exposure and it's flippant as all get out to claim that soap and water is the solution.
About the soap and water, how do you buy your wheat, exactly? I haven't figured out how to prevent it from getting soggy in the soap and water solution before I grind it into flour. ETA: And the cotton that goes into tampons? Do you use soap and water before inserting pesticide treated cotton? Food isn't the only issue here.