Organic foods?

[Raquelita]

Do any of you buy organic foods? If so, which ones and why? If not, why not?

[Mama Mangia]

I have found no difference between them - and I have found that there are still contaminants in organic foods - so I don't buy them. And I save money that way.

[ainjel]

There are a few certain things that I buy organic - as in USDA certified. Right now I buy organic baby food. I simply don't have time to puree my own and both of my girls have liked it much better. I try to buy organic fruits and vegetables. I want to buy organic milk and do on occassion, but the price is rather prohibitive currently. I go through tons of milk and at $2.17 a gallon for regular milk as opposed to $5-6 for organic milk when I can easily go through 20 gallons of milk each month well.. it just isn't cost effective. Buying organic is something we strive for, but with limited funds we just can't always do it.

[khartman]

We buy organic foods when we see what we eat at a regular grocer. We occasionally will shop at a Whole Foods, but the local Super Fresh, and a local chain both sell organic meats. Their selection varies week to week so you can't count on them having anything in particular when you go.

We buy organic foods for a couple reasons. First, they're often produced by small farmers looking for a niche to stay in business. They'll use more labor intensive methods for weed and pest control, so the costs of production are higher then the farmer using aircraft to spray the crops.

The second reason we try to buy organic, and this is especially true for chicken, egg and pork productions, is the animals are treated more humanely, given more room to live in, and not treated with antibiotics to simply make them grow faster.

Those antibiotics that we need a prescription for as a human are available over the counter at your local farm supply. It's my belief that it's that use of antibiotics that leads to the decline in the effectiveness of the antibiotics in general and not the misuse by humans as you'll here described in the press. Antibiotics are used in HUGE quantities by the food industry, and we don't want to support that misuse if there are alternatives.

[Mrs. Chipotle]

I don't really ever buy organic foods as I've never been convinced the potential benefits outweigh the cost.

That being said, I certainly am not an expert and if I learned more about them, perhaps I would start buying them. There are probably more benefits than I am aware of.

[oldbay]

With organic foods you're paying for the labor required to replace pesticides. It's probably a good thing to avoid foods raised with pesticides. The USDA is hand and hand with the food industry and may not provide the level of oversight that most of us feel they do. If you recall, the initial rule on organic labeling was going to allow the use of pesticides until the public reacted overwhelming against the rule.

[Raquelita]

One thing that bothers me about conventionally-grown foods is that multiple pesticides are used at once, and that has not been tested for safety. (i.e., 'pesticide 1' and 'pesticide 2' have been individually tested, but in the real world they're used together and whether they're safe together has not been tested).

I make it a point to buy eggs organic and the 'dirty dozen' of the most contaminated produce (see list below). We don't eat much dairy or meat so i don't worry about those as much.

And while it's true that organic foods still contain pesticides and such b/c the ground is contaminated, the concentration is much lower than in conventional food. Plus organic farming is more environmentally friendly and safer for farm workers. Have you ever driven past strawberry fields before? The workers are in full haz-mat style suits with gas masks b/c of all the chemicals.

[Raquelita]

Here's a list of the best/worst produce in terms of pesticide chemical contamination (this is what you can't wash off the food). This ranking is based on FDA tests, not some random environmentalist group. The 'most contaminated' show up in lots of foods--apple juice, applesauce, raisins, strawberry yogurt, strawberry jam, etc... So keep those in mind too when you're purchasing.

http://www.foodnews.org/reportcard.php

12 Most Contaminated - Buy These Organic
• Apples
• Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Cherries
• Imported Grapes
• Nectarines
• Peaches
• Pears
• Potatoes
• Red Raspberries
• Spinach
• Strawberries

12 Least Contaminated - buy these conventional
• Asparagus
• Avocados
• Bananas
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Corn (sweet)
• Kiwi
• Mangos
• Onions
• Papaya
• Pineapples
• Peas (sweet)