Do you buy organic?

Originally Posted by norcaltransplant

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No. Sustainability would greatly benefit from technologies that increase crop yield, limit acreage devoted to farmland, and/or minimize fresh water use. Tossing poop instead of nitrogen based fertilzers onto crops does not make the world a happier place.

Do you believe in permaculture?

Originally Posted by Jokerman

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IMO "Organic" products are just a giant scam. I have a relative who only purchases food items that have organic written on them along with other odd food item's that claim to be more healthy. She thinks by doing so she will have perfect health but I swear every time I see her she is sick or something.

My father worked his entire life in agricultural chemicals. Once diagnosed with cancer he said that he wasn't surprised since a fairly large number of people he knew from the industry seemed to be sterile, get cancer or have other odd health problems. I will buy organic when I can but I don't go out of my way. I do wash everything very well however.

I don't buy organic, but I do avoid certain items that seems to be unusually fresh looking. an example would be bananas that are extra large and all yellow without any bruising or dark marks, but once I bring it home and remove a piece from the bunch the rest would somehow age and ripen faster. I also avoid purchasing fruits with edible skin nowadays like apples and grapes since most of them are imported from the united states and for something that had to be shipped all the way across the pacific they sure stay fresh in the shelves for a long time, sometimes even longer than local produce.

Originally Posted by pocketsquareguy

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My father worked his entire life in agricultural chemicals. Once diagnosed with cancer he said that he wasn't surprised since a fairly large number of people he knew from the industry seemed to be sterile, get cancer or have other odd health problems. I will buy organic when I can but I don't go out of my way. I do wash everything very well however.

wow. was he physically exposed to the chemicals? that is very worrisome, specially since a huge problem for farmers in the 3rd world after buying agrichems is they tend to be lax in handling them.

Originally Posted by mm84321

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When shopping for ingredients, do you make a conscious effort to buy organic products? Do you limit organic purchases to things like fruits and vegetables, or will you even go as far as to buy packaged products that claim to be "organic" as well?

I buy organic milk simply because I like the way it tastes (we blind tested this after I was skeptical about there being flavor differences). If I'm getting organic meat products, it's only because the organic part comes with cage free. I'll get organic if it's there and there's not a major price difference, but I don't actively seek it out.

Originally Posted by HgaleK

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I buy organic milk simply because I like the way it tastes (we blind tested this after I was skeptical about there being flavor differences). If I'm getting organic meat products, it's only because the organic part comes with cage free. I'll get organic if it's there and there's not a major price difference, but I don't actively seek it out.
If you must buy your eggs at the supermarket, don't bother buying organic ones; they are simply a marketing ploy. Cage-free doesn't really mean anything either. Seek eggs that read: "pasture-raised". Whole Foods sells a brand called Vital Farms. The color of the yolk, compared to conventionally grain fed eggs, is markedly more brilliant and possesses a deeper orange color due to a higher concentration of beta-carotene from their diet. I find the same to be true of the color of butter from grass-fed cows.

Isn't organic grass-fed meet a bit of a sham?

Originally Posted by Rambo

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Isn't organic grass-fed meet a bit of a sham?
Grass fed meat is great if you like grass fed meat.

Originally Posted by Rambo

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Isn't organic grass-fed meet a bit of a sham?
Grass-finished and grass-fed are two different things. The former indicating meat from a cow (or other variety) raised on grain for the majority of it's life, and then "finished" on grass during the last few weeks of life. The latter usually implies a diet of 100% grass, depending where you're getting it. While the difference in taste will be noticeable, grass finished beef is still certainly healthier than grain-fed, but still, not as potentially healthy a cow raised on 100% grass from birth to slaughter. Along with possessing a higher ratio of anti-inflammatory omega 3's, the level of conjugated linoleic acid has a lot to do with the health benefits of grass-fed beef, because of its likely chemopreventive quality*. The Argentinians, who eat quite a bit of red meat, have much lower rates of colon cancer and heart disease than Americans. It wouldn't be a stretch to say that this is partly due to the higher rates of CLA in the beef they are eating. While you can certainly argue over the flavors and taste between both grain and grass-fed beef, there is no debating which will ultimately be healthier for you. *http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC201014/

Originally Posted by mm84321

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If you must buy your eggs at the supermarket, don't bother buying organic ones; they are simply a marketing ploy. Cage-free doesn't really mean anything either. Seek eggs that read: "pasture-raised".

Whole Foods sells a brand called Vital Farms. The color of the yolk, compared to conventionally grain fed eggs, is markedly more brilliant and possesses a deeper orange color due to a higher concentration of beta-carotene from their diet. I find the same to be true of the color of butter from grass-fed cows.

Well fack. I thought that cage free was a step over free range. I'll definitely be getting pasture-raised next go around. Thanks for the heads up.

Originally Posted by HgaleK

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Well fack. I thought that cage free was a step over free range. I'll definitely be getting pasture-raised next go around. Thanks for the heads up.
The terminology is labyrinthian in its very nature. The USDA has no specific definition of the terms "free range" or "cage free", and they leave them vague purposely so. A cage free chicken could simply refer to the door of the henhouse being left open during the day. It does not imply they are outside grazing and having access to fresh air--you know, the things chickens are supposed to do.

Originally Posted by Rambo

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Isn't organic grass-fed meet a bit of a sham?

You are right in the sense that truly grass-fed/pasture raised cows don't need organic certification. It is more of a redundancy than a 'sham'.

No, I do not.

Only buy organic when taking a trip to the farmer's markets in my Hybrid Escalade