Do you eat organic?

[~Shard~]

i try to eat "real" food.

That's an excellent way to describe organic food, I think I'm going to start using that one myself! That's good, you should feel good for making healthy choices.

When you look at the pesticides they use on fruit (basically leftover Agent Orange) and all the preservatives and crap in some foods, it's almost scary sometimes that people willingly ingest those poisons. And people wonder why cases of allergies, cancer and health problems are on the rise...

I see it as massively inefficient and expensive.

Expensive? Man was eating organic food for thousands of years before the use of all these chemicals were introduced - and they seemed to afford it just fine.

Perhaps we're lucky here in Canada compared to other places, but here organic food is prevalent, easy to buy and not very expensive at all. (Not that you can put a price on your health and well-being of course.) It's quite easy to make healthy choices and I'm very fortunate for that.

And regardless, it's better for our health, so in the end, what's more important?

 

[bousozoku]

That's an excellent way to describe organic food, I think I'm going to start using that one myself! That's good, you should feel good for making healthy choices.

When you look at the pesticides they use on fruit (basically leftover Agent Orange) and all the preservatives and crap in some foods, it's almost scary sometimes that people willingly ingest those poisons. And people wonder why cases of allergies, cancer and health problems are on the rise...
...

I thought that they used crap to fertilise organic crops.

 

[devilot]

As for how legit organic food is (as in whether or not the vendor just slapped on a silly 'organic' sticker), in the States you can go by USDA ratings. If something displays USDA certified organic that means that products are 95 to 100 percent organic by weight. *shrug* So that's one way to feel better about your purchase I guess.

I generally won't pay more for organic foods or go out of my way, but it's easy to do so in Santa Cruz where three out of the four nearby markets are known for organic goodies.

 

[njmac]

There are many foods out now that are organic and are just pennies more expensive.

Newman's Own Organic Raisins (for my kids) about .15 more than pesticide raisins

Stonyfield Yogurt: exactly the same price or up to .10 more in some stores.

Organic Bananas: (which I don't buy because bananas have very little pesticide residue on them anyway) .05 to .10 more a pound.

There are some things that I buy organic and others not. I prefer local, fresh ingredients that haven't been shipped across the country - organic or not. Pesticides are poison and they are present in our food. I don't like it but I'm not obsessive about it.

I know that even when washing fruit/veggies that pesticides remain doesn't bother me that much... but the pesticides that are used on farms - mostly the giant factory farms are a huge factor in causing the pollution that is killing the fish in our oceans. Very nitrogen rich, the fertilizer runs into the oceans and causes a very rich environment for algea and red tides. link

I read somewhere that if all of the world's farming was organic a huge number of people would starve.

I see it as massively inefficient and expensive.

I don't agree. I think its easier to farm with pesticides, but like anything else, if you take a shortcut you will sacrifice something in the long run. Farming without pesticides enriches the land because most crops are rotated and the soil is not depleted. Pests that are killed with pesticides include good bugs and bad bugs. Its hard to selectively kill, but with organic farming, the methods are different. Crops are planted so that they repel bugs (example garlic planted by tomatoes will ward off the bugs that invade the tomato plant) but large factory farms are not interested in this, they want crops to grow big and fast, regardless whether its stripping the land of nutrients.

BTW, the nutrients that once were in the soil use to go directly into the plants making them far more nutritious. Artificial fertilizers add back mostly nitrogen to the soil which does make the plants grow faster/bigger but they are not as nutritious. Spinach, 100 years ago, had far more nutrients than the spinach today. This is why people are going back to organics.

To say " I won't eat anything unless its grown with pesticides" seems so silly to me.

EDIT YIKES! Sorry about the long post, I am really not a tree-hugging, granola-ee Wingnut®. I swear.

 

[twoodcc]

I thought that they used crap to fertilise organic crops.

LOL!*

thanks for the backup **

when i mean "real" food, i mean buying meat at the store and bringing it home to cook.*

and i mean real calories as well.........i'm not trying to loose weight, i'm trying to gain, or at least maintain.........i'm on a 5,000 calorie diet, or at least i'm trying to be

 

[~Shard~]

I thought that they used crap to fertilise organic crops.

Ah yes, but that's organic crap...

LOL!*

thanks for the backup

Exactly what kind of backup was that?

when i mean "real" food, i mean buying meat at the store and bringing it home to cook.*

Who said meat wasn't real food? Are you perhaps getting "organic" confused with "vegetarian"? I love eating 100% certified organic Angus beef, free-range grain-fed organic chicken and so forth. Bison and elk are excellent as well. I just don't like eating meat that's been injected with steroids and growth hormones, that's all. And yes, it's all "real" food as you put it - and it's organic. So, what exactly were you trying to say?...

and i mean real calories as well.........i'm not trying to loose weight, i'm trying to gain, or at least maintain.........i'm on a 5,000 calorie diet, or at least i'm trying to be

See above. Again, not sure what you're getting at... Are you saying organic food magically has less calories than food sprayed with pesticides because, um, it's organic? I'm into weightlifting and being very fit myself and eating organic doesn't hurt me at all - I probably consume more calories than you on a daily basis and I have no weight issues! (Actually, 5000 is a lot - probably not...)

As I said, maybe I'm missing something - please clarify.

 

[bousozoku]

LOL!*

thanks for the backup **

when i mean "real" food, i mean buying meat at the store and bringing it home to cook.*

and i mean real calories as well.........i'm not trying to loose weight, i'm trying to gain, or at least maintain.........i'm on a 5,000 calorie diet, or at least i'm trying to be

5,000 calories per meal or per day?

Grain-fed beef may be better than cattle grazing on poorly maintained land that is sparsly populated by grass. I really don't know. Pepsi doesn't do side by side beef tests. I've had large portions of Kobe Beef and it was much better but eh, I can deal with nice cuts of cheaper meat. I don't remember the last time I specifically bought meat for myself. I'm not a vegetarian but I just don't eat western food a lot.

Over the past 40 years, we've gone through a lot of exciting chemical progress. e.g., the majority of humans in the U.S.A. have small portions of Teflon™ inside their bodies. Preservatives were added and have been eliminated on large scales of products since the 1960s. Permanent Press clothing will hopefully never go away. Most of the food additives and preservatives are probably causing huge side effects but moreso the attitudes of people to believe the hype are causing problems.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, every week seemed to bring a new warning of cancer until we just said "breathing causes cancer" but things got better. At some point, we just have to say that life is dangerous in extremes. Moderation, balance is the key to better health.

blah blah blah, blah blah blah blah.

 

[~Shard~]

Moderation, balance is the key to better health.

Yep, that's pretty much what it comes down to. As I stated in my initial post, I treat myself and eat "bad" food from time to time as well - you have to enjoy life and live after all! But yes, have a balance, everything in moderation and be conscious of your health - it's pretty darn important.

 

[twoodcc]

5,000 calories per day, not meal. and the reason why is because i burn so many running.......i think lance armstrong was consuming around 10,000.....or so i was told. not really sure

as far as what i was saying about "real" food.....my girlfriend's roommate made organic pancakes one time, and it was all i could do to eat 1. they might be better for fat people, but the extra sugar and fat and whatever else in regular pancakes is good for me....i need all the extra sugar and fat and everything else i can get.....cuz i'm just gonna burn it that day when i run.*

hopefully that explains what i was trying to say a little better. i can give more examples if needed.*

 

[apfhex]

When I go shopping, I buy as many organic brands as possible without sacrificing quality. The nice things is, 9 times out of 10 the organic product is better tasting by far.

I can't even buy non-organic fruit and vegetables anymore, they taste like ****!

 

[erickkoch]

I read somewhere that if all of the world's farming was organic a huge number of people would starve.

I see it as massively inefficient and expensive.

Yes, I heard the same thing. The reason being that without fertilizers and pesticides the yield of produce per acre of land is much less. That seems to make sense since organic foods cost more. If the yield per acre were the same organics should be cheaper since farmers wouldn't be spending all that money for fertilizers and pesticides and the equipment to use it. In some countries the soil is not very productive and fertilizers are needed to increase yield.

 

[CorvusCamenarum]

Sometime around late spring, the girlfriend and I created a little trial garden in the backyard. Nothing overly grand, just something to see if we could do it and not kill everything off. I have to admit, it's rather nice to think to myself around dinnertime "Hmmm, I need some vegetables to go with this," and go out back to see what's ripe.

As far as organic in stores, around here it costs a good measure above the "normal" fare, and generally looks more sickly, so I don't think I'll be purchasing any.

 

[Stridder44]

Oh gawd. I used to work in a coffee shop and I had some crazy hippy lady come up to me and ask me if we sold/used "organic" coffee beans. I looked at her and was like "....??? You mean like free-range?" SO weird. I even remember my mom once started going through some phase where she would buy organic milk (which tasted like crap), and finally stopped after I pointed out to her how the price for a gallon of that junk is more than a gallon of gas.

Honestly, organic/vegan is on par with the atkins diet/etc. It's all in your head. You're going to die anyway, so stop worrying so much and just live your life and have fun! (NOTE: Im not saying eat junk food all day, but just don't check every little grain of stuff you put into yourself...either way, it's going to come back out crap).

And for all you non-meat eating animal lovers:

 

[Blue Velvet]

Organic bananas don't seem to ripen so quickly and become inedible. That's why I buy them. Cost more but less wastage.

Organic milk and (free-range) eggs definitely taste nicer.

Organic bread, sometimes. Usually a sign of getting a decent loaf anyway... I can't stand white heavily-processed bread.

 

[njmac]

I even remember my mom once started going through some phase where she would buy organic milk (which tasted like crap), and finally stopped after I pointed out to her how the price for a gallon of that junk is more than a gallon of gas.

Regular, non-organic milk is more than a gallon of gas too. Your only choice now is to stop drinking milk.

As a matter of fact, many things we consume or buy cost more than a gallon of gas. Alchohol in particular comes to mind.

 

[Lau]

as far as what i was saying about "real" food.....my girlfriend's roommate made organic pancakes one time, and it was all i could do to eat 1. they might be better for fat people, but the extra sugar and fat and whatever else in regular pancakes is good for me....i need all the extra sugar and fat and everything else i can get.....cuz i'm just gonna burn it that day when i run.*

Thing is, organic doesn't mean it's healthy. She might have made gross healthy pancakes, but the organic stuff has nothing to do with that. You could make organic pancakes out of exactly the same amount of butter, sugar etc. that you made normal ones out of, just the butter and sugar would be organic i.e. grown without using pesticides. That's what organic means. If people choose to make some weirdo healthy pancakes on top of that with wholemeal flour and no sugar, that's their choice , but it's got nothing to do with the organic side of it.

Oh gawd. I used to work in a coffee shop and I had some crazy hippy lady come up to me and ask me if we sold/used "organic" coffee beans. I looked at her and was like "....??? You mean like free-range?" SO weird.

No, she probably meant like organic. Coffee, apparently, is one of the most pesticide ridden crops, and so it's one of the things that's said to be definitely "worth" getting organic, so it was a valid question to ask, really.

 

[njmac]

I never understood the health food substitution thing. Healthy eating should taste good, if you are trying to imitate junk food by substituting healthy ingredients - its NOT going to work - and gives a bad name to health food. A breakfast of real pancakes wouldn't kill anyone.


I'm on a diet right now and although I'm not a vegetarian, someone I know who is told me the vegetarian frozen "sausage" patties are great and 70% less fat.. blah blah blah. So, against my better judgement, I bought a pack. Not only was there about 50 ingredients in it (most looking very un-natural) but they tasted like complete and utter crap. I ate one and threw the rest away.
Substitutions suck.

 

[crazycat]

I try to eat healthy, if i can i will if i cant at the time i dont.

 

[iGary]

I agree with BV - we usually get organic milk, but because it tastes better more than the lack of antibiotics and hormones. Bread, too and some other things.

We get cageless eggs and free range chicken when we can. I loves me some chickens.

 

[dmw007]

Yep, we try to eat organic foods whenever possible- gotta stay healthy.

 

[CrackedButter]

I hope people realise that organic standards vary from country to country. The UK at the moment and the EU have the highest quality of organic foods. In the US, a small percentage of organic food can contain non-organic elements (but still be classed as organic) while for the moment in the EU, ifs its organic, it has to be organic.

For some reason the EU is trying to pass a law to make it similar to the way it is in the US. A lot of people are up in arms about this over here because it would allow GM food to be used in organic food and people over here don't want GM food anyway. It is seen as a back door for GM food companies because of all the bad press they have been given. Both foods should compete naturally in the market without government intervention.

The biggest gripe about organic food is really the cost, more so when pesticides or herbicides are not being used as they would with normal food. Shouldn't it be cheaper then?

Anyway, I eat Organic where I can simply because of the lack of chemicals coming from that food source, the secondary benefit is that there are more minerals and vitamins from that food source.

 

[bousozoku]

This article on MSNBC seemed timely.

 

[~Shard~]

hopefully that explains what i was trying to say a little better. i can give more examples if needed.*

Yeah, thanks for the explanation. I wasn't trying to challenge you at all btw, was just honestly curious as to what you were referring to. As I said, some people sometimes, for some reason, get "organic" and "vegetarian" confused, so I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case.

 

[twoodcc]

Yeah, thanks for the explanation. I wasn't trying to challenge you at all btw, was just honestly curious as to what you were referring to. As I said, some people sometimes, for some reason, get "organic" and "vegetarian" confused, so I wanted to make sure that wasn't the case.

it's all good. and i will admit that i thought organic food was only food that said "organic" on the label....is this true?

 

[Stridder44]

No, she probably meant like organic. Coffee, apparently, is one of the most pesticide ridden crops, and so it's one of the things that's said to be definitely "worth" getting organic, so it was a valid question to ask, really.

Sadly, coffee isn't good for you to begin with...which sucks because I love it. One thing that I really loved is when people would ask if we had "low carb" muffins.