Do you shop organic?

[PrincessFiona]

Thomas and I have been slowly making the transition to our 'Good Earth' food market. It started with the bread, then the snacks for the kids because they're lower in sugar....today we went ahead and just did the entire shopping experience there. It was a little bit more expensive, but not much, and we feel like we're supporting the little guys...the local farmers who practice sustainable agriculture as opposed to the big corporations who mistreat the farmers that work for them 8)

Does anyone else here do the organic thing?


kris

I guess I would say that we tend to shop organic. I try to buy produce, dairy (mostly milk and yogurt), and chicken and fish organic or free range (or not farmed seafood), and some grain (mostly flour and oats). Organic cheese and butter are really expensive but since some of the chemicals (the estrogen types??) stick with fats I try to go organic on those too.
Sometimes the higher price is just not worth it so I settle for the convential. There are lists out there of the worst offenders in terms of chemicals, etc for fruits and veggies. I can't remember them all but peaches, strawberries, green beans, cherries, bell peppers come to mind.

One of the greatest ways to support organic and local farming is by purchasing a share in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm. To locate a CSA farm near you, go to: http://www.localharvest.org or http://www.csacenter.org (I've had better luck with the first site listed). Basically, you buy a share in the farm at the beginning of a growing season and you get produce once a week through the growing season. (The purchase of the share covers the cost of produce you get during the season). You share in both the good years and bad with the farm; if there is a drought your share box will have fewer goodies it and the reverse is true as well. We did this last year and absolutely loved it! We have signed up for another year. Bryn loved going to the farm to see where her corn and other veggies came from throughout the summer. You usually pick up your share from the farm or from a farmer's market where they have a booth. This is an absolutely wonderful way to support local organic farming and you get some of the most delicous high-quality food ever!

[Rapunzel]

We do not shop organic for the simple reason that it is waaaay out of our price range. I have an army to feed which means I buy lots of spaghetti when it's on sale for 33 cents/box and peanut butter for 99cents a jar, etc. I stick to the store brands - brand names are usually more expensive and the store brands are *generally* of the same quality. I've walked through organic stores before and left every time with nothing but a pending heart attack on the prices. We'd easily increase by 50% our $600/month grocery bill if I shopped organically (my kids easily out-eat me - especially Alex who is at 6 is already half my weight and almost my height!!!). Perhaps one day when Jon and I are "single" again (we call people without kids at home "single" 8) ) we'll be able to contemplate being able to buy organically labeled food. As far as health-wise: I keep track of the amount of sugar we consume and I try not to buy pre-made items at the store because they are usually the fat and chemical culprits (not to mention they're also the priciest stuff from the grocery store). So, I do a lot of cooking/baking/preparing and it seems to pay off.

[PrincessFiona]

Prices...

Wow, Jennifer! We went to Good Earth here and the prices were, for the most part, comparable to the grocery stores. Many things were just about .20-.30 cnets more. The things that were more expensive were cereal, rice, noodles, milk and butter. We did get the milk and butter...but also opted for the cheaper rice, noodles, etc.

Thomas likes to get the bread there because they have a local bread maker that makes german bread. It was probably the most expensive thing. All in all, we spent a little more than we would have...but not 50% more..of course, the normal cost of living in MN is surprisingly high for food items.....We pay a lot more here than we paid in Florida for things like Milk, eggs, bread, etc....

kris

[SueC]

I don't shop organic, and it is either out of cheapness or laziness, I'm not sure which. I pretty much buy store-brand everything. I even started buying "Simply Cola", Costco's pop which is half the price of coke!

Well, half and half. I don't shop organic produce/meats/edibles because they are more expensive here not to mention the Whole Foods Market is a major drive. Besides, being already chemically imbalanced myself, I can't imagine a few more preservatives making much of a difference for me. But I have to say, I do like organic personal products. I love Burt's Bee's stuff (especially their minty chap stick - it's totally addictive - I have the best damn lips this side of the Mississippi) and I only buy when it's on sale or at drugstore.com. So there you have it. I'm quasi-organic.

[peggyfromwastate]

Since we live in an agricultural area, our organic food comes straight from the farm,and most of it is free since my father in law is in agriculture. So we mostly eat free organic apples, onions, and cherries. During the summer, we get most of our produce from the local farmer's market or else the residential fruit stands. Those sources of organic foods are much, much less expensive than their pesticide-laden counterparts. That being said, when local sources of organic produce dries up we also buy non-organic from the store b/c of the price difference. We are starting to avoid processed foods more and more, b/c of cost and somewhat health reasons. To keep control on the sugar issue, we don't generally allow sweets or cookies, and we always get 100% juice items. I am not scared of the pesticides in non-organic foods, also b/c of our agricultural heritage here where I'm from. Alar really nailed us big time, and there are many understandably bitter farmers around who mumble about people being afraid of some harmless chemicals... Who knows.

[Meenah]

For the past three years we have had a share in the community CSA. Part of the set up is you have to go into the fields and pick part of your share. This was fine when my best friend was here and we did it together, but she moved in December and I know I won't do it by myself, so I didn't sign up this year (sob). In the grocery store I generally buy whatever is cheapest.
Luanne

I don't find the organic stuff to be *that* much more expensive (but I don't think I could do it for $600/m for six either). I tend to buy the organic grains in bulk and the organic is about 10 cents more per pound.
One of the local stores that has a lot of organic produce puts weekly sales fliers in the newspaper and I use that before I shop. So, again, I pay 10 to 20 cents more per pound for organic produce. A few weeks ago I got 2 big bunches of spinach for $2 -- probably close or comporable to conventional produce. Same for the yogurt -- I usually buy whatever organic brand is on sale.
Since we don't eat red meat and eat fish or chicken once a week or so, we don't incur a lot of extra cost by buying it free-range.
For those of you interested, you can check out mambosprouts.com for coupons for organic products (usually more processed stuff though). Sometimes you can find their coupon books are also lying around Whole Foods.
I know it can be a hot topic, especially in the agricultural community, but I feel like it is better to err on the side of caution. (And sometimes it tastes better too).

[DCJenn]

I try to buy organic whenever possible, but in reality, if I need a gallon of milk, I'll walk to the local grocery store rather than schlep all the way to the gucci grocery store. But I justify it by walking!!

I do think that petrochemicals and hormones aren't necessary additions to our food sources so I do try to avoid them whenever possible. As for sweets, I don't really eat them, (my stint at the chocolate factory during grad school runied me for a mere Hershey's bar- I'm a total choco-snob so I just don't bother very often!) My husband will eat anything with sugar in it- it's his body so I don't really care. He's in great shape so if he wants to consume tootsie pops, more power to him.

I'm a chips and salsa girl, so I buy the Guiltless Gourmet chips and the homemade salsa from the grocery store. I'm also a huge fan of popcorn but microwave popcorn always gives me a stomach ache and I don't have an airpopper.

I try to cook at least five nights a week, too. That definitely helps to monitor what we eat.

Jenn

[Rapunzel]

My mother-in-law buys almost completely organic and tends to also avoid dairy (she gets soy milk) and red meat. When the kids go to her house they complain that her food doesn't taste very good. So, I also have this fear that if I made the extra investment financially and time-wise in buying from an organic store my kids might not eat any of it. (Of course this then feeds into the short-order cook thread posted somewhere else. :P ) I would love to eat pesticide-free produce and hormone-free milk because in theory I agree that added chemicals are not necessarily good for you. Ifyou have found a will and a way to do it, Kris, good for you!!

Okay I am feeling like the rotten wife and mother on the organic issue. Unfortunately, I am more particular to cost and convenience I guess. When we lived in Utah we would hit the fruit stands on the side of the road all the time and their prices were decent. The thing was that it was convenient and right along our way. I haven't found that here yet. The closest stores have their organic sections but the cost is more so I skip it. I did buy organic apples at HEB once and, honestly, they were awful, which was why they probably were on sale!!

So at this stage, I do try to buy healthier foods ... I buy lean hamburger but mostly my kids only get chicken or turkey as far as meat goes. I try to limit sweets but I don't know that I am fully successful in that endeavor. They always manage to get treats from somewhere ... ie school or friends etc.

More power to all of you that can do that in your busy schedules and limited income.

Robin The Mac & Cheese queen!!!!!

Robin, I have found that I have to "know the source" for organic produce. It tends to go bad faster than regular produce. Our local grocery chain used to have awful, rotting organic produce. It has improved greatly and I like to buy the 5 lb bag of organic apples -- about 50 cents more than the other 5 lb bags. They last almost long enough and we usually end up having some kind of apple dessert to finish them off.

re: the organic stuff tasting "yuck" -- there are some weird things out there! I buy regular old white and whole wheat flour, oats, lentils, dried beans, rice that are organic. As long as you buy the "normal" things like, say, kidney beans instead of some weird bean or regular rice instead of some unusual grain I bet they won't notice.

[Auspicious]

You're not alone, Robin. That's pretty much how we shop.

I'm sure we could get organic food--you can get pretty much anything in NYC if you're willing to A) go to five different specialty shops to seek it out and B) pay the hefty price. "Supermarkets" tend to be about a quarter of the size of a regular suburban supermarket and they don't even carry the same products from week to week. And cost of living is of course notoriously high in New York. Bottom line for us: shopping for groceries is a catch-as-catch-can experience for us already--adding organic as a requirement would probably break us.

[Rapunzel]

Robin - we just had mac and cheese for lunch!