Buying Organic

We def. only buy organic dairy and meat products. I do not want any more hormones in my body then necessary.

Which is really scary--google higher female birth rates. There are some areas where no male offspring are being born because of all the hormones in fish/meat/dairy products. IF I choose to have kids I'd like to still think there is a 50/50 chance.

[Vanquisher]

Buying Organic

Not to be contrary, and this is an old thread, but I really doubt the validity of higher female birth rates due to hormones in dairy and meat products. I don't think food hormones alter sperm differentiation, which is what determines sex.

Oh, and I still buy mostly, cheaper, inorganic.


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[Thirteen]

DH watched "King Corn" and "Food, Inc." on Saturday, by himself, and is now very wary of what we eat. We're already a little into organic produce, and we purchase organic dairy, so it just seems natural that the next step be organic or free range meat and poultry.
As a child, my diet was heavily supplemented with wild game, so maybe I can convince him to move "back yonder" so that will be a real possibility again.

Actually the changing of sex had to do with higher man-made chemicals http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007...er.sciencenews or check out this article as well
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/sc...n-1658981.html

Also check out article on the colorado river (i think, I know its a river in colorado) and Paris' Siene river, male fish are turning female because of the abundance of chemicals in the water-which lead me to believe it can happen to embroyos.

But basically my entire thesis was on community gardens, health, and organic eating, and I'd rather pay more now to avoid putting crap in my body. Food, Inc solidfied my thought process and made me happy to go organic. It almost made me go completely vegetarian for a while, but I love lamb to much to say no to meat.

And I must sign off with...I'm a little more environmentally conscience than the norm so I kind of take the scare tactic attack and scare myself into thinking the only way to eat is organic.

I only buy organic dairy products (because of the hormones in conventional) and also produce on the "dirty dozen" list--the most highly pesticided products, which include strawberries, peaches and spinach. I never eat anything on the dirty dozen list that's not organic. Produce such as broccoli, bananas and avocados don't have as many pesticides on them so I buy those conventional. I also only buy organic meats. I try to only buy organic frozen vegetables as well, and the rare times that I eat frozen entrees I make sure they're Amy's Organic brand. I also try to only buy organic soups--usually Amy's Organic. I also try to buy as many organic beverages as possible--orange juice, fruit juices, etc.

I also only use environmentally friendly cleaning products--Seventh Generation brand everything, which you can get at Target. I don't use any conventional cleaning products at all. Additionally, we only serve our cats premium and organic pet food.

I will say that our grocery bills are huge--we spend an average of $150 a week just for the two of us on groceries.

[SoonerTexan]

I realize this is old, but in case someone needs to justify buying organic milk, I've found that it seems to last A LOT longer than regular. Which is good, because we both only use milk for cereal and cooking, so we used to throw a good amount out. Also, Sprouts and Newflower Markets have great cheap organic selections.

[diggitydot]

I looove our local health food/hippie/organic store. It's the closest thing we have to a TJ's and it's the only place I can find all the bulk grains, lentils, and beans that we use all the flippin' time or a large variety of vegetarian foods for DD1. I'm not a zealot about things having to be organic, but I prefer them if there isn't a giant cost difference. And I like supporting small, local retailers.

The only thing I can't bring myself to do is buy organic milk for the whole family. We go through about 2 gallons of milk EVERY DAY. It's ridiculous the amount they blow through. For myself, I use organic goat milk as a substitute for creamer in my coffee. (All the mouth-feel of cream and far less fat and calories.) Once the kids and DH slow down their moo juice intake (or after he's in private practice and making the Dawkter Money) I'll reconsider it.

As for meat, we rarely eat it. When we do, I go out of my way to purchase from a local farm store (they have their own butcher) which sources their meats locally from farms that don't use hormones or antibiotics.

There are a couple small advantages to living in the middle of farm country.

[SoonerTexan]

For myself, I use organic goat milk as a substitute for creamer in my coffee. (All the mouth-feel of cream and far less fat and calories.)

We use to get this from friends who had goats back when I was in high school. My brother called it "a meal in a glass" and loved it.

[diggitydot]

We use to get this from friends who had goats back when I was in high school. My brother called it "a meal in a glass" and loved it.

Heh. Everyone thinks I'm nuts, but it's REALLY good. I add a little agave nectar or organic sugar and it's perfect in my ridiculously strong morning coffee.

[ides]

Buying Organic

I would love to buy all local & organic. I get what I can but mostly can't afford much. TJs really helps a ton but moneys too tight to go full fledge. We get organic yogert cause the kind we like happens to be but the rest of our dairy is conventional. O doesn't like milk, but we do eat a fair amount of cheese. I try to not think about it too much.

[Vishenka69]

I still don't bother with organic, even for DD's food. Although I do try and stick to local produce/meat/dairy as much as possible. I figure that supporting local farmers is probably better than organic ones in other states. Plus since produce and meat is never frozen or shipped, it's less likely to be treated with extra chemicals. That's my logic and I'm sticking to it.

[Thirteen]

Being a "localvore" is a great thing to do, Vishenka!
Being in CA, we're just lucky that we could do local and organic together, without really breaking the bank.

I still don't bother with organic, even for DD's food. Although I do try and stick to local produce/meat/dairy as much as possible. I figure that supporting local farmers is probably better than organic ones in other states. Plus since produce and meat is never frozen or shipped, it's less likely to be treated with extra chemicals. That's my logic and I'm sticking to it.

Plus, a lot of your small, local farmers probably have generally organic practices, but cannot call themselves organic for one reason or another. Being truly organic has to happen over the course of several years, and one difference in the required methods and you're not allowed to claim it. I'm more for sticking with local "real" farms, rather than the mega farm type stuff.

[spotty_dog]

I have an app on my iPod to remind me of the Dirty Dozen when I'm shopping, though I don't buy much produce during the main growing season (OMG we have broccoli and beets coming out our ears right now!) I also have an app for the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch for sustainable seafood. I like to buy milk and cheese from the creamery about 70 miles away (not organic certified because they disagree with some practices; they use low-temp pasteurization and don't homogenize), 100% grassfed beef and naturally raised pork from the beef ranch about 10 miles away, and chicken processed about 60 miles away -- it's a big operation drawing from several farms, but all are relatively local, and I try to choose the free-range chicken. I don't pay more than $5/pound for meat, so I look for the tougher cuts and slow-cook them.

I *love* supporting my local farmers, my neighbors' egg stands, and harvesting my own veggies. It happens that my favorite egg stand uses organic feed and my favorite farm stand is certified organic, but that doesn't matter as much to me as the local touch and the connection to the land and the people who do the growing.

If you can buy it at Target, IMO, then it's pretty conventional. You can lessen your exposure to chemicals and the impact on the environment (for example, from manufacturing) by doing it the old fashioned way: vinegar, baking soda, and elbow grease. Also, "premium" is one of those words that just serves as a marketing ploy and doesn't actually mean anything because it's not regulated/defined by the FDA or USDA like "natural", so don't necessarily assume that premium = better.

Seventh Generation is the best known organic cleaning supply line, and it's sold at Whole Foods but also at Target. We do use a lot of the old fashioned cleaning products, like baking soda, but buy Seventh Generation stuff for the dishwasher and laundry detergent.

In terms of pet food, by premium I mean the pet foods that have whole ingredients in their product, such as "chicken" and not "chicken byproducts" and that don't put in a lot of crap additives. We buy the "protein" food that doesn't have grain or carbs in it. Every ingredient on the label is recognizable (chicken, carrots, cranberries) in the kind of "premium" pet food we buy, which makes me feel better.