Post by pinkdutchtulips on Apr 24, 2017 11:00:06 GMT -5
No ... can't justify the markup
I rarely by produce at the grocery store, it's what farmers markets are for 😊 The ONLY time I bought organic was when dd went to WCM .. that lasted about 2 years.
Oh, I will say that I do buy locally most of the time. I live in the land of orchards, dairy farms, etc, so it's easy for me. My il's give us 18 eggs every week, honey, and meat (lamb and sometimes chicken).
Post by icedcoffee on Apr 24, 2017 11:35:01 GMT -5
Threads like this always make me feel like I am going to die tomorrow. I do my best within reason to be healthy and limit exposure to chemicals, but I am also very frugal and sometimes you need to clean with bleach. I also microwave my lunch in a plastic Tupperware quite often and sometimes consume aspartame. :-#
Post by textbookcase on Apr 24, 2017 11:35:18 GMT -5
I don't set out to buy organic but there are some products we like that are organic. I work in conventional ag and see the practice of "big organic" and can assure you all of the stuff on conventional produce is in the organic stuff you buy in the store.
I do buy from small organic family farms when I have the chance. I support small local farms who I know don't use pesticides and herbicides. I don't think chemicals on anything are good for anyone and would prefer to have everything herbicide and pesticide free. Organic from big stores is not "organic" in the way we think.
We just started buying more organic. We go to Costco since prices are fair. We buy organic eggs, milk and chicken. Several of Gs snacks are organic. I try and get organic fruit but will def buy non organic too.
I buy organic milk and meat, when I can. I used to buy organic produce for the most part, but our expenses are higher with this new house and adding a kid, so I can't really justify the cost anymore.
I always buy free range eggs, specifically from a local company that I know truly free ranges their chickens.
Post by cabbagecabbage on Apr 24, 2017 12:04:01 GMT -5
I buy organic dairy for the kids and lots or local products in summer at a farmers market (they aren't certified organic but they are local small farmers who either us organic practices or much less of the bad stuff) and we grow veggies ourselves. I rarely buy organic meat though. I would like to but our budget is pretty modest.
Yes. I always buy organic milk. I have two little boys who drink tons and do not need all the added hormones/antibiotics in it.
I try to buy the dirty dozen organically. It's not always available (I have NEVER seen organic nectarines in our store), but I get what I can. I have found that organic lettuce and spinach lasts 2-3x as long as the non-organic stuff, so it's well worth the extra cost to have less waste.
I get organic chicken and grass fed beef from Costco when I can't get it locally. I try not to buy pork/bacon/sausage because I have major issues with the pig-farm industry or whatever the proper terminology is. It's pretty gross.
I just wanted to say something about this. This is a huge, huge, huge misconception that has done real damage to the dairy industry. There are no antibiotics in milk whether you buy organic or conventional. All milk is tested before processing at a dairy plant and there are big fines for farms that send contaminated milk for processing. As far as hormones, all milk contains hormones so if that is a concern milk is probably not the best choice. If it's because of rBST, I don't know of any farms that use it anymore.
OK, I'll hop off my soapbox now. I don't really care what/how people choose to eat, I just wish that misconception would stop spreading.
Yes. I always buy organic milk. I have two little boys who drink tons and do not need all the added hormones/antibiotics in it.
I try to buy the dirty dozen organically. It's not always available (I have NEVER seen organic nectarines in our store), but I get what I can. I have found that organic lettuce and spinach lasts 2-3x as long as the non-organic stuff, so it's well worth the extra cost to have less waste.
I get organic chicken and grass fed beef from Costco when I can't get it locally. I try not to buy pork/bacon/sausage because I have major issues with the pig-farm industry or whatever the proper terminology is. It's pretty gross.
I just wanted to say something about this. This is a huge, huge, huge misconception that has done real damage to the dairy industry. There are no antibiotics in milk whether you buy organic or conventional. All milk is tested before processing at a dairy plant and there are big fines for farms that send contaminated milk for processing. As far as hormones, all milk contains hormones so if that is a concern milk is probably not the best choice. If it's because of rBST, I don't know of any farms that use it anymore.
OK, I'll hop off my soapbox now. I don't really care what/how people choose to eat, I just wish that misconception would stop spreading.
I really appreciate this clarification. I hate all the misinformation out there. I do my best to sift through it but obviously I bought in to this lie... Ugh Save
I used to buy mostly organic but cut back in the past year. I do only buy organic berries. I didn't realize apples were on the dirty dozen list, I'll start buying those organic since that's the only fruit David eats. Other than that we mainly eat broccoli, onions, cauliflower, lemons, bananas and spaghetti squash and I never buy those organic, no.
Before David's dairy allergy, I only bought him organic milk but now we're a milk-free family. I also used to buy organic meats but it's SOOOO expensive. I've started buying my meat from Sprouts. I don't buy the organic but their meat tastes way better than grocery store meat and it's the same price.
Post by goldengirlz on Apr 24, 2017 12:14:44 GMT -5
Not exclusively but a lot.
We get most of our produce and meat from farmer's markets, specialty grocers or Trader Joe's. We buy some mass market brands from Safeway but I'm also a huge proponent of supporting local brands and businesses (for instance, I buy Clover dairy products because the company is based in NorCal.)
Organic isn't supposed to make you healthier, per se, though it's become this health/how-much-do-you-love-your-children thing. It's actually about environmental sustainability. So I try to support that whole "know your farmer" ethos.
I don't set out to buy organic but there are some products we like that are organic. I work in conventional ag and see the practice of "big organic" and can assure you all of the stuff on conventional produce is in the organic stuff you buy in the store.
I do buy from small organic family farms when I have the chance. I support small local farms who I know don't use pesticides and herbicides. I don't think chemicals on anything are good for anyone and would prefer to have everything herbicide and pesticide free. Organic from big stores is not "organic" in the way we think.
Ditto. I previously studied/worked in the dairy industry and can assure you that both conventional and organic have their pros and cons. Neither is as perfect or as evil as the other side leads you to believe.
That said, I do my best to buy local to reduce our carbon footprints as much as possible. We are small farmers and try to support other small farmers in our area. We do a lot of bartering for what we need. We focus on sustainable farming practices, not necessarily organic. I believe in treating my animals with antibiotics if needed, but we do not use herbicides/pesticides. We rotationally graze our animals on awesome pasture, but also feed a conventional grain when needed to supplement.
I just wanted to say something about this. This is a huge, huge, huge misconception that has done real damage to the dairy industry. There are no antibiotics in milk whether you buy organic or conventional. All milk is tested before processing at a dairy plant and there are big fines for farms that send contaminated milk for processing. As far as hormones, all milk contains hormones so if that is a concern milk is probably not the best choice. If it's because of rBST, I don't know of any farms that use it anymore.
OK, I'll hop off my soapbox now. I don't really care what/how people choose to eat, I just wish that misconception would stop spreading.
I really appreciate this clarification. I hate all the misinformation out there. I do my best to sift through it but obviously I bought in to this lie... Ugh Save
No, its totally OK. Organic farmers need love too. I'm all about people eating and feeding their families whatever they want, but I just wanted to mention that.
It depends... for a while I tried, then I gave up on it completely. THEN recently I was reading about roundup again and began to panic a little so I started buying some stuff organic again especially things for the kids. I figure, they are young and there's still hope..
So I buy milk, cheese, yogurts for them organic, as well as their "crappy snack foods" - I buy organic cheddar bunnies and I try to buy organic bread most of the time, organic boxed mac n cheese.
Sometimes organic meat but not always, I try to buy the humanely raised meat and if I can get local for a reasonable price I will.
I struggle with some things though, like if blueberries are 2.99 and organic blueberries are 7.99 .. I just can't do it. But if it's 2.99 V 3.99 that's fine. So I suppose I go by how big the price difference is. My kids would eat those $8 blueberries in about one minute
I prefer local over organic, although it's a short growing season in the North East, off season I just buy whatever looks best. And we raise our own beef and lamb and buy our pork and chicken from friends. I'm hoping to get into freezing and canning more this year so I can hopefully be better this coming year
I try to for the "dirty dozen" - there are some that are non-negotiable, like I'll only buy organic strawberries. We buy organic milk, but I'm not freaking out of Ben drinks conventional milk at a restaurant. I often do for canned tomatoes, as they are more likely to have the BPA-free cans. I also do for things that are more likely to be GMO, like anything with soy. Again, I'm not freaked by GMO - I'm trying to support as much natural/organic farming practice as possible, and less DuPont/Monsanto/etc., and I guess this is the best way I know to do it.
I do try to buy meat and eggs from either local sources or organic from Costco/Trader Joe's. I avoid beef except in limited quantities because of the environmental impact of large scale beef production.
If you are a farmer or know of any in the Houston area let me know and I would be happy to support them!
I try to buy the dirty dozen organic and local as much as the budget allows.
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Local harvest.org is usually a good resource for finding smaller farms. Also, just asking around at your local farmers market. If someone is looking for something I don't have, I'm always happy to hook them up with someone who does.
I live in Michigan in a smaller metro area and the produce at the grocery store is disappointing most of the time. The organic berries at Meijer are usually old and nasty. If you have access to quality fresh produce (organic or non organic) year round, I'm major jealous.