if you buy your food at...

[sosurreal09]

if i buy all my fruits and veggies at a farm stand does that mean its organic? also if i buy meat from butcher shop does that mean its not processed? where do you buy non processed free range meat?
i dont trust super markets i read there is no guildlines legally for organic food so it can say its organic and completely not be...baby is starting solids soon and i dont want her to eat anything bad and i need to start eating better too. i really just found out the meat i have been buying is processed and chemically treated!!! having a heart attack over here lol

[rhiandmoi]

1. No. Conventional produce is also sold at produce stands. If you want organic look for for a certified organic supplier.

2. All "meat" is processed. That is how it turns from an animal into meat. Processing means removing the skin and hair and guts and then cutting it into meat.

3. You can purchase minimally processed meat from many different sources. Try eatwild or localharvest for a nearby source. Minimimally processed is not a legally defined term so you need to ask your source what they mean. Mine does not treat with any preservatives but does use chemicals to aid other processing steps such as removing the skin and hair and also sanitizing the outside of the carcass before processing.

4. Organic does have a legal standard. The use of the term Organic as a descriptor of commercially available food is regulated by the National Organic Program. Look for certified organic products if that matters to you.

[sosurreal09]

thank you

[Kelilah]

Lots of people who farm naturally don't get "organic" certification. The word "organic" has been hijacked by the government and big corporations that don't always honor the spirit of the term. Certainly look for organic certification if there's no other option (like in the supermarket), but I recommend building a relationship with your farmers and getting to know whether they spray, what they spray, how often they spray it, etc. They could be farming organically and just not bothering with the huge expense of certification.

For meat, you want to find 100% grassfed beef - it'll cost more, but it's worth it and you shouldn't be eating too much beef anyway. Chickens and eggs are often listed as "free-range," "cage-free," or "vegetarian diet" - these terms can be misleading, since the regulations for "free-ranging" are manipulated to such an extent that those birds are still kept in a tiny box crowded in too close together, and chickens are not actually meant to be vegetarians (they eat bugs, worms, dairy, a little meat, etc.). Of course that's still better than the 99-cent eggs that come from feedlot birds crammed into tiny cages with their beaks cut off, fed nothing but corn and cow manure... but what you really want with chicken and eggs is "pastured." This means they're actually outside, eating grass and bugs and the natural diet of chickens, getting all the beta carotene and other vitamins and minerals they need to make the meat and eggs healthy and delicious.

Also, look for a food co-op in your area. Most co-ops are fully organic and buy their produce from certified farms or from local farms that have allowed them to come out and witness their farming practices. My co-op doesn't have everything certified organic, but it's all naturally organic and I trust them to vet their sources.

I don't eat pork so I have nothing to offer there. But I hope that helps!

[sosurreal09]

that definately helps! idk if they have co-ops here i live in a dirty city lol but i will look and start asking more questions too!

[staceychev]

Just because you live in a dirty city doesn't mean that you can't get great produce! We lived in NYC for 6 years, and got great organic produce at grocery stores, farm markets, and a CSA when we lived there.

If you're interested in trying a CSA, you can take a look at the website www.localharvest.org to find one in your area.

[sosurreal09]

YOUR A LIFE SAVER! i found a few which really surprised me since we are in the slums lol

[staceychev]

I'm so glad you found some! It's been several years since I did a CSA, but my experience doing one in NYC totally changed the way my family ate permanently. I was introduced to so many new things that I never would have bought at the store.

[sosurreal09]

i dont know what CSA stands for lol but they only sell fruits and vegs or do they sell any meat? where can you buy free range meat and all that do you know?
does anyone eat pork? what should i look for in that?
i called the butcher shop they said they have nothing like that...go figure

[laohaire]

CSA = Community Supported Agriculture.

It basically is a coop system. You buy into a share of the season's produce.

Most CSAs are vegetable (and often fruit, especially in warm places) based, but there are meat CSAs. We have one locally, you can get, say, 20 chickens over the summer for one price, or a quarter cow for another price. But you don't need to join a CSA for meat, it's just a way to get meat in bulk.

Check www.localharvest.org and www.eatwild.com.

[laohaire]

As for what to look for ... depends on what's important to you.

Overall, I'd say that you want to be able to visit the farm.

See the animals. If you go during the day during the warm season, the animals should be out on pasture, not locked in a barn.

Joel Salatin says a big indicator is how pleasant the farm is. He says you don't need to be a farm expert to be able to tell if the farm is a nice place to be or not. A good farm is a place that you enjoy going to. You think "wow, I'd love to live here" or at least "oh, a beautiful place for a picnic." A factory farm is no place you want to go. 20,000 chickens shoved in a barn is no place you want to go. Cows grazing pasture and munching grass contentedly, chickens scratching for bugs and playing with each other, lambs with their mothers, that's where you want to go.

You decide how important organic is. Ask the farmer. You may decide that certified organic is not critical for you, or you might insist on it. Some farms practice organic but don't have the certificate. Other farms aren't organic but spray lightly and mindfully, only when they feel necessary.

[rhiandmoi]

Originally Posted by anielasmommy09

i dont know what CSA stands for lol but they only sell fruits and vegs or do they sell any meat? where can you buy free range meat and all that do you know?
does anyone eat pork? what should i look for in that?
i called the butcher shop they said they have nothing like that...go figure

CSA stands for community supported agriculture. The original model was that customers would buy in to the risk of the farm and reap the same reward as the grower. So they pay up front at the beginning of the season and prosper or perish along with the grower. There are still many CSA's that follow this model. Other CSA's that have either more opportunities to sell to non subscribers, or less risk due to the crop/location/other forces do shorter subscriptions or payment plans - and they retain more of the risk than the traditional model, but you are tied into that one grower.

There are also CSAs that operate as buying coops, where they aggregate the goods of several suppliers to make more of a catalog of offerings. In this model, the subscribers prepay to give the CSA available capital to move on good deals as they become available. You do weather the uncertainty of your supplier group, but it is not as severe as being tied in to one grower. My CSA aggregates for around 8 suppliers, but we haven't pre-paid any of those growers. We pay them as they provide product - but if they have none to sell us, we don't have any to buy. KWIM?

Anyway - my CSA does have a meat supplier in our group so I can purchase meat through them if I want to. I actually buy from that supplier, but directly though.

IME, finding a good source of meat is more dependent on how much storage space you have vs. where you live. I have almost no storage space, so I can't purchase a whole animal at a time. I have to get a little at a time. If you can buy a whole animal, it's easier. Check http://www.eatwild.com/ for a supplier that fits with you.

[sosurreal09]

thanks guys! i certainly dont have room for a 1/4 cow even lol i will check things out

[WorldsBestMom]

I would agree too that if your buying organic food more than likely it would have to be from some who is certified in that area and claims they only sell organic food in their shop. However some supermarkets some times separate organic food from the genetically modified types of food. The difference is organic food is more expensive.

[sosurreal09]

yea well i dont care about the certification just that its chemical free and natural