Help me remember - Why Organic??

[mandica]

I used to eat mostly vegetarian organic foods when I was single. I just felt best eating these foods and could afford it. DH is convinced we can't afford to eat organic foods and doesn't believe they are really 'organic' anyways.

He always says 'Pffft organic! What does that even mean!'

The sad part is that I can't even explain it well enough to have a solid arguement.

This has been okay in the last couple years, and I've been content to eat almost anything. But now that my daughter is approaching solids... I'm wondering: Should we go organic?

Are some products (like milk? or meats?) even more important to get organic?
Is it really worth the extra costs?

Help me out... How does your family decide what to buy organically?

[SweetSurrender]

I understand where you're at because I was there a few years ago. I had a sense we should do more organic and that it was better but couldn't really define what organic meant. over the last few years dh & I have read a lot and studied a lot and feel like we have a much better grasp on things. There are fairly strict federal guidelines as to what needs to take place for something to be labelled "organic". However if something says "made with organic _____" than it may contain only a small portion of organic ingredients as opposed to if it's labeled "certified organic". Having said that, even organic products can have questionable ingredients in them that as you become familiar with what is and is not ideal health-wise, you will be able to pick out. But all this takes time so don't fret too much since were all on a journey

I would recommend that you and your hubby watch "Food Inc" Together as a place to start. It's a well made documentary and it'll definitely get you thinking about where your food comes from if nothing else! For us, it made us realize that we were not comfortable buying conventional meat/dairy products anymore and that even if it meant eating a bit less meat, we would try to only buy organic for that. As for fruits & veggies, here is a very handy list of which produce is most important to buy organic and which doesn't matter as much (because it absorbs less pesticides than the others). Hope it helps! Another amazing book totally worth buying is Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. You can get it on Amazon fairly cheap. The first 50 pages or so break down all the different types of foods and the misconceptions we have been taught about many of them (such as "fats are bad" etc.) and the rest of the book is full of recipes to incorporate eating more foods prepared in a traditional way (as in before all the modern preservatives). Some of it takes a while to absorb but it's fascinating stuff!

[Ophelia]

I hear ya! Mine has said pretty much the same thing. Unfortunately, yes organic IS more expensive. It sucks, because I think if it was cheaper than a LOT more people would buy it and prices would go down. But I do understand it costs the farmers more to produce.

There are a few 'green baby' books out there that do emphasize feeding organic to kids to cut down on their toxic pesticide load. There's a study (studies?) out there somewhere that do say the chemicals and pesticides affect kids much more than adults. Also, when the FDA says things like 'X amount of this pesticide is the safe recommended level', they are talking about for someone who is an ADULT weight, not a child.
Another thing to remember is that some pesticides that are banned in the US, are used in other countries, and then the food from those countries is shipped here and sold in the stores. Crazy, huh? Legal, though unfortunately.

I have read from more than one source that meat/dairy is important to get organic.

DH used to really get on my case about organic, and still does sometimes because I have been laid off work and we really have to watch the $$. What I do to try and save $$:

-only buy organic produce when it's on the 'high chemical' list. Things that are high are apple, peach, pepper, etc. Onion and banana is low, so I don't usually buy those organic, or anything with a thick skin like melons and avocado.
-Look for coupons online (it is hard to find organic coupons)
-If you have a natural foods store or co-op near you, plan your shopping and bulk up on non-perishables that are on sale. Most co-ops have a member discount once per month, at least the ones around here do. I do my big shopping that once a month.
-try not to buy a lot of processed foods. The more meals and snacks you can make from scratch, the better. Organic ready-to-eat foods are expensive. As a time-saver, I cook the meals and sides once a week, using a crock-pot a lot.

ADHD/pesticide study: http://www.time.com/time/health/arti...989564,00.html

Books: Raising Baby Green
Green kids, sage families : the ultimate guide to raising your organic kids /
by Fassa, Lynda.

And yes, see if you can get him to watch Food, Inc. DH watched about 1/4 of it and wouldn't watch anymore. He acted like I was 'forcing' him to watch it

[tankgirl73]

Just another tip on how to save while eating organic --

Get fresh local foods in season, from a farmer's market or CSA. Get a lot, and freeze it (or can it, depending on what it is). At the height of the season is when it's cheapest.

Think of it as an investment in health. Not sure where you live, but if you have to pay for your own health care, then buying cheaper processed foods now means more health care bills in the future.

[mandica]

Wow! Thanks for the info. DH and I sat down this afternoon and watched Food Inc. Some really great info in there! Shocking!

I guess I won't know until later what kind of influence it will have on DH. THough he did have a few moments of "OMG!", so we will have to see. It may, at least convince him we need a chest freezer and a local half-cow pronto.

I found it pretty inspiring anyway.

I think I'll check out those green baby books at the library (hopefuly)

[SweetSurrender]

Originally Posted by mandica

Wow! Thanks for the info. DH and I sat down this afternoon and watched Food Inc. Some really great info in there! Shocking!

I guess I won't know until later what kind of influence it will have on DH. THough he did have a few moments of "OMG!", so we will have to see. It may, at least convince him we need a chest freezer and a local half-cow pronto.

I found it pretty inspiring anyway.

I think I'll check out those green baby books at the library (hopefuly)

That's awesome! Glad he was willing to watch it with you! We would also love to get a piece of a cow (local, grass fed, organic, humane,etc) but we don't have a deep freeze yet so we've been buying organic meet from the store for now. I hope to acquire us a deep freeze soon!