Hi,
whatr are the top reasons for you to go organic?? of course I iknow organic is the way to go, however it is soo extremely expensive esp. for a large family that I need some very good reasons for it, or maybe which foods should definetly be prefered organic.
Any tips on where to shop or how to shor are welcome too :)
Thank you!!
I am happy you agree it is the way to go! http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-food Here is a video, does NOT cover all the reasons, not even close, but you will find it very informative.
First off, organic foods have higher nutrient content that conventional. They are better for you because the animals are not given antibiotics http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/the_truth_about_antibiotics_your_food/ (this link does not mention that the antibiotics are transferred through the meat or milk or egg and it goes into your body too!!), growth hormones, not fed food with pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, or fungicides(which also pollutes the earth so you are helping cut down on that too!), live in more humane environments, and are not fed genetically modified crops which are HORRIBLE, please watch video for more info, and here are some links for you too http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/are_your_kids_allergic_to_food_or_whats_in_it/
http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Safety/gmo/dangerous_toxins_from_genetically_modified_plants_0527110452.html The movie Food, Inc also has more info on the food system, you can rent it, watch it on Netflix, or buy it on ebay for cheap. With crops such as fruits and veggies and grain- these are not treated with pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, or fungicides so they do not get into your body from you eating it (even if you wash them, they are still inside the product itself because that product was grown in soil saturated with that crap).
Here is a list of produce to buy organic, and those that you dont need to worry about as much, although especially for nutrient content reasons, I always buy organic http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/
Also, this list only addresses pesticides, you can bet that the soil is still saturated with at least synthetic fertilizers and herbicides...
Anyway, another reason is that organic food has no harmful preservatives or food colorings, here is more info on colorings http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/when_food_dyes_color_our_childs_behavior/
And
And, organic flour and sugar have not been bleached, grass fed animals produce leaner products with more good fats and better flavor (meat, eggs, etc. Just because its organic does not mean grass fed, you have to check packaging, if it does not specify, ask). Often, the "vitamins" you see on an ingredient label for, say, flour, are synthetic chemical isolates that do your body no good. In conventional food, these are often from GMO sources. Also, organic food oftentimes is made by a company who is more concious about making sure the packaging is healthy and environmentally friendly (such as Stonyfield organic yogurt)
Ok, so how to make this more affordable? I ask my local grocery store to order me in cases of organic butter, and then I talk them down on the case price (talk to a manager), and I freeze the butter. I get it for $4/lb, the shelf price is $4.89, maybe you can do better where you live, I live in a small town. I also order cases of other things like cheese that I can freeze. Also, there is a local family who has raw goats milk that I buy for 3.50/gallon which is much cheaper than store bought organic milk and MUCH healthier!! I get WIC benefits who allows organic milk so I would get it free anyway (not enough of it tho), but I would never feed pasturized homogenized milk to my kids so I buy raw.
I buy grass fed beef from a local family who raises it, it is cheapest when you buy a whole cow, but they sell it pretty cheap by the lb too.
Here is one of my favorite sites to buy organic from http://www.vitacost.com/
I buy things like organic pickles (the ones at the store have food colorings!), organic nuts, mac and cheese, dried fruit, pasta, Redmonds Real salt, granola bars, vitamins, probiotics, etc. Sign up for their emails and they have sales quite often. I also order some stuff including pancake mix from Alice.com they will put a $10 credit on your account for practically no reason if you email them with a complaint so I do that often lol.
All I can say I guess is just check prices online, compare to the store if it is available. You can always talk to a store manager and ask for a discount on whatever it is you want to buy, even produce. Buying in bulk is helpful, usually you can get a 15% discount or more off the shelf price by asking, they will only offer you 10% but work on them! Health food stores will do it too.
Go to local farmers markets, ask if they spray or dust their plants with anything. This is also a good place to look for raw milk because if you find someone who is in to natural living such as someone who does not treat their crops with anything because they believe it is unhealthy or someone who sells grass fed animal products, they might know of someone who sells raw milk, just ask. People who sell raw milk sometimes make their own butter, cheese, yogurt, etc too so you might be able to get that which is healthier and often cheaper.
There is this site, if you live on their delivery route. I have heard of other similar sites that deliver to diff areas but I dont know what they are, maybe ask in the finding your tribe section on mdc http://www.azurestandard.com/
Their stuff is pretty reasonable.
Also you can write to companies of organic products and ask for coupons, samples, etc.
Good luck!
Oh dear thank you so much for taking this much time to answer with a lot of detail I am certainly gonna look in to everything you recommended :)
I forgot to mention that organic products have no dangerous articifial sweetners:)
Here are a few more links I found http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/making_organic_meat_more_affordable/
http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home - This does NOT show everything available in a given area I can guarantee it, but it is a good place to start. Also, local farmers that are listed may know of others who are not who sell other things.
Here is another good video to watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvzDHGLEUyw&feature=watch-now-button&wide=1
When ordering from anywhere online, google the sites name followed by the words Coupon Code and sometimes you'll find one. Make sure to sign up for the sites newsletters/emails before ordering so you will be informed of any discounts, sometimes they will send you a discount code just for signing up for their emails. You can also email the sites customer service and ask for a discount code, and ask where/how you can find out about promotions that are going on. I mentioned vitacost.com, sign up for their emails. They often have some kind of 10% off sale, sometimes site wide, sometimes on grocery items, etc.
I just went to Walmart today for the first time in a long time, and saw that the cheapest gallon of milk was $3.68, so my goats milk beats even the cheapest store milk:) And it is a million times healthier. I also feel better because I am creating NO waste by drinking the goats milk. I bought 2 half gallon glass jars and the people deliver it to my house in glass jars which I then pour into my glass jars. My family is not being exposed to plastic in this way(it is common that chemicals from plastic leach into whatever is inside), and I am not creating any plastic waste and am not supporting the practice of animal abuse as is common in dairys, and not supporting plastic production:)
I really think you can do it, Claudi! We are on a tight budget as well. I do not buy absolutely everything organic, because there are some veggies in particular that I cannot find organic most of the year. Sometimes I run out of grass-fed meat, which I order online, and buy conventional at the grocery. But we eat almost everything organic.
My top reasons are: no poisonous/carcinogenic pesticides, no hormones, no HFCS or artificial sweeteners (though you have to read the ingredients, organic does not mean healthy, and agave syrup and vegetable oils are often certified organic but I consider them to be highly processed and to be avoided), less food additives and preservatives (because most cannot be certified organic), and...tastes better, usually! Not always, some organic fruits and veggies at the supermarket are shipped from really far away - super non-local - and taste like it. In the summer I buy local conventional peaches, nectarines, and plums.
Some of the things we do to reduce costs: make more things from scratch (bread, cookies, granola), because boxed versions are usually marked way up; meal plan - you probably know that already but it really cuts down on how much you buy; eat smaller portions of meat; share a CSA box with friends or family; buy a few things in bulk (from bulk bins or warehouse clubs); eat seasonally (we are not strict on this though, just no strawberries in the middle of winter, that kind of thing). I never thought of myself as a "brand loyal" shopper but there are actually few companies that I buy from, so I made a list of those, as well as the stores I buy from, and search for coupons online at their websites before food shopping. The real answer, though, is that we have decided as a family to spend more on food than we might otherwise. We live in the US right now and food here is extremely cheap. People cannot believe how much I choose to pay per pound for, say, ground beef. But I do not consider the super cheap supermarket ground beef a good option. So I accept that what I pay is the price for beef. I believe there is a hidden health and ethical cost to food that has been deeply commodified. So, though we don't have so much, we invest in our food. We buy few clothes, shoes, entertainment, toys, books, etc. Obviously, if I had to choose between organic tomatoes and buying DS shoes that he needed, I would buy the shoes. I think a good general rule is to buy the best quality food you can afford, and not worry too much! You could always start with the "Dirty Dozen" fruits and vegetables and grow from there. You don't have to make the switch all at once - add something new to your food plan each month and decide where you'd like to be a year from now, say, at the end of next summer. Wishing you luck!
Wow, lots of great information!
I think that if you start, and do whatever you can, it's great. I don't eat a 100% organic mainly due to availability and cost. I do have some personal rules that I use to decide when to buy organic and when I won't, mostly based on the price difference, the kind of food and it's availability. I am absolutely inflexible about my meat, I won't buy standard meat anymore at all. It is more expensive, but my family doesn't exactly eat prime rib everynight... 
I like the suggestion about talking to your grocery manager. Also, you may want to consider what co-ops or food boxes are available in your neighbourhood, and right now is the time of the year when I buy... say a bushell of peas, blanch and freeze them for using over the winter. It's less expensive than frozen organic store bought peas, and taste so yum!
wow thanks you all...I usually bought Milk and eggs, bananas, organic as I noticed an extreme difference in the product consistence, taste and look. The other organic products I purchsed were more to deals or sales as of any particular reasons. So far I have not been able to get myself to buy organic meats as I can not afford it esp. with my husband eating so much ...ugh...but I also plan on finding a farmer or see our next farmers market....:)
There is a family in my area who raises grass fed beef with no added anything and their meat is slightly more expensive per lb than if you bought a whole beef from a farmer who's cows are in a feed lot. But, it is WAY cheaper than buying beef in the store for $10+ per lb for steaks and such. It is around $2.50/lb for all the meat including all the steaks and everything, so much cheaper when you buy a whole beef or even a half. Another thing to look into would be goat meat. I have never actually tried it, but it is very popular around the world except the US, and i have heard it is cheaper. What did you think of the videos and links that I gave you? If you need more info or have any questions please ask!!
Cant believe that I forgot to mention to check with your local hutterite and/or Amish. They will have meats, milk, produce, wool, breads, etc oftentimes. Be sure to ask about their practices, because all the colonies have different values, and I have heard from others (I have not heard this from any of the hutterites themselves) that some of the colonies use things like antibiotics with their animals, some spray their crops, etc, so just ask, and if they say no, then you are good! And make sure their chicken, turkey, etc have outdoor access and get to eat lots of grass and bugs!
Learn about your local, smaller food producers. Some of them are pretty darn close to organic or ARE organic but can't afford the certification or choose not to do it. I found a local dairy farm that is not certified organic, but I am confident in their practices. It saves us a lot of money, because they're not charging for the "organic" label. But we know there's no antibiotics going into the cows, they're pasture-fed, farmer uses sound close-to-organic farming practices etc.
I agree with everyone else although I find it challenging to get organic due to the prices and location (I find I have to go to different places). I would also suggest growing some of your own fruit and vegetables if possible. If you do get netflix I would also suggest watching "Fat Sick and Nearly Dead" its about juicing but I think the main point is that eating mostly fruits and vegetables can make you healthier, thus lowering any preventable conditions or diseases later on and then reducing medical costs. Netlix also has many other documentaries in that general direction. I also watched Food, Inc which also started more a healthier lifestyle for me, and that lead to learning about the Gerson's (Max and Charlotte, and their ways to heal yourself from cancer and also preventative ways).
If you have time I would also recommend reading Fast Food Nation. I have also read "Healing the Gerson Way" that is very informative as well as to why you should eat organic.
PP, my second post in this thread mentions a video that is about exactly what you are talking about! It talks about juicing, the Gersons, and other things as well. And it is on Youtube for those of you who do not have Netflix!
Our family has been primarily organic for 5 years or so, and got even more strict about it since we got pregnant in april '09. One thing I can tell you is that it seems to be a lot easier now than it was when we got started. We used to just get blank stares from grocery managers. Now there is a growing awareness, and a lot of stores will order something for you if you say you can get it at a competitor. That said, it still takes a lot of vigilance to eat your best, when we're all surrounded by so much junk, and so many companies are trying to cash in on the market by greenwashing their products. Our reasons were to avoid the pesticides, hormones, antibiotics that lace conventional food. On a conventional feedlot, animals undergo so much stress and overcrowding, and are fed such things as chicken litter, sewer sludge, other animal parts, and animal blood (I wish I was making this up). Because of this, CFOs (confined feeding operations) argue that they have to treat the animals with antibiotics, hormones and vaccines, otherwise they get sick. They get sick because of how they are being treated-like walking meat! Furthermore, the drugs wash off the feedlots into our rivers and oceans and cause major havoc and ecological disruptions. The same is true for the pesticides and fertilizers used to grow the conventional mono-crops that provide most conventional produce. So buying organic is not just about you and your health, it's also about what's best for the Earth.
Now, for tips to make it affordable, a lot of it for us has been about adjusting our palates. Some things are always available organic, and for not much more than conventional prices, so I've learned to make as many recipes as I can from those foods without letting it get boring. Onions, potatoes, celery and carrots are almost always cheap when you buy a bagful. So I'll make a big batch of potato soup, or when broccoli goes on sale I'll make broccoli cheese soup, and freeze servings for later. Or add tomatoes and beef and you have a stew. Organic pasta is still inexpensive, and you can saute in olive oil whatever veggies you have around and pour half a pint of heavy cream and some parmesan over them to make an awesome alfredo type dish. I've learned how to make hummus and lots of bean, rice or couscous salads. The point is that you may have to adjust your eating habits slightly to afford eating organic exclusively. Eating lots of boxed, prepared, or frozen organic dishes will get expensive pretty fast. But if you buy real, whole food, esp. in bulk and do your cooking from scratch when you can, you can actually manage it pretty reasonably. I love to cook with friends, too, to spread out the investment and the reward by making several meals with common ingredients in bulk, and then everyone gets a little of everything.
Farmer's markets are great if you have a good one, although I always feel awkward about asking the organic question there. It's not legal for growers to advertise their produce as organic unless they are certified, if they sell over $600 a year of all products. Many farmers will tell you they use only products approved for organic production, or that they do not spray with chemical pesticides or insecticides, etc. Then you just have to take their word for it. One way to save money at a farmer's market is to shop with a friend or three and haggle/buy in bulk. You sometimes can get much better deals if you show up at the end of the market, though you may have to ask for them, and you'll risk missing out on whatever's in short supply.
We have a small garden, about 20x30 feet, in the back yard where we grow spinach and lettuce, peas, and turnip, mustard, collards and kale greens, cucumbers, and tomatoes, peppers and green beans. We have a small strawberry patch, and some years we do broccoli and potatoes, black beans and soy beans, melons or eggplant. It sounds like a lot of work, but once you put a few full days in in the spring, we literally only spend two hours or less a week out there. This summer we are even growing spinach and lettuce indoors. It's amazing what you can grow in that little amount of space, and we could even do much more, if I was able to spend more time out there.
Sorry if that was too much, but I get excited about food. 8)
A lot of people comment that organic is expensive (and it is more expensive relative to non-organic) but I sometimes think the cost difference is overblown. Part of what you need to do is re-think the way you eat not just in terms of organic vs. non-organic, but really going to whole foods (the foods, not the store :) ) If you can carve out more time for food preparation and cooking, eating whole, organic locally produced foods doesn't have to be an enormous increase in your budget, because at the same time you are giving up all the convenience food (frozen, packaged, deli prepared, etc) that might have been a part of your meals. Those are the things that are really expensive, realtive to the nutritional value they provide. People always say that stores like Whole Foods are expensive. Whole Foods is expensive, but the most expensive items in the store are the things that are prepared foods, gourmet foodie sort of things that you really can ignore. Stick with just whole foods - produce, milk, meat, eggs and the costs are actually not that much more than a typical grocery store. Organic produce organic products are actually less expensive at Whole Foods than they are at a regular grocery store. I've comparisoned shopped and found this to be universally true. Grocery stores hugely mark up organic products - much more than Whole Foods does. So, it's worth a trip to WF (or another store like it, like a Co-Op) to buy organic because you definitely don't want to buy organic at a standard grocery store.
Some people like Trader Joe's, but I don't think they offer enough organic to make it worth the trip. If you have one close by, it's worth it to pick up a few things. So much of their packaged food is made in China though and really not very healthy. They do have some good cheese (and wine!) and some organic dried fruit and nuts. I really like the farmer's market as another option if that is something you have near you. I buy almost half of my groceries at the farmer's market and the co-op.
Organic and grass fed/grass finished meat is definitely where you'll notice the big price increase. But, it's also where the difference is the most important. If the meat seems expensive, try cutting back and eating less, but getting the organic and grass fed/pastured meat. Sometimes it helps to step back and adjust your perspective as well and think about the costs in relation to other budget items in the household. If you're like most people, who are already tightly budgeted, and I know it's not easy to just "find other areas to cut back". But sometimes I am surprised that people balk at paying a dollar or two more for organic meat when they easily drop $3 at Starbucks. I got rid of cable and TV saving $100 a month because i wanted to put more money into the food budget for my family. Some people couldn't imagine giving up cable but they think it's insane to buy organic blueberries when you could get the non-organic kind for $1 less a pint! It just comes down to what you value and while there may not be a ton of wiggle room in the budget, there usually is room for trade-offs :)
Excellent points! Actually in the small town where I live, Albertsons doesnt mark up organic stuff too bad, its pretty reasonable. We dont have a Whole Foods store or anything like that tho. Guess it just depends on where you live!
When I was a kid my parents would shut off our satellite TV every summer($60 a month), and we never had a computer til I was 13(this was only 7 years ago, so I'm not talking about in the 80's when computers were uncommon:)
I dont know if this is a strange way to save money, but we dont water our yard(or waste our money on spraying it with chemicals). Our neighbors all have $200 water bills, and ours is still around $60 like the rest of the year, even though we water our garden, its pretty small though. We do have a giant shade tree though, but most of our neighbors do too.... Anyway, our yard is not totally green like theirs, but it is mostly green and it does not look too bad. I would rather have a brown yard and a healthy family and planet earth!!
A lot of people comment that organic is expensive (and it is more expensive relative to non-organic) but I sometimes think the cost difference is overblown. Part of what you need to do is re-think the way you eat not just in terms of organic vs. non-organic, but really going to whole foods (the foods, not the store :) ) If you can carve out more time for food preparation and cooking, eating whole, organic locally produced foods doesn't have to be an enormous increase in your budget, because at the same time you are giving up all the convenience food (frozen, packaged, deli prepared, etc) that might have been a part of your meals. Those are the things that are really expensive, realtive to the nutritional value they provide. People always say that stores like Whole Foods are expensive. Whole Foods is expensive, but the most expensive items in the store are the things that are prepared foods, gourmet foodie sort of things that you really can ignore. Stick with just whole foods - produce, milk, meat, eggs and the costs are actually not that much more than a typical grocery store. Organic produce organic products are actually less expensive at Whole Foods than they are at a regular grocery store. I've comparisoned shopped and found this to be universally true. Grocery stores hugely mark up organic products - much more than Whole Foods does. So, it's worth a trip to WF (or another store like it, like a Co-Op) to buy organic because you definitely don't want to buy organic at a standard grocery store.
Some people like Trader Joe's, but I don't think they offer enough organic to make it worth the trip. If you have one close by, it's worth it to pick up a few things. So much of their packaged food is made in China though and really not very healthy. They do have some good cheese (and wine!) and some organic dried fruit and nuts. I really like the farmer's market as another option if that is something you have near you. I buy almost half of my groceries at the farmer's market and the co-op.
Organic and grass fed/grass finished meat is definitely where you'll notice the big price increase. But, it's also where the difference is the most important. If the meat seems expensive, try cutting back and eating less, but getting the organic and grass fed/pastured meat. Sometimes it helps to step back and adjust your perspective as well and think about the costs in relation to other budget items in the household. If you're like most people, who are already tightly budgeted, and I know it's not easy to just "find other areas to cut back". But sometimes I am surprised that people balk at paying a dollar or two more for organic meat when they easily drop $3 at Starbucks. I got rid of cable and TV saving $100 a month because i wanted to put more money into the food budget for my family. Some people couldn't imagine giving up cable but they think it's insane to buy organic blueberries when you could get the non-organic kind for $1 less a pint! It just comes down to what you value and while there may not be a ton of wiggle room in the budget, there usually is room for trade-offs :)
for me, eating local is a bit more important than eating organic. So, the cheapest route for me is my own garden (modest, in my side yard) and next the farmer's market. After that there is a small health-minded grocery store that is much much cheaper than Whole Foods and has a lot of local produce. Eating less meat will help keep costs down, too. I also found a local lady who sells eggs from her own free-range hens for $4 for 18. That is a great deal! You can also get a lot of great nutrition and stretch your food budget by using a lot of dried beans and legumes. The aforementioned grocery store has a lot of bulk dried items like beans and seeds and nuts, and while a lot of them are not organic, they are still very healthful.
For meat, I invested in an extra freezer and go in on purchasing a side of beef with a friend. The up front cost is high, but the per-lb price is great. I end up spending under $5/lb for 100% grass-fed beef.
Hope that helps some!
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For meat, I invested in an extra freezer and go in on purchasing a side of beef with a friend. The up front cost is high, but the per-lb price is great. I end up spending under $5/lb for 100% grass-fed beef.
Same here! I agree completely! And eggs are very good for you, they are cheap, filling, easy to get local(usually), and if the farmer chooses, easy to be free range/grass fed which is organic as long as they dont spray their fields with anything. They are a must have in our house, we go through 5 eggs a day on a typical day:) I get them for $2.50 for 18 and they are free range, but unfortunatly the farmer also gives them pellets but it is not their main food source so I am hoping that they eat the vegetation and bugs more than the pellets.
I heard about this new organic food program thing that is coming out the end of this month! Please everyone read this short article that explains what it is about, it makes so much sense! http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_23769.cfm
I'm signing up to get the first year membership free. Click the link at the end of the article and you can too! It is supposed to be very affordable and have organic and non-GMO products.
Here is my referral link, I think it is supposed to benefit us both if you sign up through someone else's link? I dont really know, I just signed up lol but I guess its worth a try:) http://www.greenpolkadotbox.com/invite/5818/
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