avoiding nonorganic but still being polit - Page 3

[serenbat]

You many not think so, but that's what people are going to think/feel when you start tossing around phrases like "we happen to care...". A statement phrased in that way is a value judgement. 

with regards to what the OP asked - if someone who invited them to their house didn't get it - why even go? with potlucks - you often need to bring your own for your child regardless of it not being organic so that you child has things they will eat

I certainly would not even be friends with someone who didn't understand and respect "we happen to care"- I certainly would not be eating with them.

You should have people who respect the parents choice- we have no problem being with like minded people and having dinner with them-and their homegrown organics (food grown without pesticides) and we are not being judged nor are we judging their choice- since they happen to be in line with ours, IRL I find many in-line with the reasoning and doing exactly as we are.........I'm sure the OP can see how judgmental some can be at her choices and I'm sure the OP will see there are many people that are avoiding foods for various reasons 

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by serenbat 

 with potlucks - you often need to bring your own for your child regardless of it not being organic so that you child has things they will eat

Nope, I don't do that.  Now when I had a baby who was starting solids and the food was hot dogs and chips, sure I would.  Just the same as if I had an allergic child.  But I don't bring special foods for my kids.  They don't need it.

Now if I had a friend who served the cheapest, grossest food....(all froot punch, $.33 mac and cheese and the like)  I'd probably choose not to share a meal at their house again.  But I can't imagine telling them that I wasn't going to eat what they took the time and money to prepare.  That's not my idea of a good meal but it might be to them.

Our school had a free hot dog night.  The hot dogs were so disgusting....I'm shuddering about it just remembering....I really, really wish they would have gotten something decent, even in hot dog form.  I would never expect, however, for them to spend all kinds of money on "organic" hot dogs.

KWIM?

Serenbat, you're being mean.  Stop it.
 

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by Youngfrankenstein 

Nope, I don't do that.  Now when I had a baby who was starting solids and the food was hot dogs and chips, sure I would.  Just the same as if I had an allergic child.  But I don't bring special foods for my kids.  They don't need it.

Now if I had a friend who served the cheapest, grossest food....(all froot punch, $.33 mac and cheese and the like)  I'd probably choose not to share a meal at their house again.  But I can't imagine telling them that I wasn't going to eat what they took the time and money to prepare.  That's not my idea of a good meal but it might be to them.

Our school had a free hot dog night.  The hot dogs were so disgusting....I'm shuddering about it just remembering....I really, really wish they would have gotten something decent, even in hot dog form.  I would never expect, however, for them to spend all kinds of money on "organic" hot dogs.

KWIM?

Serenbat, you're being mean.  Stop it.

Completely agree here. 

[Imakcerka]

Maybe it gives her her morning pep.  I just told my sick kid to suck it up and go to school  Sounds mean... but when we got there it was obvious that it was a haven for disease.  Snot and coughing everywhere.  The teachers looked frightened!

 

Originally Posted by Youngfrankenstein 

Nope, I don't do that.  Now when I had a baby who was starting solids and the food was hot dogs and chips, sure I would.  Just the same as if I had an allergic child.  But I don't bring special foods for my kids.  They don't need it.

Now if I had a friend who served the cheapest, grossest food....(all froot punch, $.33 mac and cheese and the like)  I'd probably choose not to share a meal at their house again.  But I can't imagine telling them that I wasn't going to eat what they took the time and money to prepare.  That's not my idea of a good meal but it might be to them.

Our school had a free hot dog night.  The hot dogs were so disgusting....I'm shuddering about it just remembering....I really, really wish they would have gotten something decent, even in hot dog form.  I would never expect, however, for them to spend all kinds of money on "organic" hot dogs.

KWIM?

Serenbat, you're being mean.  Stop it.
 

And about the food.  I was once invited to someones place for dinner.  They were eating pork.  I don't do pork.  No reason other than the fact that it makes me gag and we always ate pork growing.  A slaughtered pig was cheaper than a cow.  :shudder:  And so that was the worst meal of my life.  The cruddy thing was, she didn't tell me what was for dinner just that she wanted to cook for me.  I ate the salad and dessert and she played HURT because I couldn't spoon her mushy pork shoulder into my hole.  Reminded me of when I was little and my dad stood over me forcing me to eat canned peas. 

[Katc8910]

Originally Posted by Imakcerka 

Serenbat... unless you're growing your own food you can't actually be sure it's 100% Organic.

OP, if you want to go 100% organic, be prepared to bring your own food.  Organic is expensive. 

I'm pretty sure that we're almost 100% organic b/c we make everything from scratch and don't buy any packaged/processed foods.  I know the farmers we buy our produce, meats and dairy from.  I freeze a lot of produce when in-season to use during the winter.  I supplement a bit during winter by buying through an organic co-op and occasionally buy organic produce from Whole Foods.  No, 100% is probably impossible, but you can get pretty close.
 

[Katc8910]

Wow.  I just read the entire thread and I'm sorry I replied at all and got involved.  What an angry exchange!  Ladies, aren't we here to support one another?  We all have different views and opinions and things that are important to us.  Let's be a little more respectful of each others' choices in life.  There is enough fighting and anger out there already.  We don't need it on this board too.  We all love our children and do what we feel is best for them.  But "best" means different things for every family. 

As for the OP's questions about refusing non-organics politely, I'm not sure that can be done based on your preference for organic only.  I kind of hide behind my and my DD's food sensitivities - this means that when I bring food for her when we go out no one is upset by it.  I usually bring something for me too, but will also eat some of what is served.  My husband just eats what's served.  I don't think you can expect others to provide organic food for you and I'm not sure that you can avoid offending someone if you bring your own food and not touch anything the host serves if you don't have allergies, sensitivies, religious beliefs, etc.  When I was vegetarian and vegan, I would simply avoid eating animal products and would usually bring a veg dish to share with everyone (but I would ask the host first if it was ok) so that the host didn't have to cook something vegan just for me.  It's not really the same with organic food though, no matter how strongly I feel about organic being best for my family. 

As for being 100% organic.  I think that at home we are as close to 100% organic as possible.  I don't find this difficult or very expensive.  We belong to a CSA, a co-op and also buy a lot of meats in bulk.  To be honest, I spend only a little more on food than non-organic friends b/c we save a lot by avoiding packaged and processed foods and by shopping in bulk (I think the additional cost to us is mostly due to our addiction to raw aged cheeses, which can be expensive).  By buying basic ingredients and making everything at home we save a lot of money.  We love to cook as a family so it's not nuisance for us - we find it fun, including our DD who loves to help.  Shopping is also not that time-consuming.  We are in a group that shares driving to a farm in a neighboring state to buy meats.  One family will drive every 2-3 months and pick up for the group.  We buy in bulk and keep things in a chest freezer.  Our dairy gets delivered to a local drop-off site and I pick it up once every 2 weeks.  Same for the co-op.  Our CSA produce box gets delievered to a local drop off site once per week and it happens to be a local health food store so I pick it up and get whatever else I need at the same time.  Honestly, I go to the supermarket maybe once every two weeks (I buy other household goods in bulk on-line).  We love shopping at our local farmers market every weekend in season.  The only time-consuming thing is freezing produce in season to use during winter.  But I love being able to eat sugar snap peas in the middle of winter!

As for pesticides being used on organic crops - yes, that's true for the majority of farms (although some of the farms we buy from are no-spray period), but these pesticides are far less dangerous than conventional pestices (I have an MS in a related field, worked for Extension Service, and now work with the farming community so I'm educated in this area and have the experience to back this up).  I realize others many do not share my views, but this is my personal belief based on lots of research, education and experience.  The food choices I make for my family are based on all of this.  It works for me and my family.  It may not work for others. 

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by Katc8910 

Wow.  I just read the entire thread and I'm sorry I replied at all and got involved.  What an angry exchange!  Ladies, aren't we here to support one another?  We all have different views and opinions and things that are important to us.  Let's be a little more respectful of each others' choices in life.  There is enough fighting and anger out there already.  We don't need it on this board too.  We all love our children and do what we feel is best for them.  But "best" means different things for every family.

But the point is that someone is telling us that we're feeding our children poison because we don't care enough about them to feed them all organic. 

THERE IS NO WAY TO BE PERFECT!

Whole Foods:  Tons of environmental concerns there even though organic

Local Foods:  We this is all well and dandy if you don't mind an incredibly limited diet

Also, it would cost more money and energy to keep a lemon tree alive in Iowa than it would be to ship one from Florida.  So no lemons unless you can grow them yourselves!!!

Organic: It's been touched on and I am by no means an expert, but often times, as has been pointed out in this thread, organic pesticides are just ones that were used 50 years ago.  KWIM?

I don't think anyone here was going to argue with the OP's desires.  That is why she came to ask the questions.  I felt she got some good answers. 

A certain person was rude and mean.

[Imakcerka]

Oh, Dear.  I am perfect.  Perfectly impossible!  
 

Originally Posted by Youngfrankenstein 

But the point is that someone is telling us that we're feeding our children poison because we don't care enough about them to feed them all organic. 

THERE IS NO WAY TO BE PERFECT!

Whole Foods:  Tons of environmental concerns there even though organic

Local Foods:  We this is all well and dandy if you don't mind an incredibly limited diet

Also, it would cost more money and energy to keep a lemon tree alive in Iowa than it would be to ship one from Florida.  So no lemons unless you can grow them yourselves!!!

Organic: It's been touched on and I am by no means an expert, but often times, as has been pointed out in this thread, organic pesticides are just ones that were used 50 years ago.  KWIM?

I don't think anyone here was going to argue with the OP's desires.  That is why she came to ask the questions.  I felt she got some good answers. 

A certain person was rude and mean.

[RStelle]

We feed our baby almost all organic food, and we just tell everyone, "oh, we only feed her organic food, so we brought some for her with us," it hasn't been a big deal. I think it's important not to be too obsessive about it, though. If we end up going out to eat or are at a friends house or something without bringing food for her we just make sure she gets something healthy and all natural. We would like to be all organic for us but it's too expensive, so we just focus on natural, whole foods and eat as much local and organic as we can afford. There are times when someone will offer me something that there is no way I'm going to eat, and then I will just say no thanks and explain that I don't eat that if they need an explanation. For example, my in-laws ONLY drink diet soda, they literally do not have anything else drinkable in the house, and I did have to tell them that I don't drink it, and I just bring a big jug of water with me when I go over.

edit: I just read this whole thread and, really, people, be nice to each other! It's a heated issue but you won't get anyone to agree with you by being rude. We're here to support each other, not tear each other apart.

[Youngfrankenstein]

Originally Posted by RStelle 

edit: I just read this whole thread and, really, people, be nice to each other! It's a heated issue but you won't get anyone to agree with you by being rude. We're here to support each other, not tear each other apart.

Can you and the other poster please point out what is rude?

[Imakcerka]

It was apposing views. 
 

Originally Posted by Youngfrankenstein 

Can you and the other poster please point out what is rude?

[kitchensqueen]

Originally Posted by Imakcerka 

It was apposing views. 

Yes, and for my part in the discussion I felt I was being quite tactful, considering. 

[Imakcerka]

I did too.

Originally Posted by kitchensqueen 

Yes, and for my part in the discussion I felt I was being quite tactful, considering. 

[Frostalina]

oh well I guess it sounds like some people thought I posted other responses in here but today is my first time reading any responses. i think maybe i could just secretly feed my daughter before we go someplace where i'm concerned about the food and then just let people think she doesn't eat much. this'll probably work while she is young to avoid some chemicals... and i'll try to memorize the dirty dozen and try not to have her eat those. and if at home we eat how i like, at least that reduces her exposure even if she does end up getting exposed to chemicals from food outside of home. i mean it seems like obviously the chemicals don't immediately cause harm so she should be ok (and we have to live in this world, we'll just do our best...)

[serenbat]

http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/food/pest.htm

oh well I guess it sounds like some people thought I posted other responses in here but today is my first time reading any responses. 

 (and we have to live in this world, we'll just do our best...)

IRL - do what you can live with  

[RStelle]

"Can you and the other poster please point out what is rude?"

That's not something I really want to get involved in but I'm sorry if I offended you.