[melissel]

I mean, outside of the dreaded Horizon, of course. (I'm still so bummed about that, we go through SO much of their American cheese each week.)

For example, our grocery store has their brand of organic, cage-free eggs on sale this week for $2.99. That's the best price outside of Costco around here, but I wonder about the source. They also have Crystal Valley organic burgers on sale, 2 lbs for $7. It's such a good price, it makes me wonder. And then there's wondering who Costco's source is for their milk and eggs.

I don't know, is there ever really a way to know if you're truly getting what you pay for, or is it a "lesser of two evils" kind of thing?

 

[Pinky Tuscadero]

I don't have a good answer for you. I wonder the same thing myself.
I do know that "cage free" doesn't mean much so don't pay too much for those. It just means they are not in cages, nothing more. It implies that they are free to roam around, maybe even venture outdoors. Unfortunately, I get the feeling it just means crowded into a barn with a million other chickens. A small improvement, I guess.

 

[daisymommy]

Does this mean that Costco has their own brand of organics? If so, I'm SO EXCITED! We have a Costco being built near us, and the only other organic brand here is Horizon--UGH.

 

[wurzelkind]

Yes, I do. Because if it wasen't for the store brands we could never afford to buy 80% of our groceries organic. Plus the european guidlines for organics are far more strict than the US ones.
I get organic dairy and produce at my favorite supermarket, ALDI here in Germany sells several organic things (today I got red and green grapes, tomatoes, carotts, blueberries but they also have bananas, salad, stone fruits, apples, soy milk, frozen veggies and bread) and I have a huge drugstore that I dearly love and that co-operates w/a large organic supermarket chain. The sell lots of dry goods as well as baby food, juices and shelf-stable milk at that drugstore and most grain products and baby food are not only organic but bio-dynamic!

And I

: that all those store brands enable me to provide my family w/healthy and whole foods

 

[avendesora]

Check out this link. It rates the different organic milk dairies. You'll see that Costco, and many other store brands, is only moderately better than Horizon. However, I'd still say that Costco's organic milk is a better choice than non-organic, if that's all that's available or all that your budget will allow.

Aven