17 responses so far ↓

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  amandapanda1981 // February 5, 2010 at 8:01 am

  I personally don’t buy organic food on purpose. Sometimes it is cheaper (sounds weird!!) for me to buy organic and then I will buy it. LIke my huge tub of spinach from Sam’s club is organic and is under 4 bucks

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  Sara // February 5, 2010 at 9:08 am

  I had the same experience after seeing Food, Inc. last year. Reading Michael Pollan’s books, among others, has made me think really long and hard about where my food is coming from. I’ve switched to entirely locally-sourced chicken, beef, pork, and other meats. You can get all of that at Findlay, usually on the weekends, from specific stores/stalls. And frankly, it’s not all that more expensive. Pollan always raises a really interesting point though about the “expense” of buying local and/or organic foods. His contention is that if you are eating healthier, non-processed, non-mass-produced foods, you will very likely end up saving on various other aspects of your budget, like your health bills. Now I’m hardly in what anyone would consider “good” shape – I’m overweight for sure – but I think once I decided to choose healthier sources for my food, then I know what I’m putting in my mouth is not the problem (it’s how much I eat, how little I exercise, etc….which are all things I am working on improving — and are within my control).

  I’m getting off track…sorry!

  As for organic fruits and vegetables — there are plenty that many experts agree are not significantly healthier for you than conventionally raised. A general rule I’ve gone by is that if the produce has a skin of some sort that is not edible (onion, banana, avocado, etc.), then its organic status is less important to me than that of say a blueberry, grape, or carrot. If the fruit/veg has an inedible skin, then it may not be as susceptible to any chemicals. That’s not a hard and fast truism, and plenty of people may comment back that I’m off my rocker. But it’s something I consider — because like you, I simply can’t afford to get everything organic all the time. But it’s also not entirely necessary, either.

  I’ve been chatting about some of these same issues on my Foodstuffsnati blog — love to have you join in on those discussions too.

  Sara

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  nic. // February 5, 2010 at 9:08 am

  I, like you, by all fair-trade organic and mostly local animal products like chicken, meats, eggs. I belong to a co-op and know or have met the farmers who supply the meat. My favorite farmer even cuts up cow bones that she can’t use into discs that are sold (very cheap) as dog bones and my dog LOVES them. I try to buy Cascadian Farms when it comes to other products like yogurt and soy milk because I have read about the company and believe their practices to be inherently good.

  I think it’s important to think about where your food comes from.

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  Nikki // February 5, 2010 at 9:33 am

  I buy MOSTLY organic. I think the things I skip most though is cheese. Organic cheese is just so expensive and we really do consume quite a bit of cheese in our house. Chris still eats a fair amount of lunchmeat, and by nature it’s not really ever going to be organic. But going to the Farmer’s market is great. And buying my poultry and pork from Busch’s Country Corner (affectionately nicknamed “the chicken chicks” by some friends) and Eckerlin’s at our beloved Findlay is where I get most of my meat. I don’t think it’s totally organic either. But it’s local, grain fed meat and that’s a good tradeoff I think.

  I feel strongly about buying organic though. I’ve made some major adjustments in my budget to do it though. It’s quite an adjustment!

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  Leslie // February 5, 2010 at 10:17 am

  I have the same drama. Its so sad that its so cheap to buy gross fast food and its so expensive to eat fruits and veggies. I wish it were the other way around!

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  Emily // February 5, 2010 at 10:22 am

  Food Inc. flipped a switch for me. After watching it I had no interest in meat. That disinterest has turned into over 6 months of vegetarianism. I know a lot of people think they couldn’t do it, but it was much less of a struggle personally than I expected.

  Sometimes I think I would consider buying grass-fed organic meat, especially if it were locally raised. But I often worry the “organic” and “free range” labels are just marketing, and that it’s still mass-manufactured instead of raised humanely.

  Not buying meat gives me a lot more money in my budget for organics. I’m most concerned about eggs and dairy and buy organic produce about half of the time. Things with a tough skin like avocado and bananas I’ll buy non-organic, since they’re less susceptible to pesticides.

  Thanks for writing about this! It always make me really happy when people are paying attention to their food, since it’s not so common these days.

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  Hannah Hawley // February 5, 2010 at 10:41 am

  When you go to farmers markets, don’t just go with the ones who advertise organic either. Talk to the farmers. Sometimes they do everything organic but can’t afford to pay the fees to go through the testing and the application process to become certified.

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  Erin on the West Coast // February 5, 2010 at 11:41 am

  It’s easy where I live (Oregon) to buy organic, local, and fresh meat and veggies because farm-to-table dining is such a huge movement here. During the summer I shop at the farmers market or my friend’s gardens for veggies. I am part of a co-op for meat that is organic, so the freezer gets stocked up. During the winter I just buy a mix of organic/regular veggies and wait for summer again.

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  Rachel @ WOW // February 5, 2010 at 12:27 pm

  I don’t eat very much “real” meat any longer, but when I do I try to buy organic. As far as veggies & fruits go, I simply cannot afford it! They’re expensive enough as it is, and as long as I’m eating them I don’t think I can be terribly picky. I do eat organic yogurt, though.

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  Meg // February 5, 2010 at 1:09 pm

  I would love to buy all organic foods, but like you, I can’t always afford the higher prices! I just don’t see myself paying $8 for organic apples. I do, however, splurge on organic meat. It tastes better to me, and isn’t too terribly high in price compared to the regular stuff.

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  Minda // February 5, 2010 at 1:35 pm

  I haven’t watched Food, Inc. yet but I’ve been concerned about the food industry for a while based on things I’ve read. I’m just starting to find my way into the organic/local food world. I buy organic greek yogurt instead of Yoplait. I do buy some organic veggies at Kroger-mostly depending on what’s on sale. I’ve just learned of a local beef producer in my town who sells grass feed beef so I am taking a look at that.

  I tried going vegetarian back in the fall and actually made it ok for several weeks. It was hard because I missed things like chili with meat and bacon. Love bacon. Now, I eat a little meat each week but certainly not at every meal or even every day.

  I enjoyed this post and the comments because this is a topic that I’m very interested in at the moment.

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  Ali // February 5, 2010 at 3:35 pm

  I’ve been a vegan for a year (after losing 100 lbs.), so I try really hard to go organic and local too, but I am not made of money, so I make choices. I’d rather buy organic fruits and veggies that I know can be more easily penetrated with pesticides, like berries. But, I actually think buying local is more important than buying organic- the distance food travels is insane and most local farms try to be good to the environment. Good for you!

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  jensmith12 // February 5, 2010 at 4:14 pm

  I read an article in a magazine a little while ago about the top ten foods you should be buying organic, and I try to buy those as often as possible. Lettuce is a huge one for me. After reading about all of the pesticides and chemicals that are used and sprayed directly on the plants, I only buy organic lettuce. I’m slowly moving towards buying everything organic, but like you said it’s really expensive, and meat is the hardest one for me in terms of price.

  http://www.Ifyouhavetoask.wordpress.com

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  Rachel Palmieri // February 6, 2010 at 8:21 am

  I just started trying to incorporate “organic” foods into the grocery list…it IS expensive! I’ve been buying organic milk, cage-free/free-range/etc eggs, and some organic fruits and vegetables. “Organic” chicken is mighty expensive but I just bought a bunch when it was on sale. The skin rule for produce is a good one to follow. Eating local is a good rule to follow. Even following these types of rules sometimes is better than not following them at all! And I find that it’s often better to know the business practices than just blindly following the organic label (or lack of label) since that certification is expensive and hard to get (same goes with the “Fair Trade” certification).

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  Tina // February 6, 2010 at 12:05 pm

  Try Whole Foods. I find their meat most affordable and it’s usually local. Here’s a link about their standards for different types of meat:
  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/products/meat-quality-standards.php

  As for the other stuff:
  I typically purchase pure grains (often from the Whole Foods bulk bins) because it’s more affordable and there are fewer questionable ingredients than there are in box or canned mixes.

  Dairy: I’m fortunate enough to have a local farm that sells very affordable milk that is antibiotic and hormone free. (That’s more important to me than the “organic” label which usually means 90-95% organic unless specified otherwise.) I also get milk, half & half, yogurt and cheese from Trader Joe’s since they typically have antibiotic and hormone free dairy.

  Produce: It depends on the product. If it has a removable peel, I don’t worry too much. If it doesn’t, I try to buy organic. I’m fortunate to have a local supermarket (Wegman’s) that has offers low-cost organic produce (within 10-50 cents of the regular stuff). In the summer, I purchase a lot of produce from local farms which are typically cheaper and more likely to follow good farming practices and provide organic options. This summer, I’m signing up for a CSA at an organic farm.

  There’s a supermarket near me that has committed to providing more affordable organic produce (within 10 cents a pound of the regular stuff), so I do much of my shopping there. The problem for me is meat–but it’s not just an issue of organic. The questions we need to ask are:
  -is this grain fed or corn fed?
  -was this injected with antibiotics or hormones?
  -it says this is a product from a free-range chicken, but does that mean it’s still corn fed and shoved in a barn with a million other birds walking all over each other.

  For me, the most important thing right now is avoiding hormones and antibiotics in my animal products. One of the big chicken producers (Purdue maybe?) just started selling chicken that is hormone and antibiotic free. I also get much of my dairy from stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods where it’s easier to find antibiotic and hormone free food.

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  Ashley // February 6, 2010 at 11:53 pm

  I also think that local is more important than organic. In one of Micheal Pollen’s books, he points out that in most parts of the country being vegan is actually LESS environmentally friendly that eating meat because of the distance your food would have to travel for you to eat a balanced diet. I’m sure this isn’t true in like Southern California where many domestic fruits and veggies are grown, but it’s certainly true where I live. Also, I know this makes me sound like a big country redneck (which is admittedly how I grew up), but I eat a lot of game meat, particularly deer. I know some people have ethical problems with hunting but my family eats what we kill, and the meat is good, organic, leaner than beef, and a very cost effective.

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  Kimberly // February 7, 2010 at 11:30 pm

  I’m about half and half, organic vs. non organic. Like you, I can’t afford to buy EVERYTHING organic, so I pick and choose. Definitely meat and eggs, but also dairy products – milk and yogurt in particular – because I don’t want all the antibiotics and hormones they give to the cows to produce more milk. It’s tough, but I figure doing a little is better than doing nothing.

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