Organic food

yikes more reasons not to eat animals.

 

^ ditto, sweets. eek...

I try to buy everything that I can organic...veg, fruits, grains, etc...and I try to by fair trade teas, chocolate, etc, which is quite often organic.
in the states though, it's obscene that they would pass such laws...wow. I guess I should try to stay better informed about such things.

 

I do my best but you have to be careful, as there are many loopholes companies use to label their products organic when a lot aren't.

I personally do not have a problem with GMF (genetically modified foods). Unlike what most people are protesting about, I do believe they do and will help out the hunger issues around the world. Fruits/Veggies can grow in climates and seasons they normally wouldn't be able to, fruits/veggies are larger allowing to feed more people per acre of land. Etc.

So I know that it is good for the most part, but I do have a bit of a problem with huge fruits and veggies, which is why I tend to buy organic, just because I can't eat it all at once. But I'm probably about 50/50 depending on what I'm making and how much money I have.

 

Organic, my mom got me into it... she's absolutely petrified by artificial coloring, pesticides and whatnot. If she were any more extreme, she'd probably be considered orthorexic...

 

I don't eat meat - free range or otherwise. And I do buy organic produce - but as mentioned previously, you never really know what your getting (which sucks!).

 

"I'm a level 5 vegan I won't eat anything that cast a shadow." hahaha I love that joke but yea I don't eat meat anymore.

 

farmer's markets are a great way to go, if you have them in your community.

prince of cats, where did you get this information from? i'd like to read more details.

meme

 

almost everything i buy is organic/non-GMO/free-range...
as much as possible..
i agree, farmer's markets are a good way to go... your local grocery store should have a fairly reputable selection... and health food stores/natural markets will always have a good selection..

as for the law being passed about toxic sludge, i find that incredibly hard to believe..
i am horrified, if it is indeed true..
though there is a big difference between the label 'organic' and 'certified organic'... make sure the products you are buying belong to the second category...!

 

POC...nothing against your posting at all...
because i am quite intrigued...

but i do think this all sounds rather sensationalist..
dont you think....?
forbidden from producing "good food"..?
raised on contaminated sludge...?

that there are flaws in the processes and labels i believe, absolutely..
but this just sounds absurd..!

 

apparently chicken farmers pump chickens so full of growth hormones, water and food that they grow so quickly their legs can't hold their body weight and they break.....so the chickens can't walk (thats ifthey had anywhere to walk to in their overcrowded cages)..... I try to buy organic chicken but some supermarkets here don't even stock organic meat - Morrisons, Somerfield....... and have you seen the quality of the food in Asda....OMG its awful.

 

thanks for the background article, prince of cats.


meme

 

I hate to think whats in the processed meat products you can buy....chicken burgers, processed ham, meatballs etc. it doesn't bear thinking about - and then you think about the next layer which is what they fed the animals in the first place.

 

it could just be my own horror..
dont get me wrong...
i am in no way accusing you of any false posting..

i just question this..
i have seen time and time again a mindboggling amount of FALSE information put out there...printed...re-printed.. taken out of context...put back in...and printed once more..
everybody has their own agenda..
from the guests of honor with their assets in agriculture to the journalists and even the 'organic' farmers themselves..

the whole concept is just ridiculous...

 

The first step for me was to simply eat healthier - more fruits and vegetables, and basically anything that isn't packaged. I admit, I do eat chicken, as far as meat is concerned... but as of late I've been buying into the whole organic thing.

Unfortunately, many people don't want to shell out the cash for organic food. In my book there are five levels of foods, as far as cost and prices are concerned... and excuse my simplicity with the examples:

1.) Cheap, fatty foods. That's Little Debbies, boxed pasta, etc.
2.) Cheap, budget-worthy foods. Eggs, bananas, etc.
3.) Regular-priced healthy foods. Peaches, wheat pasta, yogurt, etc.
4.) Premium-priced healthy foods - Cherries, blueberries, romaine lettuce, nuts, etc.
5.) Premium-priced healthy foods - Organic foods of many kinds

A lot of people would rather not throw a lot of money into that category five, sometimes including myself. If something is fairly priced and organic, what a bonus that is. But I hate to drop big bucks on organic... fruit, for example, when the next level down (not being organic) is three times cheaper.

 

I'm generally not against GMO, because it's true that in poorer countries with low fertility soils they can increase the yield.

I do have concerns about the cleanliness and bacterial contamination issues in intensive commercial agriculture: e. coli, salmonella, etc. though, in truth, there are also problems with organic produce: since they use animal fertilisers instead of chemical fertilisers, it's also extremely important to wash the produce well before eating it.

I subscribe to the community supported agriculture model (CSA). I own a share in a local organic farm (local meaning 10 minutes away), and I have to help out on the farm once in the summer. I get a basket, delivered the same day it's picked, of seasonal vegetables. This model is not viable for the whole Earth population, it's fairly labour intensive and the yields are lower than on commercial farms, but you get biodiversity, and the culture of many varieties of different produce instead of the monoculture of commercial farms.

More info on the CSA model: In USA, http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/, in Quebec http://www.equiterre.qc.ca/english/home/indexfinal2.html