I wish every morsel I put in my mouth was organic but it is so expensive! I love shopping at farmer’s markets and produce stands but they are only open June through October.
I was just curious what others thought about this issue and if anyone eats organic with a tight budget, please tell me your secret. 🙂
Categorized | Affiliate Marketing 101
What Is Your Stand On Organic Versus Conventional?
Posted on July 8, 2012.
organic is conventional…we just changed that
I think in part there are growers who are scamming the public. There is no easy test to see if something is organic or not. Organic produce is often of lesser quality than conventionally grown produce – so it is easy for a grower to pass off less quality fruits and vegetables as organic and get a premium price for them at the same time.
Also due to the way real organic produce is grown – it is subject to animal manure, which has been the source of e.coli outbreaks over the past several years. In fact – there have been more e.coli outbreaks in green leafy crops like spinach – than there has been in beef over the past 5 years.
There are too many problems with organics as of now – and it replaced common sense farming (prudent use of fertilizers and pesticides) with hysteria about “chemicals.”
I rarely purchase organics. It just a marketing ploy.
Organic.
I live in Seattle, and we have an amazing market here called Pike Place Market. They have absolutely amazing organic food. It is so much better than anything I have ever purchased inside of any grocery store. I don’t have that tight of a budget so I don’t need to worry about it too much, but I can see how it would be harder for someone with less money.
There are plenty of farmers markets open here most of the year.
Well I think the chances are very low that conventional is better than organic. But the chances are very good that organic is better than conventional.
I think Ive been waiting for this question! To back up..is it Turnip fan??? Ill tell you this. I used to be a walnut processor. Still a grower. Processor,,think Diamond or whatnot..I was just much smaller. I neighboring walnut processing plant was packaging ” Organic Walnuts”. Selling them for twice the cost of non organic. I said hey how do you do that legally….turns out that as long as the orchard wasnt sprayed..he figured it was organic. That all sounds pretty and lovely. But in truth, every case or bag or walnuts that we put out had to be fumigated..after packaging or the produce section on the stores would be full of worms and then moths. That pretty much rules out “organic”. Though by legal terms it was..they were grown organically…
Really? Grow your own. Then you know.
I only buy organic.
My grocery bill is usually upwards of a grand a month, for just me.
I’m a low-fat raw vegan, by the way.
Edit: Ha, I live in Seattle too. Love Pike Place!
Organic is a croc.
I wouldn’t touch organic anything if it was the only thing on the shelves.
There is no such thing as “organic” according to the FDA. There’s no regulation of any kind.
ANY business can label ANY PRODUCT organic and get away with it.
And charge 4 times more, just because it has a label.
You really going to prove there are less pesticides on that apple or whatever?
I think not.
I prefer organic and buy when it’s not too expensive and when it’s a good quality. Sometimes the prices are similar to traditional products but in a smaller package – this is my favorite situation ’cause sometimes I have trouble using things up anyway 🙂 I’m considering a pressure cooker and canning stuff when I find a good price on it and it’s in season. Just not sure if I want want more kitchen toys around. I’ve also frozen some but such limited freezer space and not ready to purchase an extra freezer.
As for the people that say it’s a scam, if you bought local and visited the farm, my guess is you wouldn’t be saying what you’re saying. And if you can’t believe what you read in the grocery store, how do you sleep at night knowing you bought food based on lies and you have no idea what you’re eating? I would like to think that most companies are being honest.. especially when you buy locally and you see the same faces from week to week and they invite you out to the farm.
I do organic and local on a budget and the secret is to grow as much as possible and/or volunteer on a farm and work for food (you will get a lot). buy in bushel amounts and can or freeze the excess. food is cheaper this way and you will have food in winter as well thus saving even more $$$.
Consider joining a CSA, many have work shares where you either get a share in exchange for work or a deep discount on a membership
I am betting there are winter CSA’s and farmers markets near you. Check out http://www.localharvest.org
A lot of wrong information about organic farming and manure. Unlike conventional farming manure is highly restricted on organic farms and cannot be used within 4 months of harvesting tall crops what do not touch the ground and 6 months for things like leafy greens and root crops. But almost all manure is composted for 9 to 12 months before being applied to the soil. Conventional farms have no such regulations and they do use a lot of raw manure on their fields and do apply within weeks, sometimes, of planting and less than 3 months from harvest. There have been very few e-coli contamination of Organic produce and the few that have happened were traced back to livestock farms in the region or farm workers with dirty hands. The spinach example given in the answer was a conventional spinach farm FYI.
USDA Organic Regs here http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop The USDA and not the FDA regulates the National Organic Program, FYI
Oh and local and organic is better than conventional, especially if it comes from farms that have been Organic/biodynamic for more than 15 years and the soils are in lively and balanced and the growers know what they are doing. You can taste the difference when you eat food such a farm.