What's Your Opinion on Conventional Fruits & Vegetables?

[NoGMO!]

I find it very difficult to eat only Organic - but I try!
What to do? ... when certain fruits and vegetables are never to be found organically grown in any local stores - and I mean year round. I live in a major city, so it seems like there would be a better selection.
Even our local farmer's mkt. does not sell ANY organics - at all - it's really 100% conventional! (very sad)

At whole foods and central mkt.

hot type peppers (every variety) are never organic-
bells only occassionally organic -
tomatoes rarely organic -
eggplant- can't remember ever seeing them organic
pineapple- never organic
these are off the top of my head - but there are more...

... do you think it is better (healthwise) not to eat these foods at all?
or to go ahead and eat a limited amount of conventional?
does it help to pay attention to where they were grown?
I'd really like to boycott conventional farming - but I'd love to have a habernero.

[tracyinfo]

Where do you live? I always get organic tomatoes, bell peppers, hot chile peppers, eggplant and pineapple. (Well the pineapple, only certain times of the year.) I am in Northern California, and get these all the time.

[JustMe]

I think conventional is better than not eating fruits and veggies at all! Just make sure that you are washing your produce good before eating it. Have you thought about growing some of your own? Some peoples' strategy on here is they grown their own and buy organic what they don't grow, some only buy what's on sale, etc. You can maybe try shopping online if you don't mind that route. Also, i know there is a link (someone needs to help me remember here :rolleyes: ) i think its csa.org. It's a website where you type in your zip code or click on your state to see if there are any coops in your area.
hope this helps! :)

[bellamausi]

First, there are certain fruits and veggies, that are contaminated more than others. Like berries are really bad, so I only get those not organic very occasionally. I also won't touch non-organic bell peppers for that reason. Try and search the web for a list, of which ones are more or less full of harmful substances than others.

Also, if they are imported, I avoid them as well. Since they have to travel so far, they are messed with a lot more than national grown (radiation etc.) and also, other countries may still be allowed to use chemicals to grow these fruits/veggies, which aren't allowed in the US anymore.

[Rawkinlocs]

I do the best I can with what I have to work with. I have a somewhat large family and our present budget doesn't allow us to buy all organic, especially with the amount of food we consume around here. I would LOVE to, but we just aren't in a position to do so at the present time. So, we buy mostly conventional and I pray over it and trust that we'll be fine and that because we're eating raw our bodies will eliminate the toxins from the pesticides, etc. with minimal difficulty until we can do better. Some might disagree with me on that and that's all well and fine, but that's where we are and I refuse to just not be raw at all or to get all worked up/stressed out over things beyond my control.

One day soon, we will either be able to afford whatever we need/want OR we'll be in a position to grow our own or both! :) Until then, it's whatever we can do.

[bellamausi]

Yeah, I know it's hard, we have that money issue as well. Some things I do buy non organic, the stuff that isn't supposed to be as contaminated, like avos. But tomatos, I buy non organic as well at the moment, because I can't live without them and organic ones are insane price wise.

One other thing organic has over conventional, is, that they have a much higher mineral content, since the soil is healthy and replenished, whereas conventional is grown without replenishing the soil, only adding what is nessecary to make it grow.

[Jackie1995]

I've been juicing a lot lately, and therefore I buy a lot of produce. I can't afford the organic prices ($5 for 2 long seedless cucumbers vs. $2.50 for 3 non-organic, for example).

If my grocery bill is running about $40 every time I go shopping for purely fresh produce, not nuts or dried fruits, what in heaven's name must people be paying for groceries when they purchase meat, cereal and dairy products?

How do people not making a ton of money actually survive? Unless they're eating all pre-packaged processed stuff which is still reasonably priced...

I don't know, but something seems really out of whack with food prices. It really hit me when bananas went from 29 cents a pound (where they were locked in for years) to 49 cents a pound. That stunned me. But now, everything is so expensive. And this was true even before the oil prices went through the roof. Even worse now!

Makes me think....

[Autumn]

Where do you live? I always get organic tomatoes, bell peppers, hot chile peppers, eggplant and pineapple. (Well the pineapple, only certain times of the year.) I am in Northern California, and get these all the time

Those who live in California don't realize how very lucky they are! It is not easy to get organic here either. It is practically non-existant in the supermarket (save a tiny section). A 2x month sale of organic produce was always held while I was working (Monday mornings), so it's tough. You get what you can get when you can get it! :)

[Revvell]

Yanno? It's a damn shame that folk in Denmark can get more organic foods than folk in certain parts of the U.S. In Aarhus, there are at least 2 organic veggie shops. Actually, I think there are 3. It's all imported and it's all expensive.

When we were in Massachusetts, we found organic there. There was a place where they grew organic blueberries. One could go there anytime, 24/7 and purchase. I think that was the place that had the vending machine.

As far as not realizing how lucky we are? Pshawww! Of COURSE we do! We just don't want anyone else to know. Keeps the excess traffic at a tolerable level. :D

Revvell

[asil]

Where do you live? The CM and WF here in Austin have more organic veggies than I'll ever find time to eat. Plus, we have food co-ops and farmers markets with lots of organic. But that probably doesn't offer much in the way of practical help for you, unless you're close enough to make the drive reasonable. Maybe this is also an Austin thing, but I noticed that even the Super Target has a small organic section.

One idea though -- tomatoes and chilis are really easy to grow, even in the tightest spot. When I lived in an apartment, I had a half-whiskey barrel on my patio where I grew a tomato and a pepper plant + a few herbs. In our mild winters, you can turn this into a mini-greenhouse with just some stakes and a bit of clear plastic. My sister lives in a far colder climate, in an apartment with no patio. She grows tomatoes, herbs, and radishes on her wndow will.

Hope you can find a solution!

[NoGMO!]

Hi - I'm just now getting back to this thread - thanks for all the wonderful input and great suggestions - there is a wealth of knowledge here!

I would love to grow my own food and hope to one day but cannot at this time.

Food co-ops are a great idea! I wonder if they do that here in Texas - I will definitely ask around.

I have the same issues w/ organics being affordable- Compare...
last week organic tomatoes were $5.99/lb and organic cherries $9.99/lb
whereas conventional toms $1.49 - conventional cherries $3.99/lb

I think organic food should be the ONLY kind of food grown anywhere and their prices should be made reasonable. Probably no one prefers conventional it's just that it is more affordable and available to us, so we sometimes buy it instead. but really I see conventional farming as something that should be banned. sorry if that sounds radical. This is just my opinion for what I think would be a great improvement on this planet. - but until then we will do the best we can.

Oh, and thanks for reminding me with that uplifting comment about Raw Foodism practices making a body more able to deal with expelling any poisons from conventional produce. That is good to hear! Thanks again everyone -

[I~Wanna~RAWk]

I live in Utah. Eastern Utah to be precise (3 hours away from Salt lake city). Around here there are 2 regular chain grocery stores and a SuperWalMart. The only organic stuff WalMart carries is apples @over $5 per 3 pound bag. That's it! Currently my shopping list consists of:

10lbs. carrots........... $5
4 cukes.............2/$1
zucchini (pitifully small)... $1.79/lb
bunch spinach .............. .97 /lb
celery.................. $1.17/package
mushrooms....... $1.48/regular, $2.68/portabello
apples.............$3.69/5lb bag or .97/lb
strawberries..... $1.25/quart
bananas.......... .48/lb
kale, mustard greens, etc .97/bunch
broccoli ................ .97/bunch
oranges.............. $3.69/5lb bag

I order my nuts at Bulk Foods.com , as do my flax seeds.

I get out to Salt lake once a month or so, so I try to get to Wild Oats to get my oils, spices, etc.

I just read in the paper that Salt Lake is getting it's first Farmers Market in the city PLUS there are plans in the works for a Raw Restaurant!! But, here, in the middle of nowhere, not a CHANCE. THis is a small town, but we have like 10 fast food places, 2 pizza places, a dominos pizza is coming soon, a handful of locally owned restaurants, and about a million and one Snow Cone Shacks :confused: :mad:

So I guess all of this is to say that, yes, it's hard to find organic PERIOD, much less affordably priced organic. :( So you take what you have to work with and pray for the best ;)

[Heather Lynn]

i live about 40 miles(west) outside of chicago and it is hard for me to get all organic as well so i do what i can. yes, it is expensive, and my nearest whole foods is about 20mi from me so i don't always want to go that far. there is a co-op which my hubby calls a coop.... LOL in sycamore which is the farther in the boonies. i work in the city but if i lived there it would be much easier to get organic. so i do what i can and what i can afford. i figure all raw goods are better than not being raw. i am finally understanding why you all do it....

[Jodi]

We have two grocery stores in my small, Indiana town and only one has an organic section...and it is very small. The only organic vegetables they have are celery, carrots and bagged lettuce. Of which most of it was close to or past expiration because nobody here buys it. I did buy some carrots as the were fairly fresh. They also had organic raisens at 6.00 a can.

So, needless to say I have to buy conventional produce.

And like Chelle above, I ordred my nuts and flax from www.bulkfoods.com. I have also ordered sprouts from Sproutpeople.com. Closest organic store for me is 45 minutes....I do plan on trying to get to it at least once a month for my wheat berries and almond butter.

Up to a year ago I lived in Lansing, Illinois, which is a suburb of Chicago. Little less thena mile from was one of the best organic/health food stores called Sunrise Farm Stand. I really miss that store.

Jodi

[Ahimsa]

You didn't say where in TX you are, but here's info in relation to Dallas. I also know that there are active raw food potlucks in Denton and Plano and I'm sure in Dallas somewhere too. Just look up 'raw food Dallas TX' on google or another search engine and you'll find potlucks/organizations. Potlucks are a great place to find out where you can get your hands on organic foodstuffs.

I know there is at least one Co-op in the Dallas area that is run by a raw foodie. I believe this is his site: http://66.221.199.88/

On Rhio's page there is supposedly an Organic Co-op, but the link is broken, but here's the address and phone #:
DALLAS ORGANIC FOOD COOP
Dallas, Texas
(972) 489-7872

Hope this helps ya out!

[NoGMO!]

You didn't say where in TX you are, but here's info in relation to Dallas. I also know that there are active raw food potlucks in Denton and Plano and I'm sure in Dallas somewhere too. Just look up 'raw food Dallas TX' on google or another search engine and you'll find potlucks/organizations. Potlucks are a great place to find out where you can get your hands on organic foodstuffs.

I know there is at least one Co-op in the Dallas area that is run by a raw foodie. I believe this is his site: http://66.221.199.88/

On Rhio's page there is supposedly an Organic Co-op, but the link is broken, but here's the address and phone #:
DALLAS ORGANIC FOOD COOP
Dallas, Texas
(972) 489-7872

Hope this helps ya out!

Oh thanks! I am in Dallas and I spend alot of time in denton too - didn't know there was still a co-op- that's great! Also, Dallas is getting it's first raw food restaurant, called Pure, located on lower Greenville Ave. Yeay! I think it might have opened this month... can't wait to try it! :p

[NoGMO!]

wow that food co-op site sure is handy, thanks again.