Organic vs Non Organic?

[Norie]

Hey guys! So I have been wondering why people say organic food is better? I have such little knowledge on the topic and all I know is that I don't want to be eating any chemicals they put on the plants to kill bugs... but if you wash it well enough or peel the skin off, will they be as good as organic? I grow some of my own veggies and herbs at home and they are all free range and natural! :D But when I go to the supermarket I just get whatever looks the freshest and healthiest... I am a student and organic stuff here is very expensive- but is it worth it?

[GreginND]

I'm sure you will get opinions all over the place about organic. Mine are mostly about contamination of the product. I don't have a problem with fertilizers and some "organic" fertilizers actually are more dangerous due to bacterial contamination. I am more concerned about pesticides. Yes, some pesticides can be washed off but not all. Different products have different pesticides and some actually are systemic (they get into the structure of the produce) as opposed to just being on the skin.

There is a list (search "Organic top 10") that tells you which products contain more pesticides and the options for organic are better.

In general if I am eating what is exposed (leaves, fruits, veggies) to the pesticide sprays I try to buy organic if I can. I worry less about produce that is not directly exposed to pesticide sprays (root vegetables for example).

It is a balance of what the cost/benefit ratio is for you. Eating plants still may be better even if it isn't all organic.

[maggiesdaddy]

I'm sure you will get opinions all over the place about organic. Mine are mostly about contamination of the product. I don't have a problem with fertilizers and some "organic" fertilizers actually are more dangerous due to bacterial contamination. I am more concerned about pesticides. Yes, some pesticides can be washed off but not all. Different products have different pesticides and some actually are systemic (they get into the structure of the produce) as opposed to just being on the skin.

There is a list (search "Organic top 10") that tells you which products contain more pesticides and the options for organic are better.

In general if I am eating what is exposed (leaves, fruits, veggies) to the pesticide sprays I try to buy organic if I can. I worry less about produce that is not directly exposed to pesticide sprays (root vegetables for example).

It is a balance of what the cost/benefit ratio is for you. Eating plants still may be better even if it isn't all organic.

I agree with most of that. I am a student also and food is NOT CHEAP. I do not eat all organic because I would go broke, but I try to get it as often as possible. When I can't I try not to buy any kind of berries that are not organic (especially strawberries) and I also don't buy peaches if they are not organic.

Root vegetables are also heavily laden with pesticides.




I wouldn't obsess over it, but it is worth trying to buy "clean"!

[Raw Angel Mom]

Well, i have been doing organic food since 2002. I will have none organic mango or banana if i cannot find organic. The other day, i had a water melon none organic and i had a headache. This speak for itself.

Learn how to sprout, this can be very economical. Buy organic fruits and greens or from your local farmer that don't use pesticide or dangerous chemical. You can arrange with someone and buy as a coop.

Wall mark and some store has organic produce that isn't too bad at all as price. Find the food that you could have not organic and the one that you should only buy organic such peach and berries.


Cut down on other expenses such ditch the nuts, raw bar or drink that isn't water. You will find a way.

All the best

[sport]

http://www.grist.org/list/2011-06-14-the-dirty-dozen-which-fruits-and-vegetables-have-the-most-pestic
This is the latest list from EWG on what you should try to buy organic.

[jevans]

Cut down on other expenses such ditch the nuts, raw bar or drink that isn't water. You will find a way.

All the best

The above quote is great. If it means a lot to you, you will find a way.

It's true that organic is more expensive, BUT, after seeing some food movies about all the pesticides and chemicals, I try to buy as much organic as possible. They say that it's not that non-organic food is cheap, it's that organic food cost what food should cost. In other words we have become spoiled by cheap food prices that are over farmed. Organic food cost is what normal food should cost. If that makes sense.
And now we have genetically engineered foods that have pesticides BUILT INTO THEM!
Go with your local farmers markets and try to buy organic as much as possible.

[amoux]

http://www.grist.org/list/2011-06-14-the-dirty-dozen-which-fruits-and-vegetables-have-the-most-pestic
This is the latest list from EWG on what you should try to buy organic.

Really useful - thanks :-)

[ReneeH]

I belong to an organic co-op and I just love it! Search for one in your area....it's worth it! :)

[GreginND]

And now we have genetically engineered foods that have pesticides BUILT INTO THEM!


Whatever you feel about GMO foods aside, this statement is miseading and not accurate. Biological organism resistance is not the same thing as pesticides.

[therawmichelle]

Well, if you start delving into the whole organic issue, you might discover that opinions are as varied as the people who hold them. The official version of those who monitor food safety is that there are no relevant or substantial quality differences between organically grown foods and non-organically grown foods (that is foods that have been given growth hormones, chemical enhancers, etc). Non organically grown vegetables tend to be more plastic looking, they are brighter, bigger, they grow faster, they are resistant to pests and diseases, but they are most often tasteless, so you don't really enjoy eating them. The problems is that we don't yet have any studies that monitor the long term health effects of consuming these contaminated foods, only isolated examples that are always downplayed in the media and that don't receive the attention they deserve. I would say organic is generally better, and the best thing to do is to get your foods from somewhere else than supermarkets, but that's just my opinion. :)

Hope I was helpful.

[maggiesdaddy]

Whatever you feel about GMO foods aside, this statement is miseading and not accurate. Biological organism resistance is not the same thing as pesticides.

It is a little misleading, but they have the right idea. Monsanto engineers their produce (corn for sure) to have a gene in it that kills a certain type of bug. It is similar to having a pesticide built in. It is an organisms resistance, but it is not a resistance that corn was meant to have.

(I HAVE HEARD) They also engineer their products to need pesticides to be plentiful. They strip the natural defenses of the organism so that in order to not be attacked by pests it needs to be covered with poison.

You are correct though that it is not the exact same as pesticides.

[jevans]

Whatever you feel about GMO foods aside, this statement is miseading and not accurate. Biological organism resistance is not the same thing as pesticides.

This is what I was referring too:
http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2011/09/20/monsanto-genetic-bugs

The GMO has a protein that acts like an insecticide. True, not a real insecticide but a protein.

[Norie]

Thank you all SO MUCH! That has helped incredibly. I just remembered that I had bought a lot of organic sprouts so I will try to sprout more because I must admit I haven't been doing too much of that lately. Thank you again! :)