PDA

View Full Version : How much organic stuff in your life?



Pages : [1] 2 3 4 5 6

Fruitbat
Aug 21st, 2004, 06:49 PM
What are ppl's thoughts on organic food? I have put a poll up to see how much ppl eat organic in the Polls/Surveys subforum (here). (http://www.veganforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=838)

I eat organic as much as possible and it were cheaper and more easily available I would eat nothing but organic. Organic processed foods tend to be better quality and tastier and more eco-vegan-friendly. Organic fresh produce is supposed to have a better nutrient content , none of the nasties and taste better.

Fruitbat
Aug 21st, 2004, 06:55 PM
Right so how do vegans do with organic food?????

Gorilla
Aug 21st, 2004, 07:49 PM
i've been trying to increase the amount of organic products i buy in all areas of my life, if i could i'd buy everything organic but as i'm sure a lot of people will agree the cost is a major problem.

i'd say about 50% of my diet is organic, aiming for more all the time. i also buy organic skin care, and cotton - cotton is one of the most (if not the most) heavily sprayed crops in the world. if i ever need new cotton it's always fair trade organic (including cotton wool!) :cool:

Gorilla
Aug 21st, 2004, 07:52 PM
absolutely, organic fruit and veg tastes much better than the bland pesticide-ridden perfectly shaped stuff. i'd love to eat nothing but organic food but yeah it costs way too much. but that's the price we have to pay for "proper" food produced sensibly and not the intensively farmed rubbish. because the cost of living has gone down in the sense that more cheap food is available to a lot of people, income often reflects this, and those who want to buy decent food find it increasingly difficult to afford. :(

ConsciousCuisine
Aug 22nd, 2004, 07:55 AM
99% of what I buy for body and consumption is organic. It is my familys' biggest expense.

Artichoke47
Aug 22nd, 2004, 01:56 PM
I buy mostly organic, but if I want, say, a tropical fruit that the store doesn't have available in organic, I'll buy a fair trade one, anyway, because tropical fruits don't have as much insecticides. I don't think any of the poll answers fits my situation. I buy organic when available, regardless of cost.

Fruitbat
Aug 22nd, 2004, 02:03 PM
I buy mostly organic, but if I want, say, a tropical fruit that the store doesn't have available in organic, I'll buy a fair trade one, anyway, because tropical fruits don't have as much insecticides. I don't think any of the poll answers fits my situation. I buy organic when available, regardless of cost.Sorry I didnt think of that option for the poll but if you tick "I eat organic food" then it is true as you only buy non-organic if you dont have the choice!!!!

Artichoke47
Aug 22nd, 2004, 02:16 PM
You're right, but I also buy organic skin care products when available.

8 winks
Aug 22nd, 2004, 11:48 PM
i work on an organic farm. it is great! i have tons of veggies available the same day they are picked and of course i get the farm hand discount so i'm really fortunate. as for organic in general, yeah tastes much better. kinda pricey for store items though.....

cast_the_flames
Aug 23rd, 2004, 12:39 AM
i think that organic is great! i use it as often as possible, in food and other products. since i'm vegan mostly for the environment, i definately think that stopping the use of terrible earth-destrying chemicals is the way to go. the price is a bit of an issue, though. still, i figure that since i'm not buying big expensive cuts of meat, i have a little bit of room.

Mystic
Aug 24th, 2004, 10:37 AM
I buy things because I like them, not because they are organic/non-organic. I believe their is propaganda in both sides of the story, so I just buy/eat/use whatever I like. For example, I love a particular organic pasta sauce, these organic sourdough rolls and there is this organic hummus which is absolutely divine. I buy rice dream enriched, which I think is organic - or at least partially, but only because it is the only rice milk that is fortified with B12. But for other stuff, like fruit and veg, I just scrub them well. As for grains and beans, I just buy the conventional. Tastes the same to me. Same with dried fruit (except maybe dried mango - organic dried mango is D-VINE!!!!) I hate organic unsulphured dried apricots, but I love the bright orange conventional ones!

ConsciousCuisine
Aug 24th, 2004, 02:40 PM
Banana, I PMed you quite some time ago saying I would send you a packet of DIVINE organic Turkish Apricots that are sooo good, just to show you some organic, unsulphured ones that are good...offer still holding... :)

harpy
Aug 27th, 2004, 11:21 AM
We have an organic vegetable and fruit delivery once a fortnight and otherwise I do go for organic stuff for preference but it is all rather complicated if you're trying to buy local and fair-traded stuff too! If it's a choice between local and organic I now usually go for local, and if it's a choice between fair-traded and organic I go for fair-traded.

At least the organic stuff we have delivered is supposed to be predominantly UK grown.

Fruitbat
Aug 27th, 2004, 07:17 PM
I would love to get a weekly seasonal organic local produce vegetable box delivery which my local organic shop does - but my food budget is horrendous enough as it is! :( I buy quite alot of organic anyway but there is room for improvement when I have mroe money - then I will ve 100% organic, fairtrade, local produce when possible vegan person!

harpy
Aug 27th, 2004, 07:32 PM
Some of the organic delivery schemes are actually supposed to work out cheaper than buying organic stuff in supermarkets (which I can believe) though they are probably more expensive than buying from a market etc.

The main problem for us used to be wastage because if you have a weekly delivery and are out a few nights in the week you can't use all the stuff. However, my lot, Farmaround, are happy to do fortnightly deliveries and that works out about right for us.

Atlanta Newbie
Aug 28th, 2004, 02:52 AM
After reading John Robbins' "The Food Revolution", I became much more wary of GMOs. Buying organic, for me, is mostly a way to avoid those. I've read that corn and soybean are the two biggest crops affected by this, so I mainly try to buy organic varieties of foods containing these two things.

Of course, the "happy coincidence" thing comes into play a lot for me recently as well, so yay for that. :)

Just out of curiosity, are most of you more concerned with GMOs or pesticide/herbicide issues? Thanks!

Artichoke47
Aug 28th, 2004, 04:08 AM
Yes, I am very concerned about GMOs. Nature didn't intend for our food to be "messed with," in my opinion. WTF?

ConsciousCuisine
Aug 28th, 2004, 04:16 AM
I avoid GMO foods and pesticide-covered ones as well. I will *not* buy non organic citrus, berries, cherries, grapes, mushrooms, potatoes, corn, tropical fruits such as papaya, mango etc., kiwi, apples, salad greens and makings, sprouts, soy, rice, (all grains actually) cereals, sugars, nut butters, spices, onions, oils and more.

Basically, I have on occasion, rarely and because of seasonal unavailability, purchased garlic and avocadoes form local farms that were not certified organic and a few times nuts or seeds as well. That's about it. EVERYTHING else is always organic.

Living an organic lifestyle is what my family is dedicated to and it is a strong part of our belief/values system and also our biggest financial expense after our monthly rent.

Fruitbat
Aug 28th, 2004, 10:51 AM
I admire you ConciousCuisine and aspire to be like you and your family when I have a paying job and the money to do so!


Meanwhile I abs insist on organic carrots and sprouted seeds but other items it varies. Reently I have taken to buying organic broccoli, watercress and nuts also. As most of my shopping for soy goods is done in an organic healthfoodshop, all my soy products and pulses, and most of my cereals and sauces are always organic.

I worry about both pesticides/herbicides AND GMO. Herbicides and pesticides because after all these are toxic chemicals so they are harmful to humans too jus as we are bigger than the organisms targeted, we arent killed - that doest mean its healthy though. Also I used to have allergic reactions to the treatments done on non-organic brassica vegetables and my Dad went to hospital with the same reaction form eating brussel sprouts once.

I worry abotu GMO because it isnt natural and there are so many ehtical and environmental concerns around it...

gertvegan
Sep 19th, 2004, 06:30 PM
Is organically grown food really any better for you?

Food safety and nutrition scientists: Superiority is hard to prove

By MELISSA HEALY Los Angeles Times

September 19. 2004 10:31AM

These are good times for those who grow and sell organic foods. But there may be trouble in paradise.

Prompted by a quest for safer, healthier diets and a cleaner environment, more American consumers are buying the bountiful harvests of organic farmers. Last year, U.S. spending on organic foods reached close to $10.4 billion, making this the fastest-growing segment of the American food industry. Amid scares over mad cow disease, mercury in fish and produce tainted with harmful bacteria, new customers are joining existing ones in embracing organic foods as a sanctuary.

But as organic products - and their claims to superiority - have grown more common,, scientists, policy analysts and some consumers have begun to ask for proof. Where's the evidence, they ask, for the widespread belief that organic foods are safer and more nutritious than those raised by conventional farming methods?

The short answer, food safety and nutrition scientists say, is that such proof does not exist.

FULL ARTICLE (http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040919/REPOSITORY/409190335/1013/NEWS03)

Artichoke47
Sep 19th, 2004, 06:37 PM
Are they trying to say that insecticide-, poison-laden food is equal to pure, organic food? I don't believe it.

wuggy
Sep 19th, 2004, 07:16 PM
It's the same old story really, isn't it? Non-organic food won't 'kill' you (probably not, anyway), so it must be ok!
When I last visited the USA, I saw them spraying crops from the air, which really scared me - can't remember, but I think it was fruit trees, and there we were, on the ground just below. Ugh!

wuggy
Sep 19th, 2004, 07:18 PM
P.S - I suppose we could say that non-organic stuff isn't truly Vegan, as insects, and therefore probably birds, hedgehogs, etc were killed or harmed in the production of such items.

eve
Sep 20th, 2004, 08:03 AM
I buy things because I like them, not because they are organic/non-organic. I believe there is propaganda in both sides of the story, so I just buy/eat/use whatever I like. For example, I love a particular organic pasta sauce, these organic sourdough rolls and there is this organic hummus which is absolutely divine. I buy rice dream enriched, which I think is organic - or at least partially, but only because it is the only rice milk that is fortified with B12. But for other stuff, like fruit and veg, I just scrub them well. As for grains and beans, I just buy the conventional. Tastes the same to me. Same with dried fruit (except maybe dried mango - organic dried mango is D-VINE!!!!) I hate organic unsulphured dried apricots, but I love the bright orange conventional ones!

I agree with Banana, and simply scrub the veggies or peel the fruit. To tell the truth, I actually avoid organic fruit and veggies as they are grown in masses of blood and bone, and manure. When I see these sacks of blood & bone, it confirms to me that organic is grown with the by-products of abattoirs. The biodynamic growers also use crushed horn. It is a choice between 2 evils really - either stuff grown with help from abattoirs, or stuff grown conventionally with help of chemicals (unless one has access to veganic garden foods). I have read that scientists show that chemical residue is absolutely minimal.

Trendygirl
Sep 22nd, 2004, 07:50 PM
If I could afford organic I would buy it and I would also by fair-trade items whenever possible but I am a student. Some of the things I do buy are organic but that is only a coincidence because they are the only vegan option. I hope that once I get settled in a house that I stay in for longer than a year and doesn’t have a back garden that is covered in concrete, I will grow some of my own vegan organic food.

Do you think that products that are certified as not containing animal ingredients and that they are organic, use animal by products in the soil that they are grown in?