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Who Owns That Fancy Schmancy And Pretentious Organic Food Company?
It's my millennia's and Gen-Xer's that are drawn to the organic products here. I'm glad that they care enough to care about what goes into their bodies. My whole family buys fresh as much as possible but I personally won't pay double (and usually more) for a similar organic item. The primary reason, is as you mentioned, is that there is no firm definition for the terms 'natural' or 'organic'.
Some foods it makes sense to buy organic and others not, but it is generally overpriced unless you buy it in bulk at Costco or at a food co-op. Here is an important list worth reading, the higher the ranking, the more worthwhile it is to buy organic while the lower the less worthwhile: https://ewg.org/foodnews/list.php
There is no firm definition for the terms 'natural' and 'organic' foods
The term 'natural' is purely marketing tool to fool the uninform consumers. As the term 'organic' there are strict USDA guideline on how the food can be produced and labeled. Organic meats can be derived with hormones and other growth factors. Organic produces must be grow on land that follow strict soil management practice for several consecutive years. Only limited set of sprays are allow and they must breakdown chemically before they are sold to consumers. Just google usda on organic foods.
Orgainic food costs upward of 2X more than the conventional food due to their typically have shorter shelf life and the transporting cost. While I agree Whole Foods is expensive and impractical for average family, buying from your local farmers generally are must better in terms of freshness and cost. We are fortunate to live in Oregon where there are plenty of small family farms where fresh produces are readily available at the local farmer market. Traditional farming practices without resorting to the commercial chemical sprays are commonly used as one can find in Europe. These 'no spray' approah is practical way to provide high quality produces at a reasonable price to the consumers. Awhile back we replaced half of my lawn with a family garden where we grow heirloom variety of vegetables and they are far better in terms of taste and freshness than what we can buy.
And yet we haven't yet begin to talk about the proteins like chicken and beef.
I'm a big (but not uncritical) fan of Consumer Reports. Here's a very detailed report they published three years ago. You'll find their fruits and vegetable tables on pdf p. 19. The tables list the relative risks of conventional produce (from very low to very high) broken down by country of origin. For example, cantaloupes from Honduras or Mexico present very low risk, Costa Rica or Guatemala low risk, but domestic ones present a high risk.
A Whole Foods 365 recently opened up near us. To their credit, they've reduced prices for the same items sold at Whole Foods from the ionosphere to the stratosphere. Still not not cheap, but worth a look. Often our local farmers market is significantly more expensive than either version of Whole Foods.
We find there's no single best place - it depends on what one is shopping for, so we'll shop from Chinatown to local butchers and everywhere in between.
In general, our household avoids all chemical additives and preservatives and overly processed foods. We are vegetarian and do not consume dairy. We do eat fish, avoiding the farm-raised species that come from farms practicing questionable methods.
CR has done excellent work on arsenic in rice of which we eat a lot. We've settled on brown basmati from Trader Joe's because it's grown in Thailand, a low-arsenic environment. This is a case where organic California rice would not be acceptable to us, proving to me that the organic label does not ensure a completely safe product.
Two of our five daughters eat no meat, but the others do. Conflict has occurred, resulting in "food fights." I try to be tolerant and my comments here are not intended to provoke.
@msf, thank you for the CR articles. Depending where you live, local farmer market prices swing wildly. When we live in midwest, there were no price advantages other than freshness of the produces. In the areas around Portland, OR, there are high demand for pesticide-free produces and in combination with ample small family farms, the cost is lower comparing to that of Whole Foods. Until it is bought by Amazon,
Whole Foods, whole paycheck
is quite accurate when shopping at Whole Foods. The other aspect of cost is associated with FDA's organic certification. The soil, farming practice, and specific chemical sprays are highly regulated. In Oregon, there are "no-spray" produces which use the traditional crop rotation practices and spraying (when necessary) with natural ingredients such as vegetable oils and extracts. For us this is what we prefer.
So far this discussion only covers organic/non-organic and it does not even touch on the genetically modified foods (GMO). An article from Consumer Reports is provided below.
@BenWP, While we are not vegetarians but we share similar viewpoint/concerns on the food sources. We buy meat from local ranchers who provide "free range" chickens or beef. They are very different in their nutritional content as we found from the Extension Office at Oregon State University. Also we avoid the farmed salmon and seek out locally caught salmon that is available in short season. Thanks for the tips on arsenic as it is widely used in rice production.
I’ll DELETE my dumb question. One of @Maurice’s links explains why organic produce is healthier. Good topic. Just bought some organic Romaine today because that’s all the store had in stock. I’ll have a look at the label to try and see if it’s worth the extra dollar. —
But, OMG, Think of all the awful stuff people swallow that’s far worse for you than non-organic lettuce or bell peppers. I’m thinking of big greasy cheesburgers, pizza loaded with cheese and nitrate-soaked meat, sugary snacks, and beer swizzled by the 6-pack. I guess it’s all comparative. But, I think I’ll save the dollar and continue consuming non-organic Romaine.
Comments
Regards,
Ted
http://www.newsweek.com/campaign-organic-food-deceitful-expensive-scam-785493
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/is-organic-food-a-scam_us_59089e86e4b03b105b44bc25
It's my millennia's and Gen-Xer's that are drawn to the organic products here. I'm glad that they care enough to care about what goes into their bodies. My whole family buys fresh as much as possible but I personally won't pay double (and usually more) for a similar organic item. The primary reason, is as you mentioned, is that there is no firm definition for the terms 'natural' or 'organic'.
Orgainic food costs upward of 2X more than the conventional food due to their typically have shorter shelf life and the transporting cost. While I agree Whole Foods is expensive and impractical for average family, buying from your local farmers generally are must better in terms of freshness and cost. We are fortunate to live in Oregon where there are plenty of small family farms where fresh produces are readily available at the local farmer market. Traditional farming practices without resorting to the commercial chemical sprays are commonly used as one can find in Europe. These 'no spray' approah is practical way to provide high quality produces at a reasonable price to the consumers. Awhile back we replaced half of my lawn with a family garden where we grow heirloom variety of vegetables and they are far better in terms of taste and freshness than what we can buy.
And yet we haven't yet begin to talk about the proteins like chicken and beef.
https://article.images.consumerreports.org/prod/content/dam/cro/news_articles/health/CR_FSASC_FromCroptoTablePesticides_Mar2015.pdf
I try to use the CR tables from memory when shopping but there's a lot there. I really should carry a copy with me.
The report also discusses their methodology and that of EWG on pdf p. 17. Both start with the same USDA database.
Here's the CR story that goes along with this report:
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/health/natural-health/pesticides/index.htm
And their current one pager (from the Feb 2018 magazine) with tips on how to save on organic food:
https://www.consumerreports.org/organic-foods/ways-to-save-on-organic-food/
A Whole Foods 365 recently opened up near us. To their credit, they've reduced prices for the same items sold at Whole Foods from the ionosphere to the stratosphere. Still not not cheap, but worth a look. Often our local farmers market is significantly more expensive than either version of Whole Foods.
We find there's no single best place - it depends on what one is shopping for, so we'll shop from Chinatown to local butchers and everywhere in between.
Finally, here's a story from yesterday's NYTimes, These Goldfish are 70% Organic. It talks about how Goldfish crackers (Campbell Soup Co.) likely copied Annie's Homegrown (owned by General Mills) Cheddar Bunnies, and mentions that General Mills also owns Cascadian Farm, while Kellogg's owns Kashi.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/23/business/goldfish-crackers-organic.html
https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php?gclid=CjwKCAiAt8TUBRAKEiwAOI9pAP
In general, our household avoids all chemical additives and preservatives and overly processed foods. We are vegetarian and do not consume dairy. We do eat fish, avoiding the farm-raised species that come from farms practicing questionable methods.
CR has done excellent work on arsenic in rice of which we eat a lot. We've settled on brown basmati from Trader Joe's because it's grown in Thailand, a low-arsenic environment. This is a case where organic California rice would not be acceptable to us, proving to me that the organic label does not ensure a completely safe product.
Two of our five daughters eat no meat, but the others do. Conflict has occurred, resulting in "food fights." I try to be tolerant and my comments here are not intended to provoke.
So far this discussion only covers organic/non-organic and it does not even touch on the genetically modified foods (GMO). An article from Consumer Reports is provided below. @BenWP, While we are not vegetarians but we share similar viewpoint/concerns on the food sources. We buy meat from local ranchers who provide "free range" chickens or beef. They are very different in their nutritional content as we found from the Extension Office at Oregon State University. Also we avoid the farmed salmon and seek out locally caught salmon that is available in short season. Thanks for the tips on arsenic as it is widely used in rice production.
—
But, OMG, Think of all the awful stuff people swallow that’s far worse for you than non-organic lettuce or bell peppers. I’m thinking of big greasy cheesburgers, pizza loaded with cheese and nitrate-soaked meat, sugary snacks, and beer swizzled by the 6-pack. I guess it’s all comparative. But, I think I’ll save the dollar and continue consuming non-organic Romaine.