Do you buy organic? Other "natural" stuff?

I've been wanting to ask about this for a few days now but couldn't quite figure out how to put it in words.  But I'm ready to give it a go.

Lately I've become interested in what's in my food.  Up 'til now, I've mostly been interested in avoiding foods high in sugar and in seeking out foods with a good amount of protein.  But  now I'm learning more about organic foods and how food is grown and how it's processed and all that stuff.  And I honestly wonder why on earth it took me so long to take a good look at this stuff.

It's hard to balance it all, though.  Like, I want organic, but I also want affordable, I also want convenient, I want easy to prepare, I want stuff that's easy to buy at a regular grocery store, of course I want stuff that tastes good, I want local food but I want a good variety of food even in winter, and on and on and on.

So what do you do?  Do you buy organic stuff?  How often?  How do you decide what to buy organic and what not to?

Do you buy local food?  Go to the farmer's market or buy from local farms?  How important is that to you?  The concept of eating local food is something I've heard of before but only very recently actually learned much about.

Do you buy meat and dairy products from grass fed animals?  Hormone-free, antibiotic free?  Cage free eggs?  Anybody buy raw milk?

How much do you make your own food from scratch because it's healthier than what you can buy in the store?  I am planning to try making my own yogurt.  Anyone do that?  I've heard it's not really that hard, but we'll see.

How much extra money are you willing to spend for organic or other "natural" stuff?  How much extra trouble are you willing to go to in order to get the natural stuff?  Like, if you can't buy it at your closest grocery store, do you make a special trip to get it somewhere else?  How far will you drive to get it?

Has anyone that's made a big effort to switch to mostly organic and other natural food products noticed much of a difference in how you feel?

Hi Kelly,

I have been an almost all organic eater for years now. Here are my answers:

So what do you do?  Do you buy organic stuff?  How often?  How do you decide what to buy organic and what not to?-

I shop at many different stores in order to get the best deals in organic products. I also visit different farmers market during the week and weekends/ or fruit/veggie stands so I keep my produce fresh. I have a list of all the organic certified vendors in my area which is pretty handy. I am lucky that California is so big on Organic.

My go to stores are Vons (they have a house organic brand called Organics) Safeway in some states. Ther brand is very affordable, has huge variety, and many items are often on sale.

Trader Joe's- They are not as cheap as Von's but they are also a good Organic alternative, plus they have some amazing products. I love party planning with all their organic meals, they rock. I also drink their coffee, some of their vitamins, and I complement my produce here if something is not available at the Farmer's Market.

If I can A- Splurge, B- Need something not found on the two above, or C- need something in bulk, or want to try something before bying it then I would go to either Costco (They have an organic brand, rather pricey though) or Whole Foods (The best Organic supermarket in my humble opinion, but also pricey- they will let you sample pretty much anything and their meat, cheese, pasta, and yogurt selectiosn ROCK!!)

There are also a few other local organic shops, but these are the typical pricey places with good stuff, but not nearly as good as Whole Foods.

Do you buy local food?  Go to the farmer's market or buy from local farms?  How important is that to you?  The concept of eating local food is something I've heard of before but only very recently actually learned much about.

I do support local farmers and I buy local as much as I can. It is super important to me to support these people. Plus, things taste so much better when they haven't been gased, refrigerated for days, etc. I buy anything from bake goods to flowers from local vendors whenever possible. I am also lucky that California is a huge grower of Strawberries, different types of Squash, Grapes, Apples, Raspberries, Blueberries, Cherries, Blackberries... I would hate to ever have to leave Cali.

Do you buy meat and dairy products from grass fed animals?  Hormone-free, antibiotic free?  Cage free eggs?  Anybody buy raw milk?

I do. I buy free range chicken/eggs, buy grass fed beef, buffalo, bison, lamb, etc.- but not always. If I am on a tight budget, I just go for good quaility lean meat from where it costs less. I am not into raw milk- but I haven't tried it. I am lactose intolerant- so I think I will stay away from that one LOL

How much do you make your own food from scratch because it's healthier than what you can buy in the store?  I am planning to try making my own yogurt.  Anyone do that?  I've heard it's not really that hard, but we'll see.

I love, love cooking. It is what I do to release stress, the one thing that makes me happy after a long crapy day at work. So I do it out of love and passion. I love creating new recipes, and making things from scratch. I grew up in Puerto Rico where my grandma even grew her own coffee, so I do take pride in making things myself the way she did. :) As far as yogurt, a yogurt maker comes in handy, and it really isn't hard. :)

How much extra money are you willing to spend for organic or other "natural" stuff?  How much extra trouble are you willing to go to in order to get the natural stuff?  Like, if you can't buy it at your closest grocery store, do you make a special trip to get it somewhere else?  How far will you drive to get it?

I don't shop with a budget in mind, I know I should, but I just buy what we need and if I end up spending a little more than expected, we just know we can't eat out or go to the movies, and those are sacrifices that I am willing to take. I am also willing to spend the extra money on gas due to shopping around in more than one store. To me is all worth it.

Has anyone that's made a big effort to switch to mostly organic and other natural food products noticed much of a difference in how you feel?

I have been mostly all organic for years now- has it made a difference, I am not sure- I have survived cancer and other things in the last 2 years so my health has not always been at best. Today, I feel great, I am proud of what I eat, and that overall gives me a great feeling.

Thanks for taking the time to answer in so much detail.

I'm in a pretty small town so there are limited options for shopping here.  We have Meijer (where I usually go for cheap stuff), Kroger (which costs more but carries some stuff I like that I can't get at Meijer) and Walmart (which I don't like that much).  there is one little health food store but it doesn't carry much actual food.  It carries lots of herbs and vitamins and stuff.  No Trader Joes, no Whole Foods, nothing like that.

However, my little town is surrounded by farmland.  I have found a farm about 30 minutes away where I can buy cage free eggs.  I'm gonna start buying stuff from farmer's markets although that season is nearly over for this year in my part of the country.  I am looking for a place to buy raw milk.

By the way, I have read that many people that are lactose intolerant can actually tolerate raw milk.  Apparently when milk is pasteurized, it kills some of the enzymes you need to digest milk easily.  In raw milk, those enzymes are still there.

I think being proud of what we eat is a wonderful benefit to eating organic, local, whatever.  I hadn't put it in those words, but I think that is part of what I'm looking for.

Hi Kelly,

I am in the process of switching my family over to an all-organic diet. We are lucky because we live in an area with a large selection of local produce and because my kids' school is encouraging of organic living and has lots of resources and suggestions to help.

We do eat alot of local food. Yesterday we went and picked our own apples and rasberries also bought corn, carrots, squash and onions. The local produce is SO much cheaper than at Whole Foods, etc (example raspberries $2.00/box, Whole Foods $5/box). We eat whatever fruit and veggies are in season, which stops us from having to buy the imported produce in the grocery stores and gives us a good variety. We usually get our meat for the week from the Farmer's Market, along with fresh bread, apple cider, and the occasional pastry for the kids. For a quick and easy meal, I fix my kids Amy's Organic frozen enchiladas or the chili, both of which are yummy.

Hope that helps!

I think the pick your own places are a great idea.  I don't even know where you can do that around here but I'm sure there are places.  I'm pretty much out in the country.  Next summer i might try canning some veggies and fruit.  Do you do any of that?

Warning...I'm a certified tree hugger / environmentalist....and a chemist / toxicologist by profession so I’m a bit “out there" according to some people.

For me…it’s been a natural progression. In college as a chemistry major, my focus was on formulary chemistry, which focuses on the use of chemicals in manufacturing processes and in pharmaceuticals. Because it was such an industry heavy approach to things, I didn’t give much thought to what was in my food, but I was obsessed with what went on my body (weird I know). I’ve always had sensitive skin and I’m a makeup freak. My “dream" was to create a natural skin/makeup company (still working on that one). I stopped using products with sulfates, silicones, and petrochemicals on my skin and hair.  For me, the difference was like night and day. Gone was my super dry flaky skin and constantly dry brittle hair, and in its place came supple soft skin and silky soft hair. For me, it was a change that I sorely needed. 

In graduate school, I started paying attention to what went IN my body as I started studying the toxicity of chemicals and their effect on the body. Fast forward *cough 8 cough* years since I finished grad school and while I do watch what I eat, I wade through TONS of propaganda related to food, what’s safe and what’s not for both my job and for my personal use. I actually used to work for the FDA headquarters in DC and currently work with the EPA and there is a LOT of scare tactics that are being used by different groups to encourage people to buy organic/natural/free-range. 

There are a few things that all consumers should know about what these terms mean in relation to how conventional food is grown/produced.  Organic simply means that food is grown without the use of pesticides. Because no pesticides mean a lower crop yield, you pay more than for food that is grown with pesticides. There are some foods that I buy organic and some I buy conventional. For fruits and veggies, my personal rule of thumb is that if you will eat the skin/hull, buy organic. For fruits and veggies that I will not consume the skin/hull, buy conventional…especially if the skin/hull is very thick (bananas, avocados, melons). Buying these products organic is just throwing your money away because the conventional pesticides that are used on these items will not penetrate the hull/skin. For processed foods, “organic" can mean a couple of things….a product can be 100% organic, organic (which is 95-99% organic), and made with organic ingredients (70-94% organic). Anything with less that 70% organic ingredients is not allowed to use the USDA organic sticker on its label. For meat, milk and eggs; organic means that hormones and antibiotics were not used on the animals. Here is a good article that explains about organic labeling: http://usda-fda.com/articles/organic.htm and http://www.quicklabel.com/blog/2010/10/how-to-get-a-certifie d-organic-product-label-in-the-usa/.
As far as free range, IMO, it’s a marketing term and has very little to do with animal husbandry or agriculture. There really isn’t that much difference between animals that are raised free-range and those that are raised using “conventional" methods.  For instance, a lot of people think that “free-range" chickens are raised similar to how they were raised in the old days (called yarding) where they just walk around outside within a fenced in yard. Free-range chickens are STILL crammed into chicken houses; the only difference is that instead of 1 chicken per square foot, you may have 1 every 2-3 square feet and the chickens have access to a “run". The density of chickens is reduced, but the living conditions are much the same. Also, free-range chickens are still “turned over" every 30-45 days just like conventional chickens, which means you are basically eating a fat-ass chick, and not a full grown chicken. Most chicken houses (conventional and free range) keep the lights on about 22 hours a day…because a chicken’s brain is so small and it is a very light sensitive animal. As long as there is light, the chicken will continue to eat, which allows it to get the size of a grown chicken in 30days. Every noticed in the grocery store that in the “store brand" chicken parts most of the drum sticks will be broken? That’s not from the processing…that’s because the bird got too big too fast and the weight caused the legs to break!   

Also, keep in mind that the USDA and FDA don’t recognize free-range pork, beef, or other non poultry products.  With that said, for poultry, I look for products and companies that raise “pastured poultry" which means the birds spend the majority of their lives in a pasture (except for the brooding period). This is similar to yarding which reduces the animals stress hormone levels and is overall healthier. Most beef is grazed and not confined so don’t really buy any “special" beef other than making sure that it is hormone and antibiotic free. I don’t eat pork products, but I have friends that do, I suggest to them to look for pork that is raised using “deeply bedded" pens. Unless you go to a specialty grocer (Whole Foods or local co-op) you will not find pork that is raised in this manner in traditional grocery stores.

So….where do I shop. I try to shop at local farmers markets when I can because I try and support sustainable farming and I try to keep my money in the local economy. I also shop at Whole Foods (which the BF calls whole paycheck) and my local co-op which I’m a member of. I try to buy fresh fruits and veggies when in season, and being a good ole country girl, I preserve my summer veggies/fruits by canning or freezing to get me through the winter. 

As far as how I feel, I think its more related to eating more fresh food that prepared at home without lots of preservatives rather than eating organic. I do think that making the effort after RNY might have more benefits, mainly because your body is working on less fuel, its dropping lots of weight fast, and giving your body less bad stuff will make it more efficient in processing what little food it is given. 

I’m not an authority by any means, but this is just my long ass 2 cents for what it’s worth!

The environmental issues are important to me too.  I used to be pickier about what went on my body and somehow over the years just got away from that.  I need to get back to it.  Like, I used to use a mixture of baking soda and cornstarch in place of deoderant.  It was cheap, nontoxic and worked great.

When I say free range, I mean really free range.  I know when you buy eggs in the store that say cage free, they still are not treated much different than the ones raised in cages.  The local small farm I am going to buy eggs for from now on has chickens that spend as much time outdoors as they wish, with access to shelter during inclement weather.

Buying organic produce when you're going to eat the skin/peel makes sense to me.  Although if the environmental issues are important as well as health, organic still matters even if you aren't going to eat the skin, because all those pesticides are polluting the environment even if they aren't getting into the food.

The thing with buying stuff organic when you eat the skin/hull is more for cost savings.  Some people can't afford to buy ALL organic foods, espcially in this economy so using that as a "guide" allows them to get the most "bang for the buck" so to speak. 

The issue with pesticides is a bit trickier.  There are some pesticides that are not persistant and are "neutralized" with the addition of additives that condition the soil when the fields are being turned over.  Also, keep in the, the farmer isn't out there drenching the field in pesticides everyday.  Fields are treated 1-2x per growing season to treat pests, insects, and diseases.  Pesticides ain't cheap and the farmer isn't trying to spend more on the crop that he has to, otherwise his profit declines.  Also, run off from fields is regulated to prevent the introduction of pesticides into the surface water.

IMO, the environmental issues related to our food that concern me are those tied to manufacturing plants that are adding additives to food and that discharge into creeks/streams and/or that have smoke stacks.  More pollutants are introduced that way than pesticides sprayed into the field.

I say go to your local farmer's market and get what you can from who you trust. Anything else, you just cant trust that it is truly organic.
I have 2 reasons... one- I saw a documentary once on how companies lie when it comes to what they are feeding their animals and how it's processed. two- I had a client/friend who was hired to fly planes that sprayed pesticides on farms in the dead of night because these were "organic" fields.

For money saving ideas on organic produce check out the "Thrifty Mama" page on facebook. She gets the latest on all the big chain deals and coupons for natural and organic products and alot of ideas for saving money. Also if you are looking for Raw Milk it will be labeled only for animal use because technically raw milk can not be sold for humans.  My daughter's family uses raw milk all the time, it is supposed to be better on your system. Personally I am waiting for her goat to have a kid so I can try goat's milk (I am lactose-intolerant). Hope this helps.