To Go Organic or Not?

I have been buying more and more organic foods, as much as possible in fact. Yes they are healthier but they also taste a lot better. In fact because of my organic buying club I had a pear this Christmas for the first time since I was a child that actually tasted like a pear did when I was a kid. It was glorious. Even my nay sayer wife is in on the game and she actually looks forward to picking up the vegetables when they are ready (could be a hot guy that loads the car for her, who knows).

Anyway here is a list of what you should buy organic to avoid pesticides and what may not matter so much. Its a good list and one I will strictly follow:

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/

I agree with you that the taste is incredibly better - yum. Bananas, although not a part of the clean 15, are generally considered on the cleaner end. However, I often tell people about the bonus I get when buying bananas (which I will do when I eating fruit again, which is in maintenance).

I like bananas on the greener end. I find that organic bananas are much slower to over ripen. They actually look like they are too ripe - speckled or worse, but when you peel them they are fine. I would never buy conventional bananas.

Annie

Yes while they may not contain dangerous levels of pesticides there are other advantages to organic bananas, mostly taste. They taste a lot better and you are right they do not over ripen as fast as conventional.

Bananas are the one thing that I will go out of my way to buy organic. They are the best!

Hey Keith I'm with you. I started Organic a couple of years ago when I started a trial of farm to house delivery service. I've never had tastier vegetables, so I continued and have not turned back. Its a great way to try new veggies too because you don't always know whats coming in your box

I'm all for organic and am about 80% The flavor differences are incredible.

We try to keep our food sources as close to home as possible!

Yep, we're organic!  Also, grass-fed meats are lower in cholesterol and healthier for you.  When I log my foods I make sure to use the grass-fed data if it's available.

I haven't fully made the switch to grass fed beef. I have to relearn how to cook with it. The couple times I have it has come out dry. I am also not fully into the taste, something I will have to get used to.

Organic milk also lasts way longer than regular milk.  So if you're a slow milk drinker, it's well worth the extra cost.  The poster above mentioned grass fed meats, I have been looking in my area for grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free beef.  I have found a local guy and want to order soon. 

 

It's not the red meat that kill you, it's all the crap they feed/shoot into the cow before he becomes your next steak that kills you!  (Same goes for poultry, pork, and seafood.) 

My brothers wife's family are farmers- family farm for over 60 years. They are NOT organic and have 70 acres. I have learned more than I ever thought I would about farming- and organic food.

 

BUY LOCAL and in season.  Local farmers do not have the money to constantly spray there fields like the big farms- they only spray when necessary. A lot of the time they use the same pesticides as organic farmers are allowed to use. Organic farmers ARE ALLOWED to use pesticides they are only allowed to use certain types and amounts.  Guarantee you will find the same great tasting food when you buy local. Obviously depending wear you live that's not always possible.

The pesticides cost hundreds of dollars- you literally add ONE CAP FULL to 500 gallons of water to spay acres of fields. You literally have to eat acres of food before you possibly would get sick.

Organic foods are unnecessarily overpriced. Your more likely to get sick from a local organic farmer because many do not compost correctly.