Organic....When Does It REALLY Matter

It seems today everything WANTS to be labels as organic.  Canned Vegetables, crackers, fruits, vegetables, etc.

Yesterday I learned that you are better to eat organic chicken verses free-range because of the quantity of chicken in an area, etc.

So I have learned that alot of the organic foods in my area are alot more expensive yet.

When does it matter the most to have organic - for health benefits?

Fresh stuff?  Grains?

What are your ideas.  I am trying to introduce healthier foods into my diet and not sure where I would have the best health benefit for my buck.

Thanks for your thoughts, ideas.

I read an article about this exact question.

Let me see if I can find it for you.  =)

OK.  Here is one article.

And here is some more related info from consumer reports.

Thanks - that is what I was looking for.

Do you have a Whole Foods Market, or Trader Joe's near you?  I've found that their prices for organic products are a lot lower than in the supermarket.  For instance, I get canned, organic, no salt added beans for only .89 a can at Whole Foods.  Their prices for cereals is lower too, and their bulk grains are very reasonable.  What you have to watch out for are all the beautiful, high priced goodies on display.  Shop with a list and with blinders on!

Another thing to keep in mind when choosing between conventional and organic is the health of our environment.  The amount of pesticides and fertilizer that does NOT get dumped into the land and water because of organic farming is huge.  I don't recall exact numbers, but there are people out there who argue that if the true costs of food production, i.e. the environmental costs associated with degrading farming practices and chemical use, were factored into the price of our food at the supermarket, conventional foods would actually be more expensive.

Agreed about cheaper stuff at Whole Foods.  I think it's way more fun to shop there anyway.  Sometimes they have weird produce or foods I've never tried before and if you ask they'll usually let you sample some.  Organic is always better, but I know it's not always practical.  I try to buy organic as much as I can, especially with fresh produce and breads.

Also, a note about the chicken: personally, I don't eat it, but my advice would definitely be to go organic if you're going to.  Non-organic will always have antibiotics in the meat.  Regardless, all of it's pretty filthy unless you buy from a small local farm.  Even "free range" isn't really.  If the door the the chicken warehouse (where each bird has about 6 square inches of excrement-filled space to live in) is open even an hour a day, the chicken can be considered "free range"  even if the birds never actually go outdoors.

Again, Whole Foods might have some chicken (and other meat) that has a humane guarantee about the living conditions and slaughtering practices.  This is your best bet for cleanliness and lowest risk of food borne bacteria.

I try to eat organic with everything I can.  But I'm especially picky about milk.  The cattle/dairy industry is just terrible for various reasons, and I feel a lot better knowing there are no hormones or other nastiness in my milk.  One day I'll probably switch to non-dairy, but for now it's organic skim or nothing for me.  :)

I am not very educated on the whole meat market.  But Beef is starting to scare me a little.....especially hamburger.

I have a friend that ONLY buys steak and grinds it herself.  I guess that is why.

Beef scares the bejeezus out of me.  I had tenderlion for Christmas, something I used to love, and I barely ate 2 ounces.  Told my family next year I'll buy the meat as my present, and I'll get organic grain-fed, no matter the cost.  :)

Can anyone recommend a good book about organic foods and/or the meat industry, etc???  I am interested in reading it.

If you read Fast Food Nation, it tells all about the meat industry (and the fast food industry and the school food industry).

But salome, don't be afriad to go up to the meat counter in your grocery store with a special request -- that they grind some meat for you freshly right then and there.  Unless you go late in the evening, they will probably be glad to do it and charge you the same as that cut and weight of beef would have been otherwise.

It does kind of turn your stomach to think that a single patty of beef could have come from God-knows-how-many cows...   :s

Nomore - thanks.  Stupid question......what kind of cut is good for hamburger?  I would assume any cheaper steak.  What do you think?

yeah - I'd probably go with sirloin...

There's a grocery store in Greensboro that grinds all meat right there in the store where you can see them doing it.  It's called Fresh Market and they mostly sell produce and fresh meat.  I wish I had one here....

If you saw the movie Supersize Me and enjoyed it at all, Morgan Spurlock wrote a book called Don't Eat This Book that expands on the movie quite a bit.  He spends a good bit of time talking about the food industry, in a pretty entertaining manner.  I have it on audio CD and really enjoyed it, but I think his personality would come out even in the written version.  Definitely a good read.

I liked supersized but it was really dragged out.

Thank you pandajenn - I will check it out. 

I eat organic foods as much as possible.  Have eaten organic eggs and dairy for the last 20 years...didn't want to feed my daughter hormones and extra antibiotics that weren't necessary. 

Some things I've noticed re not consuming such foods:

1.  organic chicken makes better gravy - the chicken is not pumped up with oil, so the drippings actually taste like chicken.

2.  my daughter developed at a "normal" age and not prematurely because of the hormones in milk

3. organic fruits and veggies are firmer and better quality.  But one thing I read recently said that fruits that have a heavy peel that's removed (such as bananas) are not as important to have organic as fruits where the peel is thin and actually consummed (like an apple). 

4.  definitely use organic grains and beans/peas - again better quality

5.  I grind my own beef (don't even have the store grind it - don't know how clean their grinder is - a lot of ground beef is contaminated by the grinder itself).

salome190 - I recommend Michael Pollen's The Omnivore's Dilemma.  I recommended this on another thread this morning too!  A journalistic account about where our food comes from - lots of info about the economics of corn production and subsidies, agro-business vs. organic industry, grass farming, and interesting things about foods we eat generally.  He tries to follow a calf from birth to slaughter, and trace where our meat comes from too.  Then, in the last part of the book, he attempts to create a meal entirely from food he himself has hunted and gathered.  Very informative, very easy read, AND he has a great sense of humor.

I am a new believer in organic food.  As a result of two weeks on this site and WHFoods.com, I've already switched to organic skim milk, organic apples, and organic black beans.  I will gradually change the majority of the foods I eat to organic (oatmeal, pineapple, chicken, turkey, etc).  I've also introduced ground flaxseed to my menu.  Since I've been eating healthier, I feel so much better.  Organic food is definitely more expensive...I purchased a 1/2 gallon of skim milk at the Natural Food Store for $4.49.  The same size conventional milk was on sale at the traditional grocery store for $1.50.  I know that organic is a much better choice for me.  When I purchased organic milk for the first time this past week, I trashed an 1/2 gallon conventional milk I had in the fridge.  And wow do organic apples taste better than conventional apples! 

yet another topic very helpful and relevant to what we're all trying to accomplish here...

QUESTION:

I buy chicken breasts that are labeled as "non-medicated". I am assuming they are not free range, but do they qualify as organic. Where do they fit on the spectrum?