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Convince me to buy organic

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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
So, I have a slight grasp on the whole buy organic/local thing. I understand a few of the benefits (fair trade, support the local economy, healthier, less energy) but I'd like a greater overview (without doing any research).

However, as a broke college student I can't justify it all the time. Are there any items I should definitely go organic or? Similarly, are there any things I don't necessarily need to buy organic?
Jul 21 2010 2:31PM
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blong131
Posts: 2193 - Karma: 59
I buy organic cuz my mom says so. i always do what my mom says.
Jul 21 2010 2:33PM
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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
Interesting. I may take you up on that offer, I'll have to look into it more first though so I don't ask too many noob questions.
Jul 21 2010 2:35PM
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Jordan
Posts: 4079 - Karma: 2,122
Here's some interesting reads really short

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/22/five-easy-ways-to-go-organic/

http://www.ota.com/organic_and_you/10reasons.html

my clicky isn't working

but also consider buying a lowflow shower head which saves up to 5 gallons a shower...

LED lighting lasts much longer and a much lower cost

little things like that really add up
Jul 21 2010 2:35PM
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gus555
Posts: 4170 - Karma: 34
all my mommy buys is organic
Jul 21 2010 2:35PM
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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
By hormone free, you mean non-GMO?
Jul 21 2010 2:36PM
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sack
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 147
I agree with this, for eggs I think it's worth it to buy cage free, but spending that much extra on veggies is ridiculous for a college student
Jul 21 2010 2:38PM
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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
For sure. I'd be interested in seeing the numbers, in terms of overall cost of switching light bulbs or shower heads. I'm only in my apartment for one year, maybe two.
Jul 21 2010 2:38PM
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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
Are all organic eggs cage free? And what does cage free actually mean? Is it just so hens have better lives?

I like veggies, so I don't mind spending more on them...I gotta experiment with my cooking more though.
Jul 21 2010 2:40PM
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-dva-
Posts: 1530 - Karma: 23
One way to save money and reduce your impact is eat less meat. I'm NOT saying be a vegetarian...unless you want to of course. First try to only eat meat in one meal/day. Then try and work your way down from there. You could also use the approach of figuring out how much you spend on meat/milk/eggs every week, and then limit yourself to that same budget, but only buy organic/free range/etc. However much you can afford is how much you get to enjoy that week.

There are so many awesome and creative meals you can eat with just vegetables, and when you only eat meat a couple times/week, it just tastes so much better when you do. Don't worry so much about organic as local. Find your local farmer's market and buy what's in season. Chances are, it probably isn't going to be much more than you'd pay for standard produce in a grocery store. Also, be open to new foods like kale, chard, etc.

Anyway, moral of the story - I'm broke as a joke, but I can still afford to eat almost exclusively local/organic, and enjoy meat a few times a week.
Jul 21 2010 2:44PM
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FBGM
Posts: 8184 - Karma: 2,677
ah buffalo is my favorite.
Jul 21 2010 2:47PM
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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
Great post. I may start to only do meat on certain days of the week for dinner.

Our local farmer's market is Saturday mornings, so I gotta start making it to more of those.
Jul 21 2010 2:48PM
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-dva-
Posts: 1530 - Karma: 23
Thanks dude, and yeah, farmers markets are the shit. People get scared away by the high prices of out-of-season stuff that's easily available at any grocery store. If you're getting things in peak season though they can be dirt cheap. This is particularly true for zucchini and squash.
Jul 21 2010 2:53PM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
That or just cruise by some farms, there's one down the road from me that sells corn, peppers, and all kinds of melons and veggies and junk. Not sure it's organic but I seriously doubt the little old lady is out there spraying her veggie garden. Great prices too. Sometimes I catch em as soon as the guy comes in from picking corn, it doesn't get much fresher than that.
Jul 21 2010 2:57PM
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-dva-
Posts: 1530 - Karma: 23
Hell yeah, roadside stands are another great way to go. Even if they're spraying, you can be pretty damn sure it's nothing like an industrial farm
Jul 21 2010 3:00PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51617 - Karma: 162,030
The quality of the foods and the fact that you're supporting local business is always a plus.
Jul 21 2010 3:02PM
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Username_42069
Posts: 1591 - Karma: 15
its expensive now, but keep buying it and prices will go down as the whole green movement thing grows, its the way prices work. increase in demand means decrease in prices.. i think, im no economics ggguy.

or you could do what i did and make your own greenhouse, so now i can grow greens year round for very cheap. the initial cost was steep but its paying off in a big way. /semi-claim
Jul 21 2010 3:07PM
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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
I mean in general organic prices may go down, but that's the whole point of fair trade - paying farmers a minimum so that if demand is low they won't get screwed.
Jul 21 2010 3:09PM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
window boxes are another option to a green house. couple 2 x 12s in a box and any kind of trash glass window on top and you can grow greens year round if it doesn't get too cold where you are. just plop the box down on top of your garden and you're good to go.
Jul 21 2010 3:14PM
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C-Burg
Posts: 4729 - Karma: 130
Last summer I worked on a Dairy Farm that was non-organic. The family that owned the one I worked at also owned an organic up the road. The cows at the organic dairy farm were in far worse shape and some even malnourished and did not produce an adequate amount of milk. People think that non-organic dairy farmers use hormones to increase production, but they dont anymore and havent in the past 20 years. The use of antibiotics in the cows helps the cows stay healthy, just like us, and there milk is actually better. Now this is just with organic/non-organic milk but doesnt always mean better
Jul 21 2010 3:17PM
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C-Burg
Posts: 4729 - Karma: 130
sorry last sentence should be organic doesnt always mean better
Jul 21 2010 3:19PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
This is how I live my life.

1.Eat organic.
2.Live healthy.
3.Ski better.
4.Be sexier.
5.Fuck Bitches.
6.Get Money.
7. ?????
8. PROFIT.
Jul 21 2010 3:21PM
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Commonwealth
Posts: 3729 - Karma: 11
VT, so no go on that.


Besides, I'm struggling to learn how to cook, nevermind grow my own food!
Jul 21 2010 3:22PM
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Dustin.
Posts: 13839 - Karma: 7,704
For that short of a time, expensive LED's would be difficult to justify.  The difference in your environmental impact would also be very small, so I say stay with what you have.
Jul 21 2010 3:27PM
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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246
i dont buy organic because that means going to whole foods, and our other hippie organic grocery store. and i cannot stand to spend more than a minute in or around those places. they are the worst kind of people. half the people drive hybrids, and they are all smug as fuck. i do have a friend who's family owns a farm and i usually get shit from them though. they grown some stuff organically, but after talking to them about it, a very large amount of organically grown veggies, fruit, meat, free range, etc... is bullshit and a waste of your money.
Jul 21 2010 3:27PM
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slash22
Posts: 94 - Karma: 5
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-great-organic-myths-why-organic-foods-are-an-indulgence-the-world-cant-afford-818585.html

clicky
Jul 21 2010 3:29PM
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Jordan
Posts: 4079 - Karma: 2,122
ugh.
Jul 21 2010 3:34PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
I think you see stereotypes before you actually see people.

Plus, you dont need to shop at whole foods, dude... I eat organic and there isnt a whole foods within an hour of me.
Jul 21 2010 3:36PM
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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246
ive been to whole foods 3 times and the other place twice, and 90% of the people in there are smug douche bags, every time ive gone there its been a horrible experience. there is whole foods, and one other place just like it. those are the only organic grocery stores in my town. and really, i dont care much about buying organic, because like i said, most the organic crap people buy is pointless.
Jul 21 2010 3:42PM
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yojimbo
Posts: 3631 - Karma: 27
organic is great and all, especially when it comes to your health. the hormones and proccessed chemicals and shit in most food is really scary, but personally I think its way more important to buy local. And around here anyways most of the local farms and stuff are organic so it justs comes along with that which is nice, but for the most part in the summer I grow my own vegetables so that ain't bad. but really buy local support your community.
Jul 21 2010 3:47PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
it tastes better and is better for you... that pretty much explains why it's NOT pointless.

if you are letting 'smug dbags' and trivial things like this stop you from getting fruits and veggies that taste better and are not loaded with pesticides that can cause nasty shit later in your life, then you're just a wuss who obviously cannot handle stuff.

Trust me. There are way more smug dbags for you to encounter in your life who you might have to see for more than the 20 mins that you're in a store for, and actually engage with in order to get work done...


Jul 21 2010 3:48PM
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PASKIINGSUCKS
Posts: 9097 - Karma: 777
It's amazing that you were able to converse with 100% of the people in the store and still complete your shopping. Unless of course you're calling them smug assholes just by the way they look.
Jul 21 2010 3:49PM
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pmw
Posts: 5760 - Karma: 831
Click for larger image
Jul 21 2010 3:52PM
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TROLLED.HARD
Posts: 1032 - Karma: -11
Or you can just become a vegetarian like me. That will cut out more expenses.
Jul 21 2010 3:53PM
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pmw
Posts: 5760 - Karma: 831
chea bro


hows your pussy?
Jul 21 2010 3:54PM
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TROLLED.HARD
Posts: 1032 - Karma: -11
Come to the darkside my friend.
Jul 21 2010 3:56PM
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sack
Posts: 4881 - Karma: 147
I don't think organic means it's cage free necessarily, and vice versa. organic means organic feed for the hens, which means producing more enriched eggs, more vitamins, no hormones, and no melamine in the feed.
cage free/free range means the hens can walk around and feed outside. the conditions for regular egg laying hens are pretty cramped, stressful and cruel. I don't really want to go into details here, but i found out a few disgusting facts for eggs and chicken meat processing on a peta website. apparently it's even terrible for the people who work there.
a box of free range eggs normally runs me about $5-6 CDN, whereas regular eggs are around $2. I often get enriched eggs instead which are around $3
Jul 21 2010 3:58PM
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TROLLED.HARD
Posts: 1032 - Karma: -11
A) I don't have one thanks.
B) Why are you bashing people who choose to eat differently. That's pretty fucking lame.
Jul 21 2010 3:59PM
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pmw
Posts: 5760 - Karma: 831
why are you immediately assuming having a pussy is a bad thing?
Jul 21 2010 4:00PM
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PacificRimJob
Posts: 24725 - Karma: 29,944
You have to have balls in order to give up meat...

besides. big deal. grow up fool.
Jul 21 2010 4:01PM
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Da_CONK
Posts: 528 - Karma: 93
And there you have it. My family has a pretty big garden and we grow probably 80-85% of our produce, saves money and is natural. Win-Win.
Jul 21 2010 4:06PM
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geteducated
Posts: 6410 - Karma: 86
ill buy from wherever. the only i consider with my food is not to eat veal.

i eat meat from wal-mart and costco. its tasty.
Jul 21 2010 4:13PM
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Avifarer
Posts: 5926 - Karma: 598
Ya pretty much this. Go to farmers markets and buy stuff whenever you can. It tastes better, you have a pretty good idea of where it came from, and you can actually see a face to who is growing your food.
I have been reading this book called the Omnivores Dilemma and there is a chapter about organic food. And lets just say the food system in america is fucked up. They have regulations set in place for organic food, but in reality organic food still has chemicals and bad stuff in them.
Jul 21 2010 4:19PM
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Heart
Posts: 6156 - Karma: 3,462
Generally it's only healthier if you eat organic fruits/veggies when you eat the parts of the plant that would normally be sprayed with pesticides. For example, organic watermelon is pointless. You dont east the rind, so who cares if there are pesticides on it. But on strawberries or grapes, you eat the skin, so organic is a good thing.
Jul 21 2010 4:28PM
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XtRemE11
Posts: 5680 - Karma: 246
yeah i am judging alot based on how they look and the hybrids they drive, but when everyone that talks to me, everyone at the cash register i talked to is a smug douche, its pretty safe to say that a majority of everyone in there is.

i shop at safeway, and ill buy some organic stuff if i can, but im not the type of person who refuses to eat non organic. in fact the only person i know who eats only organic food, is fat, and sick all the fucking time. and he brags all the time about being healthy.
maybe when im 50 ill worry about every little thing that i eat, but for now i just dont really give a shit.
Jul 21 2010 4:30PM
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Fish_Sandwich.
Posts: 9108 - Karma: 16
haha
Jul 21 2010 4:35PM
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Username_42069
Posts: 1591 - Karma: 15
cool.
Jul 21 2010 4:39PM
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Mex_LineJib^a
Posts: 3928 - Karma: 65

i work in the food industry and i support this message.

no really el gato sure knows his shit! also, try your local fresh catch. it's a good and nutritious alternative for organic beef, poultry and other red meats.

Jul 21 2010 4:43PM
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dmc12380
Posts: 3545 - Karma: 792
worked in Produce dept at a grocery store for 2 years and learned that organic is really not that much healthier for you than non-organic.
But, it is better for the environment. Organic foods tend to be more local, especially at Whole Foods, which cuts down on transportation and fuel. Also, all the pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers used in conventional farming leach into the Mississippi and out to the gulf of mexico creating dead spots in the ocean, which are areas lacking oxygen and oxygen is needed for fish to live.
Jul 21 2010 7:04PM
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Dan.
Posts: 7201 - Karma: 1,126
I don't necessarily support the whole "organic" thing, seeing as half the shit that's labeled organic actually isn't. but buying local is the tits. As someone who does a lot of cooking, getting veggies from the local market is amazing, as all the veggies are in season, and are never more than a day or two old. Buying meat from a butcher is essential too. A knowledgable one who has been around for a while. They will age beef properly, give you the exact cut you want, with nothing extra, and are all around awesome.
Jul 21 2010 7:21PM
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RudyGarmisch
Posts: 25443 - Karma: 13,844
I think theres a better argument for buying locally grown food rather than "organic" stuff in huge supermarkets.
Jul 21 2010 7:26PM
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