I'm more of an advocate for buying locally than buying organic, but I do get both when I can / where it makes sense.
This sums up my views nicely.
Instead of having "answers" on a math test, they should just call them "impressions," and if you got a different "impression," so what, can't we all be brothers?
We moved to organics for the seven "dirty" produce. We switched to grass fed beef when DH did research and found it to be healthier (more of something) than regular beef. While I do understand - organic isn't the end all be all of health - I can't really "justify" eating foods that have "extras" added.
Don't get me wrong - we aren't completely crunchy and we aren't always vigilent about everything. But, as DH put it "I'd rather have a product (beef or eggs or something) where the producer is eating what it SHOULD be eating naturally."
So - cows eat grass. That's natural. We buy grass fed beef. Chickens should eat bugs. We try to find free range egss (more difficult to find for us and expensive so we do cage free).
Now, do I *need* to have my cheese from grass-fed, hand-milked Amish cows? No, but it's actually no more expensive than other natural cheeses (I don't find Kraft to be natural). So, I support those farms that do things more naturally.
This is where we are. We're much more vigilant about our buying habits with meat than anything else.
I can't find a long term study on these issues. Short terms studies are common. But, it would take a major study for me to believe that things like pesticides and other GMO behaviors didn't attribute to some of the health issues my generation is having now.
I absolutely agree with this. The notion that our food NEEDS added hormones, antibiotics, chemicals, etc. would require some hard proof to convince me it's true. Purely anecdotal, but if we think back to when we were all younger, some of the health issues we now see just didn't seem to be so prevalent back then. Before we felt that our food somehow needed "boosts".
There is something I have been noticing and wondering if it has to do with food, environmental conditions, birth control methods, or a combination. I see more and more women with thinning hair. Not balding but thinning, wider parts and just less hair all over.
I don't doubt there are a lot of factors that come into play with a lot of health issues (thinning hair, etc). And, it could be that our science is so advanced that we can detect these things earlier and earlier whereas before we didn't know they existed. So, maybe they were always there - we just didn't know. And, I'm sure it's not just one thing.
but, I do know there is an obesity epidemic. That is visible. A lot of factors have gone into play with that, but GMO food, HFCS, bigger portions, lack of activity - it all goes hand in hand. I believe the food to be a huge part of it - but that's my opinion.
I do know that many of my friends have been dealing with health issues that are not traditionally associated with relatively "healthy" folks in their 30s. Not saying that is all food related, but I believe it is part of it.
I think one big contributor to obesity are diet sodas and other diet or "healthy" foods (think SnackWells) that are neither healthy nor diet friendly but encourage people to dig in because "hey this is a diet food so I can eat the whole box of cookies." And I think the organic label also plays into that. At DS's soccer practice there is a mom who is heavy (probably obese) and brings her maybe 3 year old daughter, who is overweight, to practice. Of course the kid is bored so mom has a bag of snacks for her and keeps handing them out. Of course I didn't say anything but she felt the need to tell me that these were all organic foods with the implication that that makes it okay. They were things like graham crackers, granola bars, dried fruit etc so things that aren't bad foods but high in calories and not something you should eat out of boredom.
There is something I have been noticing and wondering if it has to do with food, environmental conditions, birth control methods, or a combination. I see more and more women with thinning hair. Not balding but thinning, wider parts and just less hair all over.
You may notice it more now because 1) you are older and around more adults and 2) back then you probably didn't notice when women were wearing wigs. My grandmother wore a wig, and I think it was fairly common "back in the day". Of course it may be more prevalent now too, who knows.
I think one big contributor to obesity are diet sodas and other diet or "healthy" foods (think SnackWells) that are neither healthy nor diet friendly but encourage people to dig in because "hey this is a diet food so I can eat the whole box of cookies."
Very true! My MIL gives my nieces diet soda all the time. It drives me bonkers. That stuff isn't "safe". It's got a sh!t load of crap in it. It is calorie free, but that doesn't make it good for anyone. I guess it irks me because she always tries to give it to my kids - even though we repeatedly tell her the girls don't like soda. And it's true! We let ODD try some root beer (I thought it's sweeter and be "easier" but I wasn't happy about letting her try it) and she hated it. She didn't like the carbination. She opened her mouth to spit it out and it all dribbled down her face. She avoids soda like the plague! YDD we haven't let her try it because I'm sure she'd probably like it. So water, milk and the occassional juice are it. They are liking lemonade now too. Not that I like that either - it's the Crystal Lite stuff with (again) a sh!t load of crap in it. But, the get it only at my parents house and my mom will limit it to one glass per day per my request.
Our downfall was to eat too much of the diet food. DH and I overate because "it's reduced calorie or fat free!" We get strange looks when people know we are eating better and losing weight yet I flat out refuse reduced fat salad dressing or reduced fat/fat free cheese.
I don't get it. Do people really think organic food has more nutrition? No, it just has less pesticides and chemicals. It won't change anything for me.
There are some beliefs that it does, but I think a lot of concepts are getting really mixed up with this study. (Which isn't presenting new facts, it's just a review of the studies have already been done.)
The idea is this: the most common varieties of fruits and vegetables that are in most grocery stores have become popular because of their ability to last long, ripen slowly (not rot before getting to shelves), and resist diseases and pests. They were chosen because of the way our food industry currently works. They were not chosen for their taste or nutritional content. These seeds (because most are GMO) are now granted patents, so the seed company Monsanto now owns all these varieties. Farmers aren't allowed to save the seeds, they have to rebuy from Monsanto each season. Monsanto gets to say which varieties are for sale, so the amount of variety is restricted.
Compare that with what most "organic" farmers do--although that label still doesn't have a hard and fast definition, which is a big part of the problem with the results of this study. Organic farmers do not buy from Monsanto. They use old fashioned seeds, which can be selected for taste and nutrition. Heirloom tomatoes vs regular grocery store tomatoes are probably the most famous example of the difference between old varieties and the common ones. Some older varieties of fruits and vegetables do have more nutrition than the Monsanto ones, but because those aren't singled out in this study the results are really misleading.
I never really paid much attention to what was in food until I had a conversation with a co-worker. She had a young daughter and avoided anything with added hormones. Her research indicated that added hormones possibly contributed to what appeared to be girls physically maturing earlier than normal. And we all know about the research on how bacteria is becoming antibiotic-resistant. It definitely made me reconsider what kind of additives we're putting into food that doesn't necessarily need them. Would we really need to add antibiotics to livestock feed if they weren't crammed into these spaces for the entirety of their life? Do we really need giant chicken breasts or is that just a by-product of how out of control our portion size has become?
Foods and beverages that are fat free/sugar free need additives in order for them to resemble in taste the original version. That can't be good for anyone to consume that on a regular basis.
I am fortunate to live in an area that still has a lot of small farms (South Eastern PA). I try to buy meat/poultry/eggs from them. It is not certified organic, but it is free range and no hormones, antibiotics, etc are added. I also try to buy local produce in the summer and we do a lot of "pick your own" for fruit. Many of our local farms are either low spray/IPA or don't spray at all, but have just not gone through the expense of getting certified. Winter is harder because we live in an area that gets a cold winter. I try to buy organic at the grocery store for at least the "dirty dozen". Meat's not a problem, because I can still get that from the farms.
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Originally Posted by Chimichanga
