A heavy heart

[The Dogmother]

Interesting article here about whether or not organic food is better for you than non-organic food.

Personally, I think it's about cutting your cloth according to your means and beliefs; like so many of these things. We buy locally where we can and form producers who don't over medicate or use pesticides. If I need to buy from a supermarket (which i do), we get organic wheer I can afford it, to be assured not only of animal welfare, but also that the veggies etc haven't been sprayed with loads of chemicals.

 

Yesterday there was an article in the same paper quoting studies, which showed that organic food IS better for you, not just from the point that it's not contaminated by chemicals, but because it's usually grown slower and therefore is more rich in nutrients.

[kazaddress]

here is the artical for you

 

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2753446.ece

 

think its just telling us what most of us already knew.

 

organic onions SMELL like onions, and organic carrots SMELL like carrots, I can taste the smell while peeling. I dont get the same when peeling tesco carrots when helping friends prepare their dinners.

 

if it doesnt have a good smell and taste, then its not likely to have the same nutrients (in my "onion")

 

 

[Cinnamon]

Its an interesting article.

 

I am very much on your wavelength Clater.I buy Organic when,where & if I can, but if I can't then I am not going to lose sleep over it.

 

In my opinion I would rather my family & I had good home made meals that I have cooked for them,that may not always be Organic, than pre cooked,processed rubbish,full of additives & E numbers.

 

That said,if I could afford to eat organic 100%, & if the choice was as good as regular stuff, then I would.

[The Dogmother]

I think that my ethos is for locally produced stuff first, then organic second. I always speak to the producers that we meet at markets to ascertain how they grow/rear their produce. Like you say Sarah - I'm not about to lose sleep over it!

[Cinnamon]

I love the Henley Farmers Market & just wish it was more regular than once a month.

I have a good stock up on local cheeses,butter,sausages & meat, but need to be able to buy my veggies on a week by week basis.

 

I have tried Riverfords etc, but got fed up with getting stuff I never use, so have resorted to Tesco again

[Tessa the Duchess]

In my opinion I would rather my family & I had good home made meals that I have cooked for them,that may not always be Organic, than pre cooked,processed rubbish,full of additives & E numbers.

 

I share your opinion. I'm not all that fussed about buying organic fruit and veggies, I am however very strict about not buying any product with meat or

poultry that is not organic or at least free range. I will only buy organic milk

as I have heard horrible stories about intensive dairy farms. I never buy

processed ready made dinners. I do find it difficult going to friends to eat

if they wheel out a chicken dish I desperately want to ask if it is free range but I don't want to upset the hostess, so I figure 'its already dead and

cooked, me causing a fuss isn't going to change that, so I shut up and eat Anyone else have this problem and ways of dealing with it

 

Tessa

[kazaddress]

I have tried Riverfords etc, but got fed up with getting stuff I never use, so have resorted to Tesco again

 

I hear ya... I have had that problem before too.

 

I now wait for them to publicise their boxes on the friday. then choose the one that contains what i want. and top up on "extras" if need be.

 

I have also become a bit of a soup expert.... because if there is a veg im not sure what to do with.. it gets turned into soup

 

spinache and leek, roasted BNS and parmasan, kale and stilton soups have become the norm (I never know what to do with spinache and kale)

 

[Quiltyhen]

Apparently conventionally grown onions are the most sprayed with chemicals so I aways by organic ones. There's also a misunderstanding that organic food isn't sprayed, certain chemicals are allowed but greater reliance is paid to alternative methods such as encouraging wildlife and improving the soil.

 

I think there was also a recent article (probably on the radio) that said the Soil Association was looking at the standard of imported organic food as it wasn't up to UK standards but still getting the premium price in supermarkets.

 

I've been amazed at the difference in flavour of home produced eggs so it seems logical that food that isn't messed around with tastes best.

 

I'd question the point in the article about driving more miles to get a Farmer's Market. You hear of supermarkets taking food from a farm, trucking it halfway round the country to wash and pack it and then return it to a supermarket a few miles from where it started! I go the Farmer's Market in the town where I work so technically I don't drive anywhere to get to one.

 

Otherwise like Claret I buy locally when I can, organic for preference and grow some in garden.

 

Liz

[chickencam]

We grow as much of our own veg as we can, as organically as we can. We concentrate on the crops that are the most heavily treated commercially, like carrots, potatoes, onions and salad crops trying to be self sufficient in these.

 

When I buy veg, how local it is is very important, but because we have cut our overall exposure to chemicals how organic it is comes second. When I buy fruit if it is possible to buy local and British I do but again because I buy as much local stuff as I can I don't lose any sleep over buying bananas all year round and things like satsumas when they are in season.

[tenzin]

The sad facts are Bying ORGANIC in a supermarket is expensive

[The Dogmother]

What's the betting that the extra mark-up isn't passed on to the producer?

[Egluntyne]

I try to shop locally as my priority too.

[Olly]

I do find it difficult going to friends to eat

if they wheel out a chicken dish I desperately want to ask if it is free range but I don't want to upset the hostess, so I figure 'its already dead and cooked, me causing a fuss isn't going to change that, so I shut up and eat Anyone else have this problem and ways of dealing with it

 

I only buy free-range organic meat, but I'm like you, I'd just shut up and eat it, rather than embarrass a generous hostess. I've decided however that from New Year, I'm going to tell all my friends (and most of them know anyway) that I will ONLY eat organic free-range meat; if that's not on the menu, then they should regard me as a vegetarian. There are some veggies in my circle of friends anyway, so it's just a case of them adding me to the 'vegetarian sausages' list rather than the 'bacon' list when they are catering!

 

Keeping chickens has made me so much more aware of how animals are treated.

[The Dogmother]

Me too Olly - my mother considers my attitude 'strange' in much the same way as she thinks that veggies are 'strange' and 'difficult' - I was veggie for some time, years back, and always had to take my own food and cook it when I went home - her attitude was that if I wanted to be difficult and weird, then I had to cook it myself

 

I don't care what others think, and if I'm not happy about the provenance of the meat then I eat veggie too. I'm no bleeding heart type, just prefer my meat to come from ethically reared and happy animals

[ubereglu]

I'm still not sure about the whole organic argument...I'd certainly rather have locally produced apples which aren't organic than ones which ARE ORGANIC but come from France etc.

[The Dogmother]

That's right Liz - it's all down to personal preference in the end, and people go with what they feel comfortable with and what fits in with their lifestyle and pocket.