Anyone Organic?

[Lady's Human]

WOW! I'm shocked at all the negative here. This use to be such a happy place!

I don't only get my info from documentaries. That is just what I chose to talk about. I eat organic and have found a HUGE change in the way food tastes and my body is in better 'working order' than ever before. You may not be in the know about EVERYTHING, to totally bash me for my beliefs is just mean. Maybe you should eat organic, you might have a better mood.

Oh, I would choose a local fisherman's fish way before a fish farm!

Just because there are "regulations" on how much unnatural chemicals and whatnot they can put in food, doesn't make it ok. I have been to a factory farm in Texas. It was the saddest place I'd ever been. The cattle there were nothing like the cattle anywhere else. I've never seen so many animals wish they were dead.

If you were REALLY concerned about the environment, you'd take the farmed salmon over free caught cod for a number of reasons, first and foremost the damage to the ocean floor done by otter trawls.

I didn't see anyone bashed for their beliefs, I just saw several comments asking you to do a little more critical analysis of what you're basing your decisions on.

I spent quite a bit of time in Tx, all of the cattle I saw were free range. We frequently had to halt training due to cattle using the training areas for grazing.

The cattle across the street from my house seem quite content. The dairy herds around here seem fine as well. Frankly, I don't want a truly "naturally raised" cow or pig, I prefer modern amenities such as not worrying about trichinosis from badly raised or poorly prepared pork, to use one example.

[Karen]

Lute, I don't see any negativity here, just differing opinions!

[IRescue452]

I buy organic when its an option. At the very least I go with the most natural choice. I don't want foods that have man-made chemical "substitutes" rather than the real thing. Milk here used to be labled rbgh-free but I think the government banned that on the label because it suggests to people that its better than regular milk and the fda doesn't approve telling people its better.

You really do have to watch yourself with these extremist programs though. You can twist statistics to work for or against anything. Look logically at any program you come across, just like that meat staying in the belly thing that doesn't make any logical sense.

I notice your green dot program sells Spot's Stew dog food. ALready I see ingredients with alfalfa which is a nasty filler and shouldn't be fed to anything IMO. No animal naturally eats alfalfa as a main food product. Not cows, not rabbits, nothing. Plus all of those scientifically named ingredients in the end make up the by-product known as "animal digest". It poop! Enterococcous Faecium IS poop. They try to hide these things from people who don't read the ingredients.

As far as human food is concerned, why isn't this program concerned about xanthan gum? What do they do, pick and choose between questionable man-made ingredients?

If you actually looked up real information on soy, the next thing you know you'll be going soy-free too.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

In my opinion, pesticides are pesticides, it doesn't matter if they are from an natural source or synthetic. Just because the pesticides used on organic produce are from nature doesn't make them any safer/better. There are lots of things in nature that are harmful to consume. Look at Rotenone. It was a popular organic pesticide for a long time, which has been recently banned due to it's health risks.

Also since Organic farmers don't use Genetically Modified Organisms they often have to use MORE pesticides than non-organic famers.

As far as milk goes, I don't think organic vs. non-organic makes a difference. I'm not against drinking milk, however I do think we consume too much of it. Someone mentioned the hormones given to some cows. But what about the hormones that are naturally there? The hormones that are meant to produce milk that will grow baby cows into big adult cows. We're not cows, we don't really need it. We're the only mammals who continue drink milk into adulthood. We're also the only mammals who drink the milk of another mammal. So if you're really worried about the hormones you should stop drinking milk all together.

[finn's mom]

We're also the only mammals who drink the milk of another mammal.

I can't speak of the rest of your post . . . but to this statement, I have to say . . . I have seen firsthand kittens nursing from dogs and puppies nursing from cats, and heard of other such tales of animals drinking the milk of another species.

As for adult mammals . . . I suppose the only source they could get milk from "on their own" or "naturally" would be directly from the lactating female, and I don't know personally of grown animals nursing past a young age.

But, given the option, I've never personally had a pet (including a rat) turn their nose up at milk. And, I know many species will drink cow's or goat's milk if they have the option.

My thing is just to try to consume basic simple food and drink. I will eventually grow at least half of my own produce, but for now, I do think it's a safer alternative to choose organic when I can. I don't freak if I can't, or judge those who can't or choose not to go organic.

I will probably never go completely vegetarian, so I can't really say I'm overly concerned with naturally occurring hormones in any animal source. One thing I can say for certain is that I LOVE the taste of organic milk and don't like non-organic milk at all. I just didn't drink milk until I started buying organic for Clara.

[lute]

I totally agree with everything you said finn's mom! I also think organic food tastes better. The milk in particular!

[mrspunkysmom]

I've been thinking about it. I guess I need to try it!

[finn's mom]

I have always tried to buy certain things organic (like milk and eggs), but lately, since I've found a menu planning/grocery shopping website that only uses 20 ingredients a week (not counting basic pantry items, like spices and oils), I've actually been able to almost completely convert to organic everything, even chicken! I don't waste time, money or food following the plan, and it has made all the difference for us! I have a "Dirty Dozen" list that I try to live by, as far as fruits and veggies, buying almost exclusively organic items that made the list.