I Don't Buy Organic

[Henry]

Well, I am probably one of the few people that don't, but when I go through the vegetables I specifically look to make sure I am not being stung with a big price per pound because something is organic.

When I planted a garden, I used commercial fertilizer, lime and also cow manure.  When it came to garden pests, I used some commercial ones and don't believe it was unhealthy.  Buying organic milk, definitely not.  Unless you are making the big bucks, I don't think in this day and age you can afford that.  I know as a retiree, I certainly can't and there are only two of us.

This statement will probably upset a few people, but one must buy what they can afford.

[trussell]

Henry, if the only reason that you don't buy organic is the price, I'd like to urge you to reconsider... Hannaford carries the organic/natural "Nature's Place" brand.  This is almost always less expensive than regular brands.  I've been very happy with their cereal, oatmeal, and crackers.  I know they also carry other items but can't remember off the top of my head.  Also, I recently looked through their frozen foods in the Natural section and realized that many of the items were also less expensive than their counterparts.

That being said, I don't use organic chicken feed because it does cost about 40% more... and I don't even break even as it is!

[jersea]

I don't buy organic either.  I buy a few items like Hood milk and eggs.  Hood just pledges not to use hormones.  Otherwise, I buy all regular fruits and vegetables.  I do plant a garden and use manure from my neighbor's horses and do not use any pesticides.  (Luckily, i haven't needed too yet!)  Maybe my garden is considered organic.

I don't buy organic, because it is not a priority for myself or my husband.  We are both in good health and feel unless there is a good reason to change our food purchasing habits, we'll stay on the same path.    We are educated about the health reasons which inspire buying organic, but it is not enough to motivate us to spend the extra money or shift money around. 

I think some folks can go crazy about this organic thing.  I have heard claims that it makes them feel 100% better, but I'd like to blame that on the placebo affect.  So, Henry I agree with you.

[chelseaclark]

One of the motivations for buying organic is certainly for the assumed health benefits. Another reason has to do with how one values the system of agriculture - from both  environmental and economic perspectives. Are you interested in supporting a system of agriculture which relies heavily on huge monocropping (and thus chemical fertilizers and pesticides)? Or a system which treats the farm as an ecosystem, respecting life cycles and building soil tilth and fertility rather than depleting them?  Does it seem right that we pay less sometimes for food that has traveled 10,000 miles that can be grown right here in Vermont?

I no longer place the same importance on buying "organic" as I do with knowing something about the farm from which the food came.  I believe that since the term "organic" became the domain of the USDA, "local" has become the new "organic".  I like knowing where my food comes from, and I feel that it is important to support local agriculture - especially in a place like Vermont.  Many of the local farms who provide community-supported agriculture, or a subscription farm service, also happen to be organic. The added benefits from having a relationship to where our food comes from has been extremely valuable to me and my family.  I appreciate the relationships I have developed with local farmers and the opportunities for my children to learn where their food comes from.

There are at least two CSAs right in our community at Riverberry Farm and Bread and Roses Farm. 

[chelseaclark]

I also wanted to address the question of cost.  Last year, my family was a member of a CSA which provided a bag of food weekly for 20 weeks.  At the end of the season, we made the calculation that we saved 15% off of the retail cost of the food we received.  Organic might be more expensive, but there are ways to lessen the blow such as buying a CSA share or buying directly from the farmer. 

Chelsea

[jersea]

I have to agree that it is important to support local farms.  Yes, if you can, buy local.  We should also not have to buy food that comes from Australia, for pragmatic reasons.  Looking at labels can be important if you want to be a conscientious grocery shopper.

There are only two people in my household.  I think having a family can change one's perspective in thinking about organic. 

[edakrupp]

I look forward to the summers in Vermont for one and only reason, (or else I'd live in Alaska) that is the fresh veggies from my garden, or the local stand. Nothing beats sitting between a row of beans, cherry tomatoes or sweet peas and gorging onself fat like a tick, while weeding and hanging out in the veggie patch. After the season has passed I'm back to frozen peas beans and corn, and tomatoes that taste like.... well  you know what I mean.

[Henry]

I don't know why, but there is nothing like a fresh Vermont Tomato - Makes one wonder how tomatoes actually taste in Florida fresh out of the garden.  Maybe it is the Vermont air or the short season.

[edakrupp]

I can only inagine that a floria tastes, well sandy, salty, and chewey- like the beach perhaps, or at least flat dry land.