Is organic always worth the extra price? What about raw milk?

[housewolf]

I came across an article from Dr Mercola today discussing whether organic is always better than non-organic. Here's his take on the matter:

---------------------------
I do agree with the contention that some organic foods are rip-offs, when their conventional counterparts are already grown using low amounts of pesticides and the food in question must be peeled anyway, such as bananas.

The Environmental Working Group is a reliable source when trying to decide on what to buy organic. According to their latest 2010 pesticide review, the following 12 foods rank as the most pesticide-free produce, even when conventionally-grown, so you can save a few bucks by opting for the conventionally-grown version of these:

Onions Avocados Watermelon
Pineapple Mango Frozen sweet peas
Asparagus Kiwi Cabbage
Eggplant Cantaloupe

Frozen sweet corn was on the list above but I've removed it to avoid confusion. I do NOT recommend consuming non-organic corn and even organic corn should be consumed sparingly.

The foods you want to splurge on by buying organic are foods that have permeable or edible skins, and/or that are conventionally grown with higher amounts of pesticides. Based on the EWG's report, the top 12 foods to buy organic include:

Grapes Potatoes Kale / Collard greens
Cherries Spinach Sweet bell peppers
Nectarines Blueberries Apples
Strawberries Peaches Celery

For the whole list of produce, ranked from best to worst in terms of pesticide load, please see the EWG's listing - http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php

Another major organic rip-off is organic milk. Because while organic milk must come from a cow that hasn't been fed artificial growth hormones or pesticide-laden feed, they're not necessarily pastured, or grass-fed cows. And worst of all organic milk (unless RAW) is still pasteurized, which destroys vital nutrients.

So, just because it's organic, doesn't mean it's worth a much higher price.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/03/29/what-are-the-7-worst-supermarket-ripoffs.aspx
-------------------


If you are a strict organic purchaser, what's your opinion on this?

Are you a strict organic-only purchaser, a "I don't care whether it's organic or not" purchaser, a "I don't buy organic because it's too expensive" purchaser, or something else? I've been in the "don't buy organic" and "don't care" categories but am now trying to optimize my nutrition so I'm looking at organics more and more. Maybe I'll set up a poll on this question, 'cause I'm curious...


I'm on a couple of lists, one for blenderized diet users where most of the folks are parents of infants young children who can't swallow, and several kefir-making groups. On both groups, the folks talk a lot about organic and raw milk, both cow's milk and goat milk. Since my granddad was a dairy-man, and my mom had a terrible fear of unpasteurized milk illness - she called it "milk fever", if I remember correctly raw milk is something I never even considered for myself. But all of a sudden I'm finding loads of people and references who say that it's healthy and wonderfully delicious. While it's illegal to sell it commercially in most states, in many states it can be purchased individually at local dairies or on a "cow share" basis. Hmmmmmm....

Is anyone here a user of raw milk? What have your experiences been?

[NashVegas]

1. I Won't Drink Any Milk That's Not Organic

rBST matters. Antibiotics matter.

As for raw, unless you personally know a farmer or have the cow, most sellers will charge anywhere from $6-$10 per gallon where I live. No way!

I did find someone who had a direct link to an Amish farmer and was able to get raw milk for $4 a gallon, but it wasn't worth it (it was for cooking purposes).

[Warpy]

2. I won't use unpasteurized milk or dairy products made from it

and that's a good thing since it's illegal in many states to sell it. I do insist on non BGH milk and prefer it from a dairy herd that hasn't been given prophylactic antibiotics because they're overcrowded.

That means I only use health food store cheese and buy health food store yogurt and sour cream from certified organic dairies. Yes, it's more expensive, but it's worth it to avoid the junk.

The more we support organic growers, the more of them there will be and the lower the prices will eventually get. We'll be better for it in the meantime and so will the planet.

[housewolf]

3. Do you look for dairy products from pasture-fed cows?

There's organic milk from cows who have been fed pesticide-free grains (not feed that natural to cows), and then there's organic milk from cows who are fed pesticide-free grasses, sometimes referred to as pasture-fed, which is their natural feed. Does it matter to you? Can you tell a difference?

[Warpy]

4. You can't tell the difference.

Most cows are pasture fed in warmer months, it's cheaper than grain feeding unless they're trapped in dairy barns for most of their lives, overcrowded and in wretched conditions.

Since overcrowding like that requires antibiotics, that milk can't be labeled organic.

[housewolf]

5. Oh, thanks !

I did some research and found that the pasture-grazing requirement has only been the case for about the last year when the federal requirements were changed. Prior to that, they needed to be fed organic feed (grasses and/or grains) but weren't required to be allowed "pasture privileges". Now they are by law required to pasture-graze at least 120 days/yr, according to this article http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=156964. A difference between the original law that specified "access to pasture" while they actually stood around in dirty stalls all the time, now it's mandated that the cows be required to be put out to pasture to graze at least part of the time. So I guess the other days they can be fed stored dried organically grown grasses and/or organic grains.

[Warpy]

6. I should have added one caveat

You can definitely tell if the cow has been eating a lot of mustard or ramp.

[NashVegas]

9. Raw Has Some Virtues

Cornish clotted cream, for one. Real brie for another.

[trud]

7. ingest pesticides or not, hmmm

I figure, why take a chance on my health and the planet's, and also buying organic supports people trying to improve things.

[randr]

8. Buying organic is a no brainer

Food is after all a human necessity and we consume it for nutrition. The value of a product is determined by how much nutrition I get for my money. If I can buy any food product at half the price and it lacks the basic ingredients I am buying it for in the first place, I have been riped off.
Nutrition aside, it is the dependence on the petro/chemical industries that taint our food supply that we must be most concerned about. As with most things in our consumer society, the real costs are hidden and come back to bite us in the ass later.
In regard to all dairy products, the additions of hormones and antibiotics is enough to make the organic alternatives the only choice.
And I should give a shout out to the growing numbers of independent farmers and ranchers who are taking great economic risks to provide us with choices, we need to support their efforts.

[supernova]

10. I also buy organic when possible

It isn't so much about produce being healthier so much as that stuff that is left out: pesticides, waxes and other preservatives. Well the produce is healthier because it's likely to be fresher than the mass-farmed stuff. I can't wait to hit the famer's markets this weekend! All stuff that's grown around here. :-)

Milk, the SO is a milk hound, otherwise I wouldn't buy it. I mean he will drink a gallon in 2 days. So, of course I'd rather have him drinking hormone and antibiotic free stuff. He doesn't care for raw milk. Though, he does drink so much milk, we have discussed getting a goat or two as a future project. ;-)


And I depend on antibiotics, so I try to refrain from consuming them needlessly as in mass-farmed meats and poultry. PLus, organic grass fed just tastes better. The SO disagrees. He prefers grain fed beef. :eyes:

edit: I try to offset the extra cost of organic meat by eating less of it. I try to eat 2 or 3 veggie meals a week. Beef is a maybe 2-3/month deal for us.

[no_hypocrisy]

11. At least if you consume "organic", you are pretty sure that:

1) the products aren't indiscriminately labeled as such and must comply with government criteria;

2) great likelihood that there is an absence or a minimum of added hormones, pesticides, and/or antibiotics in the product; and

3) the products are inherently "pure", meaning not grown from genetically modified cells. There is serious debate about organ damage from ingesting a certain amount of these products. And corn and soybeans, the most popular products are included as ingredients in a myriad of other products, e.g., soda (high fructose corn syrup), corn meal, Fritos/Doritos, soy flour, corn starch.

Ironic that you end up paying more for "clean" products.

[Arkansas Granny]

12. I grew up in the country and drank raw milk from our own cows until I left home.

Our cows were tested yearly for tb and brucellosis and the vet was called anytime we suspected any type of illness. We were scrupulously clean with our milking equipment and refrigerated the milk immediately after milking. I would have no problem drinking raw milk from a dairy that followed the same practices. The milk is delicious.

[yellerpup]

13. I try to buy organic whenever possible.

Although I don't bother with the designation for thick-skinned fruit that will be peeled. As for raw milk, I drank it growing up. We'd have to shake the jug to mix the thick layer of cream back into the milk and it tasted wonderful. However, a man I worked with in the 70s, swore off raw milk forever when his toddler nearly died from drinking it. I believe that it was later discovered that the cow had mastitis (an udder infection). Can't drink milk any more though, as lactose intolerance kicked in when I was in my early 30s. :hi: