Why is organic better?

[mommyoftwo]

I definitely think it is. It just seems intuitive to me. But my husband is skeptical without seeing any research data (he's a doctor and skeptical by nature). With our money being very tight right now he doesn't want me to spend extra money unecessarily. So if anyone could give me some concrete answers or point me to some studies about it, I would greatly appreciate it. Plus I would just like to know what all the benefits are myself. TIA!

[brittone2]

Well, some people do it for environmental/political reasons, some for health reasons, and some for both.

IN terms of measurable benefits, there have been a few studies to date demonstrating that kids that ate a primarily organic diet had measurably (and significantly) less pesticides in their system.

I'll try to dig up the study later today if I get a chance. Gotta run this morning. One of my friends had her son participate in a study at UNC (I believe) on the topic.

Here are a few I can grab quickly...I'm sure if he wants to go to pubmed or another research search engine he can find the same studies there if he wants them from a science geared website.
http://www.ourstolenfuture.org/NewScience/oncompounds/OPs/2002/2002-1031curletal.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3076638/
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/513852

You'd have to believe that lowering your pesticide levels does improve health. If he doesn't believe that, have him hunt around on that ourstolenfuture site. There is a book by that author that is excellent and there is lots of research on that site.

I'll find some more for you later ;)

eta: Lu et al directly from pubmed
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1367841

another:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1367876

If he plugs in "organic diet pesticide" or similar in pubmed he'll get quite a few hits. Most of the research was done by govt labs or at medical schools.

Pesticides are estrogen mimickers and there are studies about that relating to male infertility, etc. as well.

[chlobo]

There's a great book out called Real Food Revival. It talks about currents agricultural practices (both for fruits & veggies and for meats and such) and why they are detrimental to the greater good and also to individuals who are eating them. Very eye opening. And its not just because of the pesticides. For example, some of the recent outbreaks of e-coli poisoning have been traced back to run off from factory farms (huge, huge, huge farms where thousands of cattle are raised in horrendous conditions). This kind of run off is preventable by feeding cows their more natural diet of grass instead of grain and not packing so many animals into one spot. Unfortunately, our agricultural system is dominated by a few players whose mindset is that more is better, no matter what the cost.

FWIW, I don't always believe that organic is better. If you can find local produce that is farmed using sustainable practices (which includes not using pesticides) but not necessarily certified organic I think that is preferable to organic produce that is trucked across the country. The same is true for meats. Some small farmers just find organic certification to be too cumbersome. That doesn't mean they don't use sustainable practices which includes grass feeding, no hormones & no antibiotics.

For local sources of both organic and "naturally" farmed produce check out www.localharvest.org. If you are interested in some sources for free range meats, etc. check out www.eatwild.com.

[brittone2]

Ditto to what Carren said about local. We belong to a CSA that is not certified organic but the farmer uses organic farming practices. She's just a small farmer and it is soooo cost prohibitive to get certified as an organic farm. I think the New York Times or similar large paper did an article about E. Coli being significantly lower in grass fed animals. The farmer were we buy our beef and milk had photocopies of the article available one time.

Oh, and as far as being skeptical, my DH is a chemist (worked in big pharma for 5 years and is now a PhD student) and we buy organic/local. He's very uncomfortable w/ pesticides. Biochemically they are very close to hormones which may be why they theoretically affect cancer risk, fertility, etc.

[Crunchymom]

I also like to buy organic products since I know they cannot contain high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils. I don't buy foods that contain these, and if it's labeled organic then I know it can't be in them and I don't have to spend all my time reading labels. So it saves time.

I also don't want my child eating a ton of pesticides, which is why when he started solid foods as an infant I made it all myself using organic produce. Before this time I had never eaten an organic thing in my life. Now, most of what I buy is organic. Having a baby changes you and it made me want to live a healthier lifestyle by eating better.

[kijip]

I second Carren's reccomendation of Real Food Revival. Local is my ideal, but living in a cold state much of my produce does come from other states (can't just eat apples, kale and potatoes :P ). My main reason is environmental protection and the economic benefits I see it supporting local or smaller farmers. The health benefits are a nice bonus. Also, the taste of things totally spoils me now. Organic beef for example really does taste better.

[mommyoftwo]

I'll definitely check out the articles and book you suggested. We are really tight on money because DH is a resident and we have a small income. Everything has to be budgeted carefully and he hates the thought of spending extra money on anything. He's pretty good at spending the money that we need to when it's a health or safety issue (finally got him to go along with a Britax carseat for Amelia when he realized how much safer she would be rear facing) so hopefully this will be another one of those things.

[DrSally]

Thanks for the website. I, too, heard (from a secondary source) that there are studies that kids with an all organic diet have something like 6 times less pesticides in their systems. It didn't say what the total amount was, so 6x may not be much or it may be awhole lot. I've also heard that local trumps organic when it comes to eating healthy and for the environment. I think esp. for little babies, with their developing neurological systems, etc. the impact of pesticides can't be discounted. Also, I read that babies eat, in proportion, more fruits and veggies (i.e., they may OD on apples for 3 days), so may be exposed to more pesticides (proportionally) than adults, so that is another reason to consider organic. In terms of cost, I try to do organic on the fruits/veggies that are high in pesticides--apples, pears, etc. Sorry I don't have the list of the "dirty dozen". I think that cuts down risk while not breaking the bank.

[kijip]

I just want to encourage you that it really is possible to do this on a small income. My annual salary is not large, especially since I work under full time and it is our only source of income. My husband is a full time student, and I am also taking classes, all of which we pay for out of pocket without loans. If you want some money saving ideas for organic on the cheap, I am happy to share. :)

[mommy111]

Katie, if you can share some of those organic for cheap ideas, that would be great! I am the sole breadwinner for us and have to pay for full-time childcare for DD, and much as we'd like organic everything, sometimes the costs make it prohibitive!

[mommyoftwo]

Absolutely, that sounds awesome. Thanks for offering Katie. I'm really determined to make more changes. We are moving in the right direction with cloth diapering and natural cleaning. This is the next step for me. Plus I think it's a really good idea with all of Linnea's food intolerances to eliminate anything else that could cause trouble.

[kijip]

The number 1 things I can say are to eat less processed foods and eat less meat and dairy. I found produce, eggs, breads and rice and beans to be the easiest things to switch over to organic or near price wise. Meats and dairy are so much more expensive organic, we held off on those towards the end of the switch. We eat far less meat than we used too. Most dinners are simple, with lots of veggies. Tonight for example we had brown rice, roasted veggies, broccoli and fish. Previously I would have said we had fish and vegetables and rice. But now instead of broiling an entire 1.5-2 lb filet of salmon, I cut a similarly sized filet into three sections and a 1/3 of a filet gets flaked into the brown rice and garlic stirfried broccoli, leaving 2/3 for future meals. Add some scrambled eggs to fill in protein if I feel the need. We still do have big meat dinners, but usually only a couple times a month, vs 3-4 times a week before. Also, if I replaced frozen pizza, waffles and similar processed foods with the organic processed versions I would go bankrupt. But it is do-able to make waffles and pizza dough and the like with organic ingredients. I also make sure to do my big monthly shopping on the day I get 10% off at the co-op and I stock up on whatever non-perishable staples the co-op has on sale (like refried beans, salad dressings, frozen veggies, pasta.) I have a closet full of whole wheat organic pasta from when it was on sale for $1 a pound box. I pretty much only buy grocery things (canned and frozen items) that are on sale. I also just up and asked the butcher at the store when they have to mark down meats. That is the day I buy meat. Very rarely does a package of meat come home without a sticker that says "$2.00 off" LOL. Call all of the organic brands that are available near you and ask for coupons. Organic Valley sends me stuff that way. I have no morals and have my parents sign up too, so I can get more coupons, LOL. And my co-op often has other coupons available. If it is something we will eat, I use the coupon. During the summer, we shop at the end of the day at a farmer's market and buy a lot of uber-ripe produce that needs to be eaten that very day. And a last thought- people waste a lot of food. Seriously, millions and millions of dollars in produce rots in people's fridges every year. I used to have this issue, because I was buying huge amounts of perishable foods and then ordering pizza :P. I buy only the amounts I know we can eat and I commit myself to eating them. If there is food in the fridge and nothing pops out to cook for dinner, I root through the whole thing to find a meal before heading out to the store or reaching for the phone. I find that planning my meals helps with this. And I save a lot of money that I used to throw away, money that I can then put towards organic groceries.

I spent $79 at the co-op this last week (after I subtracted 3 magazines and the Sunday NYTimes.) The big differences were in cheese, meat and things like ice cream. We ate things like brussel sprouts and sausage, soup over veggies, pork chops with cabbage, steak and veggie sandwiches for dinner. Breakfast was things like oatmeal and flaxseed, eggs, peanut butter toast, fruit, bagels with salmon and cream cheese. Bacon on Saturday (but 1/2 the package is still in the freezer :) ) Toby's lunches were a piece of fruit, a small piece of cheese and either a sandwich or a tortilla wrap each day. We could eat for cheaper if we relied more heavily on rice and beans and pasta or if we were vegetarians (ha ha ha - I would die without meat, dairy I could say bye bye to but girlie must have her freaking meat :P .) That $79 also includes several things we did not need at all- $5 package of cookies and 2 pints of ice cream/sorbet. I keep all of my grocery reciepts and plan at some point to comparision price a month's worth with conventional foods just to see how much more I am spending.

I am not going to lie, we would spend less if we shopped at Safeway and never bought organic items. But by using the same techniques we used to hold our food cost down when we were even more strapped for income, we have managed to nearly only buy organic on a single, modest income (I work at a non-profit, not exactly a get rich sort of job :P )

Also, from a recent thread:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=37&topic_id=390068&mesg_id=390146&page=

[DrSally]

What great ideas. You are right, a lot of food goes to waste and planning helps a lot. Just looking at my cupboard last night and it is full, but there was nothing to make for dinner. I had just gone to the healthfood store and spent $25 too (mostly snacks for DS). I have to plan better. After moving several times, too, that food that sits in your cupboard forever just is money down the drain (donated to friends before leaving).

[Saccade]

Just curious -- I didn't know that organic = no HFCS or hydrogenated oils. Is this because nobody produces HFCS and hydrogrnated oils organically?

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[Saccade]

double post -- sorry!

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