Organic food

[Em']

So who tries to eat organic here?

 

I cannot say I like everything organic (spelt for example is a bit weird to me) but I try to buy organic when I can, like eggs, milk, butter, flour, pasta, rice, veggies, honey etc...

 

So what made you start eating organic? Do you have great recipes with some organic food you would not eat otherwise and that are not so common (like spelt etc...).

 

What do you think of organic food ? Some people think the healthy side of it is useless etc..

 

Whether you eat fully organic, partly or not at all, your comments are welcome about this subject !

[silver]

I'm a vegetarian and try to eat organic food whenever I can.

 

Just because I think organic food production is generally better for the environment than a reliance on chemicals.

[Em']

I'm a vegetarian and try to eat organic food whenever I can.

 

Just because I think organic food production is generally better for the environment than a reliance on chemicals.

 

Yes this is a big point for many people eating organic too! By eating organic we also try to help environment at our scale !

[silver]

I don't have any special recipes though - I eat things that are very plain. But I'm sure there are people around who have some good recipes

[Em']

OMG River, I guess it must not be easy every day.... Indeed thanks for you Organic is becoming more popular, so it's less of a hassle to get what suits you than 10 years ago...

 

Right now I'm partly eating organic, but I'm starting to think about getting organic beauty stuff, like moisturizer for the face, etc... When you get to know what's in regular products, I'm thinking it might not be so good for us... Might be better to apply some organic and natural stuff to my face and body than chemical products...

Edited January 21, 2009 by Em'

[mika-fan1001]

i dont eat everything organic, but i love eating most organic food [i love trader joes!]

[Em']

i dont eat everything organic, but i love eating most organic food [i love trader joes!]

 

Trader joes ? What are they ? Where do you find them ? Papa Joe or Whole Foods ?

[mika-fan1001]

Trader joes ? What are they ? Where do you find them ? Papa Joe or Whole Foods ?

 

o sorry. it a store.

 

http://traderjoes.com/

[sariflor]

Oh, this is a very interesting thread! For me at least, as I'm nutritionally obsessed and investigate and research anything that is nutrition/dietetics/disease/health related, etc .

Re food:

 

Initially, when it all first became popular, I went through a phase of assuming that it would be a lot better to eat organic and started getting organic versions of everything.

After a while though, I decided to do some research into it and get some facts. This proved quite interesting, as it would seem that many organic foods don't actually make a difference to one from the health point of view.

Of course I am no expert and this is just stuff that I found out, so if someone with more authority wants to correct me on some of them please feel free to say so, as I am always keen to learn

The link between pesticides and disease is not quite as clear as many want us to believe, and it's only really been seriously considered associated to a couple of very specific types of disease and I understand that it's not even that clearly proven.

There is in fact a lot more evidence to suggest the influence that other dietary factors have on our health (particularly on many cancers), which people routinelly dismiss, like eating certain amounts and types of meats, or lack of vegetables and fruit, fibre, alcohol, smoking, salt and sugar intake, etc.

All these factors have been found to have a significantly stronger effect on one's health than using pesticides (which has been standard for many, many years) if one follows proper hygiene routines when using the products.

For example: fruit. Most fruits or vegetables that have a thick skin are actually so protected from external agents that you wouldn't reap any benefit from eating them organic if you are going to peel them. As an example, an orange, a melon, etc...

Apples have been some of the few fruits where it has been found that organic had an advantage over non-organic. There is also benefit to be found in organic dairy, because apparently they don't use all the crap that they give to 'standard' cows, hormones, etc.. so that would be another one to look out for.

Re: beauty products

I agree with what Em said. So many (or all) creams and cosmetics have all this junk in them, and it has been noted that the skin absorbs them, so I guess that it would be a good idea to use 'organic' cosmetics.

One of my favourite 'pet hates' when it comes to this field though is that hoax email that does the rounds saying how underarm deodorant with aluminium causes cancer. PEOPLE, THIS IS NOT TRUE.

There is absolutely NO MEDICAL EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS CLAIM.

I say this even though nobody has raised it because I've seen those emails fly around so often, and people panicking, when in fact there are so many other causes or risk factors for cancer, especially breast cancer, that everyone handily ignores.

Like for example if women eat more than a certain amount of red meat a day (I think it was either 100 or 400 grammes) or drink a certain amount of alcohol (it wasn't that high either) they automatically increase their cancer chances by a LOT. Now this IS a claim that is supported by properly conducted medical research, so it has a lot more validity, but nobody pays any attention to it.

Anyway this has turned into an essay, I just realised, so I will leave it for now. I still have a lot to say though so I will be back.

Sorry Em, don't hate me I just love this topic

[sariflor]

This is good information. Non-organic stuff is definitely not as scary as most people seem to believe these days. I grew up in the era before there was organic food and have not ended up with cancer or mental problems or whatever.

 

If I do get cancer, it will probably be because I have a genetic predisposition to certain forms of cancer, NOT because I ate processed foods when I was a kid.

 

People who push organic foods and products like to say that the increase in people with allergies is because of all of the chemicals in the world today. I am more inclined to believe that it is because more people are kept alive through proper nourishment and medical science than there used to be. Only 100 years ago, people were still dying from simple infections, diseases we now have vaccines for, allergic reactions, and starvation. Now, we live in a world where people who would have died are living well into old age after surviving stuff that would have killed them 100 years ago.

 

The unprecedented numbers of people we never would have seen in the past are alive because of advances in medical science that we take for granted because we just assume that human bodies are meant to function for 80 or more years. So, all this nonsense about how our life spans are being shortened by modern living is based on the assumption that people lived longer and healthier lives 100 years ago, when the truth is that people were lucky if they lived into adulthood.

 

That being said, I do like organic food for several reasons that have nothing to do with a societal obsession with health.

 

Some people can tell the difference between the flavor of something organic and something not organic. I'm one of them. Most organic foods taste better to me than their non-organic counterparts. In the case of something like bananas the difference isn't so big that I'll be disappointed if I end up with regular bananas, but I won't buy strawberries that aren't organic because the non organic ones don't taste like much of anything.

 

Some people ARE sensitive to chemicals. I'm one of them. Most people aren't, so they don't have to worry about it. Those of us who do have to worry about it are happy to have the option of eating organic and living comfortably.

 

The number one risk factor for cancer is genetic predisposition. Everything else is pretty much incidental. I'm anemic, so I'm not going to stop eating red meat because I might get breast cancer someday. I'm going to keep eating it because not doing so would definitely make me ill quite quickly. Between a might and a definite, I'm responding to the definite.

 

Most people don't have to worry about what's in their deoderant. Some people are sensitive to what's in deoderant, so it's good for use to have an alternative.

 

I'm glad that so many people are interested in organic things these days because many try them and find that they simply prefer them, which means that there's more availability for those of us who actually need them. I wish that more people would be willing to try new things without having to have some fear monger push them into it with threats of evil chemicals and cancer. That nonsense isn't useful. It's harmful in a lot of ways.

 

Anyway, I do go on and on and ... when I meant to simply say, I agree and here is a little bit more perspective on that.

 

 

Ooooh there's so much that I want to comment on here, but I will have to do it tomorrow morning that I will have the time to write it out properly.

Can't wait

[Em']

Oh Guys thank you so much for your inputs, this is so very interesting !

 

And don't worry Sara, any input is welcome ! This thread is to discuss, to exchange and not only to glorify the virtues of Organic ! Please go on guys I learn a lot with you !

 

And thanks again River for all your insights regarding beauty products, I will know what to expect when I start trying some!