Organic food, worth the price?

[speakeasy]

Given how much more expensive organic foods are than conventional foods, is it really that much healthier to be worth the price? I'll see one study that says there's no scientific evidence that organic food is anymore nutritious than conventional food, then I'll turn around and see another study that says it is. I honestly don't know who to believe.

Same thing with genetically modified food. People run from it like the plague, but I've never seen anything that proves that it's dangerous. Now if I had the choice, sure I'd eat everything with no pesticides, no GM food, no growth hormones, all my meat would be free range, etc etc. However, that would probably double my food bill so I wonder if the health benefits are real enough to justify the cost. Or is the organic food movement just another one of these feel good trends like electric cars and banning outdoor smoking that make everyone feel better but ultimately mean little?

What do you guys think?

 

[Bonhomme]

Essentially all farming was organic until the late 20th century. Since then, sperm counts have been decreasing, girls have been reaching puberty at shockingly early ages, hyperactivity and ADD have been increasing, and cases of "environmental" illnesses have been exponentially increasing.

Sure, it's not only food that's contributing to those conditions, but I can't help but think it has a considerable effect.

If you can afford it, definitely go organic. All those pesticides, growth hormones in meat (which were pumped into the animals to make them soft and fat), etc. can't be doing anybody any good. Even my dad noticed that the free-range hormone, free meat tasted "cleaner."

I gotta think all those hormones in meat are contributing to girls reaching puberty as early as 6(!) years old, and such. We've created a Frankenstein monster.

If you can't get organic or free-range, hormone-free meat, go for Kosher or Halal.

Also, organic vegetables have been shown to contain much higher levels of essential minerals.

As for genetically-modified food, I've only heard it could be a problem if you have food allergies, and the genetics happen to be modified with proteins that set you off. Otherwise, no bid deal, except that the genetically modified food tends to be produced on farms that use the most of the other toxic farming practices.

 

[Bible_Belt]

I find a big difference in organic dairy products.

 

[Kev07]

I think organic milk tastes better

Other than, you're just paying more for less food

 

[mrRuckus]

How can you compare organic meat to the rest of the sh1tty diets people have? You can't blame normal beef and chicken on the problems caused by all the other horrible things people shove down their throats. Just think of all that sugar (high fructose corn syrup) in EVERYTHING and that people hardly eat any fruits and vegetables. Then there's the partially hydrogenated fats that replaced things like coconut oil.

People used to eat more healthily just because that's what they had. They didn't have mcdonald's and all that sh1t. They ate more vegetables because mom was at home to cook them and stick them in front of them and make the kids eat them and there was no microwave pizza to have instead. Eat your mashed potatos cooked in BUTTER instead of margarine, or eat your vegetables, or go hungry.

Puberty sooner because of conventional meats and grains over organic? Pfft. Maybe. But you can't just look at yesterday and be like "yeah that's the reason" when there are hundreds of other changes for the worse in our diets than yesteryear.

I go to the grocery store and can buy next to nothing because i refuse to buy stuff with fructose corn syrup and partially hyrogenated oils. It's in EVERYTHING that comes in a bottle or box. All i want is a freakin salad dressing AND NONE ARE OKAY! NONE!! .... or pay $10 a bottle for the priviledge not to be poisoned. Actually in europe i think one or both of these things are illegal.

 

[speakeasy]

^^^ Can you elaborate what the hydrogenated oil is all about? I'm trying to learn about all this.

 

[Bible_Belt]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogenation

 

[Kev07]

Making your own salad dressing ftw

olive oil+vinegar+lemon+herbs+ a bit of salt and pepper and a bit of honey

 

[speakeasy]

Making your own salad dressing ftw

olive oil+vinegar+lemon+herbs+ a bit of salt and pepper and a bit of honey

Salsa makes a good topping for salad too.

 

[bbestar]

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/a...-modified-organisms-are-a-looming-threat.aspx


When I saw this video about the Future of Food, I was shocked how Montasanto has genetically altered the seeds of many fruits and vegetables in the market.

The fruits and vegetables your eating now, if not organic maybe genetically altered. Your french fries, bread, supermarket foods.

 

[Bonhomme]

Again, it comes down to your budget, IMNSHO.

Yes, I do think you can eat well and be healthy eating a diet that consists of the right "conventional" foods (avoid trans fats, overly processed and refined foods in excess, etc.), but I see overwhelming evidence that organic and naturally-raised foods are better, most notably the reported drop in sperm counts in males since the early 20th century with the exception of organic farmers. How much better varies greatly, depending upon the particular food and farm.

But then, organic farmers probably tend to have much healthier eating and living habits than the general public, so let's not draw too many conclusions from their higher sperm counts...

 

[simon]

It really depends on what produce you buy.

Organic processed food is a complete waste of money.

Organic fruit and vegetables generally do taste better than their conventional counterparts, but the supermarkets overprice them way too much, though you can get some things, like tinned tomatoes and tomato puree, for the same price as conventional. Also, research has shown that organically grown fruit and vegetables can be much higher in antioxidants than conventionally grown (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/healthy_eating/article2028701.ece).

Organic, naturally raised meat and poultry has a better balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as more CLA and other good stuff. It tastes better than store bought too, the biggest difference I've noticed is between organic chicken and crappy chicken.

It's all very expensive though. I can't afford organic meat, and I stick to conventional fruit and veg with the lowest pesticide residue and buy organic if I'm eating any of the top 20. (http://www.foodnews.org/fulldataset.php)

 

[Bible_Belt]

Organic ketchup tastes like ketchup did when I was a kid; organic mustard is much better, too. I also prefer organic grape juice to the normal stuff.

If you like quality produce, visit your local farmer's market. Locally grown produce, organic or not, is almost always better than what is in the grocery store. Local produce does not have to get picked early and travel thousands of miles. That makes a huge difference in quality.

 

[stronglifts]

Essentially all farming was organic until the late 20th century. Since then, sperm counts have been decreasing, girls have been reaching puberty at shockingly early ages, hyperactivity and ADD have been increasing, and cases of "environmental" illnesses have been exponentially increasing.

Sure, it's not only food that's contributing to those conditions, but I can't help but think it has a considerable effect.

If you can afford it, definitely go organic. All those pesticides, growth hormones in meat (which were pumped into the animals to make them soft and fat), etc. can't be doing anybody any good. Even my dad noticed that the free-range hormone, free meat tasted "cleaner."

I gotta think all those hormones in meat are contributing to girls reaching puberty as early as 6(!) years old, and such. We've created a Frankenstein monster.

If you can't get organic or free-range, hormone-free meat, go for Kosher or Halal.

Also, organic vegetables have been shown to contain much higher levels of essential minerals.

As for genetically-modified food, I've only heard it could be a problem if you have food allergies, and the genetics happen to be modified with proteins that set you off. Otherwise, no bid deal, except that the genetically modified food tends to be produced on farms that use the most of the other toxic farming practices.

I agree with Bonhomme. If you have the money, go organic. Your money should go to your health first. Eat healthy, next go organic.

 

[mrRuckus]

But then, organic farmers probably tend to have much healthier eating and living habits than the general public, so let's not draw too many conclusions from their higher sperm counts...

Earlier puberty for women and lower sperm counts could be caused by the excess estrogen we consume.

...5 min later...

Found this link that pretty much is claiming what you just said:
http://www.drlam.com/A3R_brief_in_doc_format/Estrogen_Dominance.cfm#9

 

[beastmaster79]

organic food contains no pesticides. pesticides can be endocrine disruptors and have been known to shrink penises of fetus's among other things. the break-down products of pesticides mimic estrogen and **** up your body in innumerable ways. they totally screw with your reproductive organs. also can lead to any kind of cancer imaginable.


huge corporations own the mega-industrial farms that grow convential foods. chemicals fertilizers and pesticides are in large petro-chemicals meaning they are derived from oil. so you are supporting arabs by buying conventional food.

also the corporations who produce the chemicals are really right-wing ultra christian psychos who believe in revelations and **** like that


industrial agriculture pollutes streams, rivers, estuaries, groundwater with pesticides and other chemicals as well as lots of animal ****

organic food is usually smaller scale family style and supports local economies better than the huge industrial style agriculture.

organic is much higher quality and tastes better which is why most gourmet restuaraunts buty organic

also, its classy. its a status symbol. chicks dig it. not that you should try to impress anyone.