Decided to go fully organic.

[The Sauce]

So after finally being convinced the bovine growth hormone, BPA, dioxins, antibiotics, pesticides, etc were probably a bad thing, I finally decided to go organic. Went shopping to replace almost everything today - laundry soap, dish soap, shampoo, food, etc... End of the day $400. Fortunately, I have a well-paying job and no children, so I can afford it. Guess the poor folk just have to get cancer and moobs. It really sucks what our food supply has turned into...all processed, factory-farmed crapola full of chemicals.

 

[KingGheedora]

The one thing I noticed about organic food is that the broccoli is more irregular. When you look at non-organic broccoli it is so uniform it looks unnatural. To me it's intuitive that organic food would be better, but I've never seen any proof of it so eh.

 

[Billb2]

Define "Organic" ?

 

[AznAnarchy99]

http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2322763&enterthread=y

 

[The Sauce]

Originally posted by: Billb2
Define "Organic" ?

Organic

Relevant part:

"Organic production is based on a system of farming that maintains and replenishes soil fertility without the use of toxic and persistent pesticides and fertilizers. Organically produced foods also must be produced without the use of antibiotics, synthetic hormones, genetic engineering and other excluded practices, sewage sludge, or irradiation. Cloning animals or using their products would be considered inconsistent with organic practices. Organic foods are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives, or irradiation to maintain the integrity of the food."

 

[The Sauce]

Originally posted by: AznAnarchy99
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2322763&enterthread=y

Yeah, I read that article. It is pretty much worthless except as an example of business tactics by the food industry. It only discusses the nutrient content which, for most things, is not much different (there are a few examples where it is - link below). But, it's not the nutrient content I am concerned with. It's the contaminant content. There is no question that factory farmed foods such as fruits, berries, meats, salmon, eggs, etc all have higher content of preservatives, antibiotics, carcinogens, pesticides and hormone disruptors than foods grown organically. One study showed the levels of dioxins and PCB was 16x higher in farmed fish than wild caught fish. This lead to the EPA recommending no more than one serving of farmed fish per month. No thanks...not for me...at least as long as I can afford it.

That article was clearly pushed by the food industry as a retaliation to organics. Plenty of similar studies about tobacco back in the day as well attempting to demonstrate no link to COPD and cancer. We know better now. Big business will fight to maintain profits. That study is a nice example. At least that's my take on it.

Nutrient content example - scroll to the chart halfway down.

 

[brikis98]

Originally posted by: The Sauce

Originally posted by: AznAnarchy99
http://forums.anandtech.com/me...=2322763&enterthread=y

Yeah, I read that article. It is pretty much worthless except as an example of business tactics by the food industry. It only discusses the nutrient content which, for most things, is not much different (there are a few examples where it is - link below). But, it's not the nutrient content I am concerned with. It's the contaminant content. There is no question that factory farmed foods such as fruits, berries, meats, salmon, eggs, etc all have higher content of preservatives, antibiotics, carcinogens, pesticides and hormone disruptors than foods grown organically. One study showed the levels of dioxins and PCB was 16x higher in farmed fish than wild caught fish. This lead to the EPA recommending no more than one serving of farmed fish per month. No thanks...not for me...at least as long as I can afford it.

That article was clearly pushed by the food industry as a retaliation to organics. Plenty of similar studies about tobacco back in the day as well attempting to demonstrate no link to COPD and cancer. We know better now. Big business will fight to maintain profits. That study is a nice example. At least that's my take on it.

Nutrient content example - scroll to the chart halfway down.

If you haven't already, I strongly recommend you read Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, where he compares industrial farms, industrial organic farms, self-sustaining organic farms, and even food you grow yourself. It's a pretty quick and fascinating read that's well worth the time before you spend lots of money and time on foods with organic labels.

 

[The Sauce]

Thanks, I'll give it a read. I actually have it around here...think the wife bought it a while back.

 

[Bobalude]

Is there a Trader Joe's nearby? I've found them to be reasonably affordable and they offer a lot of things labeled "organic".

 

[QuantumPion]

I don't understand why anyone would think that using poop for fertilizer is somehow better then clean petroleum-derived nitrogen fertilizer.

To me, it's like claiming drinking water from a rain forest stream (filled with all sorts of animal waste, micro-organisms and diseases) is more natural then filtered tap water and thus somehow better for you.

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: QuantumPion
I don't understand why anyone would think that using poop for fertilizer is somehow better then clean petroleum-derived nitrogen fertilizer.

To me, it's like claiming drinking water from a rain forest stream (filled with all sorts of animal waste, micro-organisms and diseases) is more natural then filtered tap water and thus somehow better for you.

/facepalm

 

[Pantlegz]

you should watch the penn and teller bullshit episode on organic food. Kinda funny. I typically eat whole food it really doesn't matter to me if it's organic or not I'm not paying a 200% markup for a label. That said, I haven't done much research on it, I'm sure like everything it could go either way depending on where you get your information.

 

[Deeko]

No offense, OP....but your post makes me chuckle.