Hug Me! I’m Organic!

AMEN! AMEN! AMEN! I’ve been on an “anti-organic fad” mission for over a year and it’s nice to see somebody that understands that (for the most part) “organic” is a marketing tool! Yes, pesticides are icky things, but “organic” is not the same as “healthy.” It’s back to the principle of knowing what’s really in your food. It’s also important to keep in mind that organic produce needs to be free of SYNTHETIC pesticides. “Natural” pesticides are free game, keeping in mind that rattlesankes, hemlock and arsenic are also natural. Hmmm…

As far as the “dirty dozen” fruits and veggies go, a lot of our local farmers do not use pesticides (other than lady bugs lol), but don’t want to go through the red tape (and extra expense) of getting that “certified organic” label. Knowing your growers’ practices and/or growing your own fruits and veggies is the best way to keep your family safe.

I couldn’t agree more about organic/ real food becoming an idol. Recently, I read an article on PssionateHomemaking regarding this same subject. http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2010/01/can-natural-living-become-an-idol.html

Great post Hallee!! Interesting about bananas—I am going to stop buying organic because they are expensive! Makes sense that there is no benefit. But we do buy organic produce when we can (and meats). And as a pregnant lady, I’ve had toaster pastries lately. But I don’t kid myself–I buy the generic because it’s cheaper and I eat when the kids aren’t around so they don’t get any ideas. We probably eat more processed food when we should but we’re realistic about it and don’t pat ourselves on the back when it’s “organic” mac and cheese vs. regular.

Thanks for sharing Hallee. I think for me the bottom line is, to get back to basics, grow my own food, make and bake from scratch, to sustain our family and friends, buy local, that way we don’t have to concern ourselves by looking at box ingredients organic or not. how simple is that. And yes I agree, we don’t want to fall in the idolizing pit, even self sustaining can become a wrong focus if that is our main goal in life. May we all continue to be blessed with God’s knowledge and wisdom and continue to focus on His Word. Thank you again!
Blessings ~ Carmen

Welcome to Capitalism at its best. You can only sell what people will buy and organic is in. I seriously guffawed at many of those “organic” products. Rice krispie bars? Pancakes in a can? Seriously? Processed is processed no matter how you look at it.

I rarely buy organic because frankly, we just can’t afford it. I am all about buying local and growing your own though and become increasingly aware of what is exactly on the ingredient list of the things we purchase from the grocery store. It has been a slow process, but I’m learning.

Thanks for posting this. It was a very interesting read.

Hi, I just wanted to comment on the issue of certain conventionally grown produce being less harmful to us than others. Bananas are often used as an example of a product that isn’t important to buy organic. What we are not taking into consideration is that while the pesticide residue may not end up in our bodies in very large quantities, the growing practices are harming people halfway across the world from us. This is taken from an article in my local newspaper, a Q&A about banana growing:
“Banana plantations were infamous for their environmental and social abuses, which included the use of dangerous pesticides, poor working conditions, water pollution and deforestation,” reports the Rainforest Alliance, a New York-based nonprofit that has been working to improve worker and environmental conditions in the industry since 1990. “Pesticide-impregnated plastic bags, which protect bananas as they grow, often littered riverbanks and beaches near banana farms, while agrochemical runoff and erosion killed fish, clogged rivers and choked coral reefs.” Also, the proximity of housing to banana fields, coupled with lax regulations for pesticide handling, led to frequent illness among workers and people living near the plantations.
The article goes on to say that the Rainforest Alliance is working to get these practices changed but they are still a huge problem. Do you honestly want to support an industry that harms the world and fellow humans this much? It’s a little selfish to only worry about how much toxin ends up in our families bodies without consideration for the rest of the world. I say, if you can’t afford the organic than just don’t buy it. Bananas are mostly sugar and we can live with out them. Why should we buy something grown halfway around the world when we can get fruits and vegetables from our own neighborhoods? We as Americans need to shift our thinking from expecting that we can have whatever we want, when we want, and learn how to eat more simply and sustainably. We grow so many other fruits here.
I don’t mean to sound preachy or nasty at all, it’s just something I feel very passionately about and it upsets me to hear people saying they will stop buying organic bananas now, because it doesn’t really matter. It does matter!!

I have hated this for awhile too. I buy organic produce as much as possible, and I buy local, sustainable meat, eggs, and milk. But it’s not ORGANIC in most cases. I know the source and the food is mainly unprocessed (but, you know, someone else did slaughter and cut the meat for me :) ). But organic junk food? Occasionally I will buy it in a pinch, because it doesn’t contain HFCS or corn oil, but I don’t kid myself into thinking that’s healthy! That’s where people get the idea that the organic lifestyle is so expensive — buying that crap! Sigh.

Thank you for this post, Hallee. Some of it made me laugh. Organic oil for a car? Really? And organic Coke really made me crack up. This said by someone (okay, me) who, when giving in to the temptation of soda now and again, goes for the Pepsi Throwback. It’s just as bad for me, but my justification is at least it doesn’t have hfcs in it. I don’t buy it often, but still…
The main thing I think is common sense when buying anything. We are trying to cut out a lot of processed foods but there are some things that end up in my cart now and again and while corn chips still have to specifically be Fritos brand (once in a blue moon), corn anything from corn itself to products made from it I refuse to buy unless it’s organic or can otherwise prove that it’s non GMO. I guess we all just have to figure out what we are comfortable with for our families and continue learning about the world around us and the food we eat. :)