[Windswept]

A natural foods supermarket opened in my area 4 weeks ago. Since it opened, I have switched completely over to organic foods and naturally-made products (like face creams, hand lotions, etc.). I am so happy to have all these healthful foods and products within easy access.

I was wondering how many of you have easy access to organic and natural foods and products.

If you have easy and relatively affordable access to organic foods, how big a portion of your diet is composed of such items?

Do you buy a lot of other natural products, such as sunscreens, laundry detergents, skin creams/cleansers, vitamins/health products?

Do you try to use herbal remedies when you can, or do you use health products from the commercial drug industry (for example, St. John's Wort vs. Zoloft)?

I'm going to try to do a poll for this.

Thanks for any replies.

~ Carol ~

[SKMDC]

We have WHOLE FOODS markets which does a brisk organic trade, it's a pretty snooty place to shop, Earth Shoe wearing, BMW driving suburbanites with granola falling out of their pockets.

Our PTO (parent teacher org) just started an organic produce club and all the stuff comes from the west coast, the lady from the company told us their are no certified organic farms in Illinois. I found that odd. at farmer's markets here in Chicago at least 50% say they are organic....would a farmer from the land of lincoln lie? maybe he noticed my earth shoes and granola dripping out of my pockets, and stuck the sign up.

[Wrao]

I pretty much only shop at trader joe's, partially because they have a decent selection of organic products. But also because they have tons of exclusive food items that are awesome. There is a Whole Foods across the street from TJ's, I've never been there though.

[torifile]

We have a Whole Foods down the road from us (well, about 2 miles) but we don't shop there much. It's just too expensive to eat "organic". I'll occasionally get some granola from there or other bulk foods but it's really more rare than it should be. I've used ear wax candles before. They're a trip.

[scrouds]

oh man, i miss trader joes. best store in the world.

[SKMDC]

he'll be here all weak ladies and gentlemen! tip your waiters and waitresses! Torifile is killin' tonite!

I clicked few in the poll, but that's because of the expense and certainly the freshness factor, If I need Leeks and Romaine and they have organic that LOOK good, then I'll be more likely to buy. Many times (in places other than WHOLE FOODS) it's sorry looking stuff.
I love eggs from grain-fed free-range chickens, I think I could taste the difference (in a taste test) if it were cooked over easy....you can see the difference when you crack one.

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by SKMDC We have WHOLE FOODS markets which does a brisk organic trade, it's a pretty snooty place to shop, Earth Shoe wearing, BMW driving suburbanites with granola falling out of their pockets.

The problems I have encountered in the past are that organic foods were not within easy access, and that they were prohibitively expensive when I *did* have access.

The exception to this was a period of time when I belonged to an organic foods co-op. We either paid a membership fee or worked at the co-op for a certain number of hours per month. I can't remember what happened to that co-op, but it was great while it lasted.

Our PTO (parent teacher org) just started an organic produce club and all the stuff comes from the west coast, the lady from the company told us their are no certified organic farms in Illinois. I found that odd. at farmer's markets here in Chicago at least 50% say they are organic....would a farmer from the land of lincoln lie? maybe he noticed my earth shoes and granola dripping out of my pockets, and stuck the sign up.

Yeah, one reason I posted this poll was to see how widespread (and affordable!) organic foods were throughout the country. It seems like the west coast always has the best when it comes to things like that.

As far as farmers lying about foods being organic...eek! Wouldn't that be against the law, or something? I guess the key to your comment is the word "certified". I imagine the farmers have to pay for some kind of expensive inspection to get such certification. I wonder who 'does' inspection like that? The FDA? Anyone know?

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by SKMDC I love eggs from grain-fed free-range chickens, I think I could taste the difference (in a taste test) if it were cooked over easy....you can see the difference when you crack one.

I was buying organic, free-range, grain-fed *brown* eggs. I noticed the shells were *really* strong and sturdy.

Does anyone know what the difference is between brown and white eggs? Besides the color, I mean.

[SKMDC]

Originally Posted by Windswept I was buying organic, free-range, grain-fed *brown* eggs. I noticed the shells were *really* strong and sturdy. Does anyone know what the difference is between brown and white eggs? Besides the color, I mean.

from the straight dope man

According to the Egg Nutrition Board (and who should know better?), "White shelled eggs are produced by hens with white feathers and ear lobes. Brown shelled eggs are produced by hens with red feathers and red ear lobes. There is no difference in taste or nutrition between white and brown eggs.

I have always thought brown eggs shell crack into the bowl more often, or maybe I just see it easier. There is also a large difference in taste and color (of yolks) from american chickens and european. Most international cooks say for some reason american eggs are superior, the taste of the chicken itself is usually not preferred. Meaning if they cooking the chicken, european is better (more free range birds would be my guess) but when it comes to eggs....USA.....USA....USA! (jingoistic chant)

[DMBand0026]

I try to find natural and organic stuff when I can, but I'm on a limited income so sometimes it's hard to justify paying $2 more a pound for red peppers because they're organic. I'm a bit of a health nut so I sometimes cringe when I think of all the stuff that I'm putting in my body...but I try to avoid it when possible. I eat a well balanced diet, and that's what's important to me now.

[Grip]

Originally Posted by Windswept I was buying organic, free-range, grain-fed *brown* eggs. I noticed the shells were *really* strong and sturdy. Does anyone know what the difference is between brown and white eggs? Besides the color, I mean.

I don't think there is any nutritional difference between brown and white eggs. But I do notice that free range, non-hormone, vegitarian-fed eggs have a deeper yellow yolk (almost orange).

What that means, I don't know.

I hope it doesn't affect my Egg McMuffins.

[SKMDC]

Originally Posted by Windswept As far as farmers lying about foods being organic...eek! Wouldn't that be against the law, or something? I guess the key to your comment is the word "certified". I imagine the farmers have to pay for some kind of expensive inspection to get such certification. I wonder who 'does' inspection like that? The FDA? Anyone know?

many of the farmer's markets have been cracking down.
Another large problem has been foods out of season claiming to be grown locally when in fact they are from South America or California.
There is no oversight, they come in and pay there fee and leave, consumers have been complaining about paying farmer's market prices and getting supermarket goods.

[709]

I've only ever smoked American Spirits.

[DMBand0026]

Farmer's markets are hit or miss. I used to work at a bakery that sold product at several different markets, some of which were very large, others were very small. I got to know the different vendors at some of the markets very well, as well as their product. After a few years of working at the markets it was quite apparent which vendors really had the organic or all natural product which they advertised.

If you find a good market, support it. The great ones are hard to come by, and it helps locals and the people who need the help. Corporate farming is going to be all that's left someday soon, and that's a crying shame.

[LudwigVan]

We've got a couple of Whole Foods in our neck of the woods, one which I frequent fairly often. Yes, it is a little more expensive, but then again, I spend most of my paycheck on food anyway. The prices there--for what I purchase, that is--are comparable with other local chain grocery stores (Lunds, Cub Foods) that also sell organic/natural items. Not surprisingly, with all the college kids around the Twin Cities, there are quite a few natural food co-ops and coffeeshops.

Plus there are a number of nearby restaurants and delis that cater to the organic-eating crowd. One place I'd like to check out someday is Galactic Pizza. (WARNING: Garish website trying to be hip. They mean well, though.)

[Brad]

Organic food? Isn't that for hippies and tree-huggers?

I'll take mine extra processed, thankyouverymuch.

[Dave]

Originally Posted by torifile We have a Whole Foods down the road from us (well, about 2 miles) but we don't shop there much. It's just too expensive to eat "organic". I'll occasionally get some granola from there or other bulk foods but it's really more rare than it should be.

They've also got the best marshmallows I've ever had. Scary how good those things were.

[AWR]

Chiming in from Geneva ... where there is incidentally a big story these days on a related topic. But first:

We have decent if limited access to organic and quasi-natural food and other products; as usual, they are considerably more expensive than 'normal' stuff. Expensive? Organic chicken breasts cost about USD 42/lbs. Normal chicken breasts cost about USD 22/lbs... Tell me about it. The organic stuff is good, but so is the normal. That said, my 5 senses (and understanding of the food-safety regulations) leads me to believe that normal here is quite a bit nicer than normal at home (USA)(my English friends feel the same way). They don't seems to have that fuggly Purdue chicken that just looks like it's bad for you and tastes like cr*p too.

Unfortunately, there are no Fresh Fields-like markets here, which would be great for one-stop shopping (if not prohibitively expensive). Organic foodstuff is carried by the major chains, although the selection is limited; there are also a number of small wholly-organic shops around with hard crackers, strange toothpastes and veggie burgers.

A Trader Joe's (and good, reasonable Asian food restuarants) would make living here more enjoyable.

We eat a fair bit of the organic stuff thinking that we are being healthy; the kids get higher rations of it.

And here's the news: the University of Bern has just completed a comprehensive study of normal and organic milk. (They sell over a billion dollars of organic milk here each year.) The study concluded that that normal milk was better for you than organic milk in most categories and all things considered. There were a number of reasons for this, including the fact that normal cows were healthier than 'bio' cows and tended to have healthier milk. I don't know if this translates to the States, as the normal here is not fed hormones, although they do get antibiotics.

Interesting topic - could go on and on but I've just been joined by two waking monkeys.

[BuonRotto]

I live a few blocks from a Whole Foods (probably the same one torifile refers to), and I don't buy a lot of organic stuff because, frankly, it spoils too quickly and it doesn't have better taste than the real stuff like I would hope. I'm a single guy who needs food to last for the week because I don't use a whole head of lettuce on the first night. They do, however have good, uh, "conventional" fruits and veggies too, they have a good booze selection, and their meats are the best in the area. Sounds stupid, but their "365" store brand mineral water is the real deal too, just like what I used ot have in Italy. It does bother me that I can't get a box of Cheerios there; instead I would have to get their $8 half-size box of "Toasted Whole Grain O's". So I tend to buy fresh food there, boxed or frozen stuff at Harris Teeter.

We have a pretty good mix of people there, though I do despise the crunchy higher-than-thou Duke liberals who turn their nose up at me when I pick up a "conventional" lemon.

[Ryan]

I live within spitting distance of Berkeley. 'Nuff said.

[SKMDC]

so you have a lot of food with mucus on it, that's too bad.

[Banana]

No whole food market here (we're a bunch of backward cave dwellers here). However, I have been able to obtain organic foods very cheap through local store that buy wholesale at discounted price. How they do it, I don't know, but it's cheap, and certainly not dated or anything. In fact, it's even cheaper than your average grocery store. Does anyone else have stores like that?

On another note, you know that there's a union movement going on at Whole Food? A bit funny, considering that Whole Food is hm, concerned with health of their consumers, but not as concerned for their employees as thewebsite
says.

[AWR]

Originally Posted by CubeDude I live within spitting distance of Berkeley. 'Nuff said.

Do you go to the Berkeley Bowl? Like it myself.

[autodata]

I've been finding myself eating less and less processed food. I simply don't like it anymore. I'm lucky in that I live near a whole foods, wild oats and a couple independent joints, and the food is just light years better. The fruit actually has taste, the bread is fresh, the soups taste and feel better, there beer/wine selection is better, there is a more interesting selection of food and wild oats has a whole section of bulk foods.

There are still a bunch of things we get from Jewel and dominick's (the normal grocery stores), but they are largely limited to things like toothpaste, oreos, and other things whose hippy versions suck.

I go to wild oats more than whole foods because it's closer, has a better selection and more relaxed atmosphere.

Originally Posted by Banana A bit funny, considering that Whole Food is hm, concerned with health of their consumers, but not as concerned for their employees

Whole foods is actually a good employer in the urban area I live in.

[ast3r3x]

I guess I don't eat all the good stuff. I live in lancaster county pennsylvania, so we have a lot of home grown fresh stuff, but no idea if it's organic or not. I don't really see why it matters. Bad for the environment? So is manure run off into streams and creeks.

[Amadeus]

My wife enjoys shopping at Trader Joe's occasionally. That have a lot of nice natural food items.

[geneman]

I guess I have easy access to organic food. I sometimes buy them, but being a student I find it hard to justify the cost. My reasons for buying them when I can has little to do with my own health (short term at least) and a lot to do with farm-animal 'welfare' and the environment.

I actually don't think organic foods are significantly more healthful, but I find it comforting to know that the animals had a somewhat nice life before ending in my kitchen (no I never thought about being a vegetarian).

As for the environment, I partly agree with ast3r3x, that it is hyped to some extent. However limiting the use of pesticides is a definite bonus, and the mere fact that some thought goes into what is spread on the fields is good. There's still room for improvement though.

On the whole herbal remedies question I prefer commercial products (approved by FDA or similar) whenever possible, i.e. I would never buy a herbal product if the medical industry offered one (in fact I've never bought a herbal product).

[Windswept]

Originally Posted by ast3r3x I guess I don't eat all the good stuff. I live in lancaster county pennsylvania, so we have a lot of home grown fresh stuff, but no idea if it's organic or not. I don't really see why it matters.

Mmm...a nice fresh salad with just a 'dash' of pesticide/herbicide seasoning.



(Just teasing you a little, ast3r3x. )

[naren]

I'm about 90% organic in my food intake. The exceptions being the odd meal out and a few oddities for which there is no sufficient locally available organic equivalent, like Triskets™ . I am a fully paid member of my local, small town CO-OP, in-fact, I've been going there all my life, my mother was a founding member and the first president of our CO-OP. I'm good friends with the people I buy my eggs from. I also hug trees...

I know it's more expensive, sometimes I drop $150 at the store, but I think it's important to make a stand on food consumption. If you've never read "Diet for a Small Planet" I highly suggest it. I saw Frances Moore Lappé last year and it was a very engaging talk that she gave. Check it out: http://www.smallplanetinstitute.org/

[ast3r3x]

I'm used locally grown stuff for the most part. I'll take fresh over organic any day though. Something about strawberry jam made by mennonites/amish that is just so much more delicious than ANY thing you'll ever be able to buy.

I am currently working in a food distribution warehouse for a major supplier. I hate it I am ready to quit. Let me tell you, the foot you get if it is put through any of the same conditions (and I assume it is since it has to move from point a to point b) I wouldn't trust any food I get without washing it. That is really just stupid if you think about it. What makes you think the packaging for it is even clean? Most vegetables aren't covered, they are in open top boxes, inches, or touching the bottom of the box that is above it, maybe that was on the floor. Or maybe someone dropped the box and used their dirty hands covered in dirt and box ink to load them back after they were on the ground...all this after being plucked from the dirt don't forget.

Originally Posted by Windswept Mmm...a nice fresh salad with just a 'dash' of pesticides and herbicides. (Just teasing you a little, ast3r3x. )

Mmmm...around here, we have some of the best white sweet corn you'll ever taste. It was grown in cow manure, doesn't that just sound delicious...why wash anything? I bet you like a little grit in your salad

PS - It seriously is some of the best corn you'll ever taste, my aunt boxes stuff up and takes it back with her when she comes to visit from Georgia.