What does the word Organic mean to you? For me, that is an easy answer. It means that it was grown and handled with out any pesticides, hormones or chemicals. I believe that organic food is the food grown the way God intended it to be. Grown from nature, with natural fertilizers, i.e., compost, manure, etc. Do I buy all organic? No, I do not. I wish I could. However, only about 25-30% of our groceries purchased are organic. The items that I purchase that are organic are not purchased because they are organic. As stated in my previous post, I shop at Trader Joe's. A lot of TJ's items are organic. Therefore, more of my items purchased are organic because they are purchased at Trader Joe's. I don't seek out the organic cereal or celery, it just happens to be what they have!
In a perfect world, we would buy the "dirty dozen" organic. I would buy all organic dairy. Heck, I'd even buy organic meat! Let's face it, this world is not perfect. If I have to chose between an organic diet or paying for my mortgage, guess which one I am going to pick? The #1 challenge for me with buying organic is the price. If I can buy strawberries for $2.99 a container or $7.99 for the organic, guess which one I'm going to pick. I wish I could afford to feed my family $8 strawberries. It just isn't realistic. Another challenge for organic food. Availability. As mentioned before, I prefer to feed my family a whole, minimally processed diet. Our selection of food would reduce dramatically if we only ate organic. Fruit would be limited to about 25% of what it is now. Veggies even less. Our Shop Rite does have an organic produce section. It's tiny. The fruit is just sad looking.
Dairy is another story. I have a daughter. I truly believe that the hormones and antibiotics given to cows are passed through the milk. I did not want my daughter developing at age six. I made a conscious effort to only purchase milk and milk products that stated they were from cows NOT given milk producing hormones. Yes, the government has stated there really is no difference between milk from cows given rBST and those not given it. This is the same government that stood by the pyramid for nutrition for way too many years. I believe what I choose to believe. I believe I made the right choice. Today, we purchase organic yogurt. That's the one the kids like. It is the one with the best ingredients. I also purchase a ton of Greek yogurt. This is not organic. It is however, made with milk from a cow NOT given hormones. I choose the health benefits of the Greek Yogurt over the lesser healthy regular organic yogurt. I recently bough one half gallon of organic milk at Target. I happened to be there and we needed milk. We aren't using as much milk as we were when my kids were younger. I thought a half gallon was the right amount for us. A half gallon of organic milk is the same price as a gallon of regular. This is something I am struggling with. I know the benefit of no pesticides is HUGE. The frugal mom in me is saying, "Buy the regular, they've been OK with it so far." But the "granola" mom in me is saying, "BUY ORGANIC!!!" Right now, the organic is in the refrigerator. When it is empty, I'll have to make a decision on which to buy. I will make it then. I can't tell you what I will do, it most likely depends on how much money I have that day. Like I said, money is the biggest challenge for me.
I think the number one reward of buying organic is knowing you are feeding yourself and your family food that is grown with love and without chemicals. I can't say I've noticed much of a better taste. I think it's just a mental sigh of relief to not have to worry about organic food and what type of pesticides or chemicals have been used on them. I love shopping at Trader Joe's and buying organic celery for the same cost as regular celery at shop rite. THAT is a reward! ;-)
I guess my opinion on organic is, if you can afford it good for you! I wish I could. If I hit the lottery tomorrow... my new grocery store would be Whole Foods. Let's face it though. We are a one income family of five. I will buy organic when I can. For now, that has to be good enough.
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