GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
+1. That's a good one.
What organic foods do you buy?
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No chemical fertilizer or pesticides are allowed in Swedish organic farming, much tougher rules and also the land has to tested so no chemicals still resides. Hence most farmer cant afford it, because the standard farming has hard rules then bog standard European farmers. Yes, even a normal farm cant use chemical pesticides or ferilizers as they want to there is rules for that, strict ones.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
There's no such thing as a non-chemical fertilizer or pesticide, so if they use anything at all, it's a chemical. Even water is a chemical.
RPCookin
Executive Chef
I'm with the majority here, don't shop for or use any organic foods unless I need a particular item and the only one in the store is organic. The only thing that is certain about organic is that it will cost more than the nonorganic equivalent.
When we buy beef in quantity we buy from local farmers (we are getting 1/4 of a beef in June). The beef is not certified as "organic", but in my opinion it's better. These are small herds (typically they only sell 25-30 head a year) which are tended carefully, are only given antibiotics if needed, are not stuffed hormones or anything with anything but grasses and 2 or 3 weeks of "feed" at a lot before being processed. The meat is custom cut to my order and packed at a local packing house. It is so far superior to anything you will find in a store, or even a typical butcher specialty shop, that there is no comparison, yet they can't sell it as "organic" because they didn't jump through a bunch of hoops to satisfy FDA requirements.
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Just Cooking
Master Chef
Like many, I don't shop organic but, buy what looks good and fits the purpose..
For something to do in my retirement, I worked a couple of mornings a week in the produce dept of a quality owner operated grocery store.. I found the greatest difference in organic vs non-organic to be price, in many cases..
I shop at Trader Joes.. For kicks I picked up a can of standard re-fried beans and a can of organic re-fried beans.. The difference I noticed was .30 cents..
For something to do in my retirement, I worked a couple of mornings a week in the produce dept of a quality owner operated grocery store.. I found the greatest difference in organic vs non-organic to be price, in many cases..
I shop at Trader Joes.. For kicks I picked up a can of standard re-fried beans and a can of organic re-fried beans.. The difference I noticed was .30 cents..
roadfix
Chef Extraordinaire
I don't buy organic. But my wife does from all the hype she reads about them.
Gotgarlic: Cow dung is seen as none chemical fertilizer, it exist in nature and has not been made by man. Unless the man dress up as cow and hides barn pretending to be a cow. In Sweden that is what chemical fertilizer is, a man made product, doesnt exist natural in nature.
There is also natural ways avoiding pest, like adding flowers most pest dont like.
There is also natural ways avoiding pest, like adding flowers most pest dont like.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
That works for relatively small farms, and particular crops, but I don't think you'll be able to feed the world with those methods. Pests are a lot more persistent and destructive in warmer climates.
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Sweden dont use a lot pesticides, due to us being where we are in the world, cold winter short summers. Apparently pyrethrins are ok for use in Organic here in Europe, it comes from a plant and isn't stable enough to stay in the dirt. How ever in Sweden, our top brand of organic KRAV, doesnt allow that. Instead you have to use bugs as your pesticides, like lady bugs and few others that eat harmful bugs.
bethzaring
Master Chef
I guess I would be considered a chemical pesticide/insecticide. I squish bugs I don't want in my garden with my fingers.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
That's what I meant when I mentioned warmer climates
I can garden outside all year here and there is a commensurate bug population. Plus it's pretty humid and rainy, so fungus is a problem. Recommendations for agricultural and home gardening now mostly come from a concept called Integrated Pest Management: http://extension.psu.edu/pests/ipm/...ools/educators/curriculum/contents/sixtactics
But Eu also have warmer countries then us that have same Eu rules organic, so there must be away.
Sweden is sort nuts, it blames it self for the all Baltic sea problems, even if Kalningrad just pump sewage straight into it. Hence we started having harder and harder rules for chemical fertilizers, hoping to save the Baltic sea. Well we are not the problem any more, but we act like we are the only one destroying it.
Sweden is sort nuts, it blames it self for the all Baltic sea problems, even if Kalningrad just pump sewage straight into it. Hence we started having harder and harder rules for chemical fertilizers, hoping to save the Baltic sea. Well we are not the problem any more, but we act like we are the only one destroying it.
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
I have no idea how much agriculture in Europe is organic and how much is not. If you look at the integrated pest management page I posted, the guidelines might look familiar.
I don't eat a lot of eggs, so I will often get a month or more out of a carton. As for taste, it is not a big difference, but the yolks are darker, and a bit more intense in flavor. But, I am comparing to the cheap eggs I used to buy. The food the chickens eat is bound to effect the taste of the eggs. The "organic" part may not be the difference. I may just be better chicken feed.
The difference in taste of the organic milk is a lot more noticeable. I drink 2-percent, and it tastes like whole milk, to me -- and really good. My parents drink skim milk, and I bought them some organic skim once, about two years ago, and now that is all they buy.
Again, there are a lot of organic foods that don't taste any better, to me. I had high hopes for organic tomatoes. Supermarket tomatoes really lack in flavor, IMO. Well, the organic supermarket tomatoes didn't taste any better, to me. Sigh.
CD
I buy lots of organic stuff. Most of it tastes better, but probably not so much because it's organic as because it's usually from smaller, local farms. I check the lists, "The Dirty Dozen" and "The Clean Fifteen" found here: https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty_dozen_list.php. I even have their app, so I can check when I'm at the store.
tenspeed
Executive Chef
The Journal of Toxicology doesn't agree with EWG.
"In summary, findings conclusively demonstrate that consumer exposures to the ten most frequently detected pesticides on EWG's “Dirty Dozen” commodity list are at negligible levels and that the EWG methodology is insufficient to allow any meaningful rankings among commodities."
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3135239/
GotGarlic
Chef Extraordinaire
We talked about EWG not too long ago. They are not a research group; they are advocates for organic food and their list is very misleading, as the Journal of Toxicology notes.
Cooking Goddess
Chef Extraordinaire
My SIL swears by them. When they lived in FL, those are the only shoes she would wear. Now that they live in MA, literally just up the road from us, she has to wear boots sometimes. I know she does have a big selection, plus extra inserts for the shoes.Did I mention I wear Birkenstocks almost all year around? I wonder if they really feel good on my feet, or I've been duped by good marketing.
CD
Is anyone making a better list?
