Organic/Hormone Free?

LifeofLauren2

Anyone else worries about all the extras in our food? I normally don't care so much but I'm worried something might affect my little bean. I'm trying to eat healthy but most days healthy things don't sound good and I can't force myself to eat them. So, I think I'm going to start eating organic meats and organic milk. I've done a little bit of research and I think I'm sold. Any input/advice/thoughts?

mamafox14

Organic products are better for the environment and for you, so I imagine they would be better for babes as well. Generally I find that organic dairy tastes way better and I try not to buy anything that was raised on antibiotics or given growth hormones either. But I also don't beat myself up about occasionally eating below my ideal, sometimes I just want a damn milkshake from the burger place and I have no shame about it.

megstervt

Go for it. I'm still in survival mode so not picky about what goes in if it stays down.

If cost is an issue Google "dirty dozen organic fruits and vegetables". It will give you a list of what fruits and veges should be purchased organic vs which ones you can get away with non-organic.

Nerdchild

Berries are my absolute must when it comes to organics. I also get milk from a semi-local (within a few hours of me) diary farm that goes hormone free.

Ugh:dairy, not diary. Sorry ladies, it was one of those days.

noelietrex

DH and I do organic, grass-fed, hormone-free at home. We buy Whole Foods groceries and they're pretty great about labeling. They are called whole paycheck for a reason though so just beware sticker shock. When we go out I don't worry about it- I figure it's a decent compromise.

PinkLady2015

god I really gotta start rinsing my fruit at home

jenkeale

Everything DD gets is organic and I plan to do the same for this baby.

We don't drink milk in our house, but I'm researching raw milk bc I heard from some friends that people who are lactose intolerant can often handle raw milk just fine. Its also supposed to be super healthy. I still don't know much, anyone given it a try?

Nerdchild

jenkeale said:

Everything DD gets is organic and I plan to do the same for this baby.

We don't drink milk in our house, but I'm researching raw milk bc I heard from some friends that people who are lactose intolerant can often handle raw milk just fine. Its also supposed to be super healthy. I still don't know much, anyone given it a try?

Yes yes yes! I have to drink lactose free here in the states, but I lived in Germany for a few months and had access to raw milk there. No lactose issues whatsoever!

Weville

We eat mostly organic but don't beat ourselves up about the things we eat that aren't. Meat is a huge one for me though and in my neighbourhood I have great options with our butcher shop and some of the restaurants and pubs

jlgriff11

Is raw milk still pasteurized?

PugsandKisses

Organic is NOT better for you. There has been no research that proves that is better or worst. It may be better for the environment. Organic just means that it means a certain environmental requirements, such as certain pesticides (they still use them btw), and certain foods for animals.

dolewhipper

In my home we try to do organic meat, milk and dirty dozen list. Not the cheapest, but IMO it tastes better. Plus there's something about knowing that you can never scrub pesticides off a potato ( they're like a sponge) that makes me feel better buying organic. I personally believe we are over medicating our livestock, so purchasing hormone and antibiotic free meat also makes me feel better (and chicken is so much juicier).

LinzerBinzer

PugsandKisses said:

Organic is NOT better for you. There has been no research that proves that is better or worst.

Those two sentences don't make sense together. If the second sentence were true, the first may need to be something like, "Organic may not be better for you."

Regardless, even if it were all true, I don't want to eat something that has soaked up chemicals to stop it from growing. There is no way it's good for us to consume that. This is fascinating to me: https://youtu.be/vYkyBz0qDvY

givemepenguinss

PugsandKisses said:

Organic is NOT better for you. There has been no research that proves that is better or worst. It may be better for the environment. Organic just means that it means a certain environmental requirements, such as certain pesticides (they still use them btw), and certain foods for animals.

Sorry, no. Please do more research on this. The pesticides alone in non organic fruits and vegetables are known to cause cancers, negative reproductive effects, among other things. Also, choosing organic ensures you're avoiding GMOs. There are some great documentaries on Netflix that you can check out.

At my house, we've been eating organic/no additives for years. As other posters have said, sometimes when we're out, we're not eating organic. It happens. There have been some great strides in local restaurants serving farm-to-table organics, though!

noelietrex

Dr. Greger makes videos based on current scientific research being conducted by reputable sources (always providing links to sources for you to read the full studies yourself). He turns the research into small, digestible videos the rest of us can understand and has a whole series on conventional vs. organic food if you want to check them out:

DominiqueU

I'm sure it's better for you, but I just don't eat much organic food. It's super expensive, and I'm definitely a bargain shopper. I'm also awful at really washing my produce, so I'm probably just going to drop dead at some point soon. But it's just so annoying to wash it...

Sorry, baby.

LittleLunarMouse

PugsandKisses said:

Organic is NOT better for you. There has been no research that proves that is better or worst. It may be better for the environment. Organic just means that it means a certain environmental requirements, such as certain pesticides (they still use them btw), and certain foods for animals.

This is patently false. There is plenty of scientific research and studies that have been done that show the benefits of Organic food. Here is one on the benefits of organic fruits and vegetables from a meta-study done on 343 peer reviewed studies of the subject. The abstract for the research itself is linked in the article.

 https://http//themindunleashed.org/2014/07/scientists-reviewed-343-studies-see-organic-food-better-heres-found.html

jlgriff11

I go both ways. We just can not afford to shop all the time organically. I try to buy it when I can and I am glad to see a bigger organic selection at the cheaper stores (not Whole Foods- that place is ridiculous. I only buy my Celtic salt there.) But we do like Fresh Thyme, they have great deals on organic vegetables and meats.

Whether its officially better or not I don't know, but I think you can taste the difference in many things, like pasta sauce.

But its hard for me to pay $3.99 for a dozen eggs when I can get some for $.99 right next to them.

holly142

My pedi pushes for hormone free milk especially for girls. I now buy local milk that is hormone free and is pasteurized but not ultra pasteurized like the grocery store.

In the summer I but produce at the farmer's market that is pesticide free. The rest of the year I have organic produce delivered and supplement with whatever I need at the store (some organic and some not).

We don't eat much meat. I do buy wild versus farmed seafood.

thebigoaktree

I don't eat any red or white meat unless I know where it comes from, my dad does pigs so my city boy of a DH found out last year what actual bacon is supposed to look like, and we just split half a cow with my family this year and went to the actual farm to pick it up. I grow a lot of the summer and buy organic in the stores. I actually refuse to buy produce from places like walmart, plus I don't want to support walmart. There's a trader joes near me and I love them.

Nerdchild

Slightly related, do any of you ladies keep laying hens? We will finally be buying at the next duty station and I've got my husband 90 percent convinced to let me have a small green house, garden, and about 3 hens to supply us with eggs. My family has kept a backyard garden all of my life, so I've got that handled, but my experience with hens is zero.

Eta: @MotherOfDucks I've been dying to ask you this for weeks! Do your ducks stay inside? Do you use duck diapers for them? Ducks are my favorite animal and I've been begging my husband to let me get one for years. I really want a house duck whose only job is to be adorable and harass my dogs.

jolydan

For those who are worried about the price of organic food, Aldi's carry a lot of organic produce at very affordable prices!

valleyvice

I have a moderate approach:

Organic produce only for the "dirty dozen", and
Antibiotic/hormone free meats & poultry at home

I still eat dinner out at non-organic restaurants, and love my conventional Cheerios for breakfast. In a perfect world I'd be 100% organic but it's cost prohibitive.

Nerdchild

@valleyvice Cheerios are my mutha flunkin jam! I'm going to eat some now.

LittleLunarMouse

The way I see it, I'd rather pay for the produce now than the hospital bills later  

@thebigoaktree I LOVE trader joes, they're the shit. And the wine prices are insane! Missing that lol. Fun fact: anything with the trader joes logo/brand is gauanteed to be gmo-free. They're also transitioning completely gmo-free store wide, though not sure when that's supposed to happen by.

@nerdchild hubby has been begging me for chickens for a while now. Not sure if our landlord would be too pleased otherwise I would have relented already lol

xc1148

givemepenguinss said:

PugsandKisses said:

Organic is NOT better for you. There has been no research that proves that is better or worst. It may be better for the environment. Organic just means that it means a certain environmental requirements, such as certain pesticides (they still use them btw), and certain foods for animals.

Sorry, no. Please do more research on this. The pesticides alone in non organic fruits and vegetables are known to cause cancers, negative reproductive effects, among other things. Also, choosing organic ensures you're avoiding GMOs. There are some great documentaries on Netflix that you can check out.

At my house, we've been eating organic/no additives for years. As other posters have said, sometimes when we're out, we're not eating organic. It happens. There have been some great strides in local restaurants serving farm-to-table organics, though!

This. The studies that say "organic isn't better" simply compare vitamins and minerals. An organic strawberry is similar to a regular strawberry.. That's not why you choose organic, you choose it to avoid horomones and pesticides that have been PROVEN to be harmful.  This article sums it up:

https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/02/that-flawed-stanford-study/?_r=0

nugget71116

@LinzerBinzer that video is hilarious. I love the end when she's all "this chemical might cause cancer. Thanks for watching my video !!!!" Cute. And scary!

Whenever I eat at BBW's, because I do, or two days ago bought salmon at costco for a 40-person meal and some fish was labeled "antibiotic free" - but not the salmon... I think about the antibiotics I might be ingesting and passing resistance to the baby. I'm sure I will also think of this when I'm buying food for future children. I try to buy as much as I can from the farmers market in the summer, but in the winter (in Chicago) there's no other option besides the grocery store which I know have issues of large-scale farm production and chemicals crossing over etc etc... Obviously I can't think about this too much (or I'd starve), nor do I worry much when we eat at restaurants. I think you can only do what you can do, it's worth the extra money for your health, and it's worth being educated, but let the rest go.

One thing I read a while ago which made me feel a little better: it's better to eat a non-organic vegetable than skip it entirely, the benefits still outweigh the chemicals haha. So eat up!

katietabor22

@nugget71116 When I lived in Chicago I had organic produce delivered in the winter from a farm not far away. I wish I could remember the name because literally, I have never had more delicious apples. The taste difference was insane

deuxbouledogues

We are mostly organic here.. My husband has type 1 diabetes and is gluten intolerant so we are careful with everything we eat in general. He is super into making homemade baby food so I can see our whole foods bill getting pretty steep in the coming year...

whatdreamsmaycome

I choose organic and local produce and organic meats and wild salmon if not for the hope of less pestisides then definitely for the taste alone I would always prefer organic. I also try to make sure that the meat I buy has a high animal welfare rating. Well my grocery bill is not pretty but I'm thinking long term about my health and the baby's. People end up spending thoousands of dollars later in life paying for their medical bills when their health declines. But I hope they make organic food more affordable!

kayham12

My husband is a food scientist and we do not eat organic, unless it is coming out of our garden. It is my understanding through DH and studying agriculture in college that many labels are not regulated buy the government and are marketing tools more than anything. Sometimes you are paying for a label. Always read the fine print, example from USDA labeling facts. Usually the statement that is required to follow is very very small.

NO HORMONES (pork or poultry):
Hormones are not allowed in raising hogs or poultry. Therefore, the claim "no hormones added" cannot be used on the labels of pork or poultry unless it is followed by a statement that says "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones."

nopegoat

We buy some organic and tend to buy more unprocessed food these days but it's not something we really stress over. Some days I just need a break or need my kids to eat so they get complete crap food. Some days I just want crap food and that's OK too. Moderation goes a long way here.

heade

It's just not in the budget for everything organic, every month for us. Anytime I can I shop Fresh Thyme or Trader Joes. They are the most reasonable. I love that Aldi is offering more organic options so I am all over that! We are Aldi shoppers. I can go there and shop for us for two weeks and spend $50 - $75 compared to close to $150 at other stores. The few products I refuse to buy non-organic happen to be milk and apples. So choosing the products you won't budge on helps us have the best of both worlds.

mamagreenbean

We raise a lot of our own meat. Duck, chicken, rabbit..and have both duck and chicken eggs. I grow a big garden and like to forage wild foods too. I try to buy mostly organic but can't always afford it..but I do think it's important.

nugget71116

@katietabor22 fresh produce in winter?! If you remember the name of the farm let me know...in the summer I've done CSAs from farmers market and I agree, food has never tasted before. The lettuce was fresh in my fridge for 2 weeks.

laurathemrs

We shop mostly at Aldi's because it's the closest to our house and I'm really happy they're offering more organic/healthy options. Any produce that they don't have we typically buy from Meijer. We started buying our eggs and meat (cuts of beef/ground beef/ham & bacon) at the local farmer's market several years ago and I refuse to buy it from the store anymore. I really want to find a source for chicken, too. I'm not super into buying strictly organic but I do when it's an option. I can't wait to get a Trader Joe's around here!