Where do you buy organic produce?

[Anonymous]

Especially after the new study that came out about pesticides and ADHD, my husband and I would like to buy more organic produce than we currently do. We have a 5 month old now. We are operating on a military SSgt's budget - so not a lot to work with financially. Are there any co-op stores or farmer's markets that have organic produce that is affordable? I've been really disappointed than many of the DC "farmer's markets" are way more expensive than even the grocery store is.

Suggestions?

[Anonymous]

Organic is, generally, going to be more expensive than conventional due to supply and demand. That said, I would check out Mom's Organic Market in various locations (I find they are cheaper than whole foods). Also, instead of getting fresh fruit/vegetables, you could go the frozen organic route which might be cheaper in some aspects. Also, make sure when you are shopping at farmer's markets to stay seasonal - things at the top of the season are going to be less expensive. Also, at farmer's markets you can try to get "Seconds" - which is just a nice way of saying that they are bruised or uglier than the firsts - there's nothing wrong with them from a safety or nutritional standpoint. Also, Costco has some organic produce, if I'm not mistaken. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Trader Joe's has a good selection of organic and is relatively reasonable in price

[Anonymous]

You can also focus your efforts on the "dirty dozen" fruits and vegetables that are highest in pesticides. There are a number of fruits and veggies that are either not generally sprayed, or that have thick rinds you don't eat (e.g. watermelon, cantaloupe), so you're really not getting pesticide residue.

http://blogs.babble.com/strollerderby/2010/06/02/12-fruits-and-veggies-make-the-dirty-dozen-list/

There's even a little wallet card you can download: http://www.foodnews.org/walletguide.php

[Anonymous]

Just be careful about the frozen veggies - a good number that are sold at both TJs and WFs are from China, and I would not trust the accuracy of the organic label. (We have a good friend who lives in China and when we asked her about how trusting we should be she just laughed.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just be careful about the frozen veggies - a good number that are sold at both TJs and WFs are from China, and I would not trust the accuracy of the organic label. (We have a good friend who lives in China and when we asked her about how trusting we should be she just laughed.)

Wow, this is news to me. Granted, I have never scrutinized the labels, but could have sworn they said nothing about China.

Is this also true about their frozen fruit?

Also, is this an industry wide thing, or are only TJs and WF's frozen veggies from China?

[Anonymous]

My organic Market is a very good organic store and has good prices too

[Anonymous]

We buy organic produce at Whole Foods, Giant, Washington Green Grocer and Harris Teeter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Especially after the new study that came out about pesticides and ADHD, my husband and I would like to buy more organic produce than we currently do. We have a 5 month old now. We are operating on a military SSgt's budget - so not a lot to work with financially. Are there any co-op stores or farmer's markets that have organic produce that is affordable? I've been really disappointed than many of the DC "farmer's markets" are way more expensive than even the grocery store is.

Suggestions?

do you have a link to this study?

[Anonymous]

don't think it's avail. in its entirety for free, yet:

"Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Urinary Metabolites of Organophosphate Pesticides," published in Pediatrics, was authored Maryse F. Bouchard of the University of Montreal and Harvard University, David C. Bellinger, Robert O. Wright, and Marc G. Weisskopf of Harvard University.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just be careful about the frozen veggies - a good number that are sold at both TJs and WFs are from China, and I would not trust the accuracy of the organic label. (We have a good friend who lives in China and when we asked her about how trusting we should be she just laughed.)

Just curious, buy why would you trust domestic organic labelling more than China?

I emailed While Foods about their organic baby biscuits, which are also from China, and here's the reply from their customer service:

Thanks for the email. Organic from China is totally possible and the certification process is as strong there as it is in any other country, because the certifying agencies are approved and held accountable by the USDA. Additionally we work closely with our vendor partners there to ensure quality products.  There is some great info about this subject on our website if you are interested.

http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2008/06/is-organic-from-china-possible/

[Anonymous]

"Just curious, buy why would you trust domestic organic labelling more than China?

I emailed While Foods about their organic baby biscuits, which are also from China, and here's the reply from their customer service:

Thanks for the email. Organic from China is totally possible and the certification process is as strong there as it is in any other country, because the certifying agencies are approved and held accountable by the USDA. Additionally we work closely with our vendor partners there to ensure quality products. There is some great info about this subject on our website if you are interested.

http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com/2008/06/is-organic-from-china-possible/"

I'm the poster above. The trust issue is a combination of culture and government regulation. China is a gigantic, mostly unregulated marketplace that is growing so fast no one can keep up. The U.S. has more regulation, and more legal protection for consumers, than China, and these things drive farmer/manufacturer behavior. And culturally, I think it is less acceptable to cut corners here than in China. Think about the milk contaminated with toxic chemicals, among other examples.

FWIW, I don't trust organic labels for food coming out of Mexico, either. I have another friend who is half Mexican and is an American lawyer doing environmental work in Mexico, and she doesn't think the organic label is trustworthy.

[Anonymous]

I subscribe to Lancaster Farm Fresh Cooperative, which is a very reasonably priced organic CSA (a half-share is about $17 per week, and we get too much for 2 adults, what I imagine would be plenty for a family with kids). They deliver around the DC area, and I don't know if it's too late to join for the season.

I supplement with food from the farmers' markets, but it can be hard to get certified organic options in this area and sometimes there is only one vendor at a market (which will make the prices less competitive). I also shop at MOM and try to stay in season; a lot of their seasonal produce is also local, and will be much less expensive than anything shipped from the West Coast or imported internationally. (For a seasonal cooking/eating guide, I strongly recommend Simply In Season; if you don't mind that it's produced by the Mennonites, it's a great value with many many delicious recipes, organized by season and ingredient with a buying/storing guide in the front.)

Transitioning to organic produce can be a shock price-wise, and I encourage you to look for other things that can be cut out of the food budget and replaced (heads of lettuce can replace bagged lettuce, fruit can replace packaged cookies, etc.). Once we subscribed to the CSA, our packaged food basically disappeared since we didn't have any extra space in our eating for it -- we were too busy making sure we ate all the veggies we were getting!

[Anonymous]

If you're close to a commissary, I would also suggest checking them out. My dad is retired USAF and he and my mother frequent the Walter Reed Commissary in Silver Spring. Whenever I go with them, there is a really good selection of organic fruits and veggies at very reasonable prices. They also have other organic items throughout the store, including dairy items. My mom is on a mission to get organic meats, but they currently don't have any.

[Anonymous]

OP - keep in mind that there are some fruits and vegetables that truly don't need to be organic (for example, bananas and avocados, because of their peel, absorbs very few pesticides and I think fewer are used on them because of their peel). There is a list of ones with the biggest "pesticide loads" and I have read you should buy those organic. Ones I know of because we eat a lot of, sweet potatoes, apples, peppers, and fresh spinach/other greens.

Buying in season will also help lower the price. And you can buy frozen vegetables too - they are just as healthy because they are flash frozen when the nutrients are still at their peak, but just be careful where you are getting it from (ie not from China as was mentioned.)

We buy organic dairy too and chicken only from Whole Foods (humanely raised) because I don't like the big industrial poultry companies and processes.