We are very careful about what we put in our bodies. All milk is hormone (rBst) free, as is all meat/poultry. All fish is humanely caught. All eggs are organic and we know how the chickens are kept (cage-free) and what they are fed (zero antibiotics or hormones).

All produce is organic, though sometimes we'll let certain foods slide, like bananas, because we don't eat the skin. But definitely the dirty dozen.

It's because of all the hormones in meat and milk that girls are hitting puberty earlier, and because of all the antibiotics routinely given to animals that we eat that humans are becoming antibiotic-resistant.

I can't afford all organic. So I look for the dirty dozen, and more naturally raised meat, eggs, milk. There are farms that aren't certified organic, but that don't use the harsher pesticides, or use them much more sparingly than huge commercial operations. And those that don't use hormones, etc. for their livestock.

The one thing I do buy organic, always, is any apple product. This one is always high in pesticides and it makes up a huge part of our diets. We are apple fiends. Fresh apples, baked apples, apple yogurt, apple juice, applesauce, apple butter.

I don't pass up conventional stuff if I need it for a recipe or for dinner that night. But I hope that at least giving thought to the foods I choose will help keep it a bit healthier.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't buy anything organic.

Neither do we. I was beginning to feel like I was the only one!

+1 i would rather focus on fresh food rather than organic. I also don't believe in moving backwards in technological advances and scientific break throughs.

I will only buy organic milk, prefer organic eggs, and I would LOVE to buy organic only meat, but if I find "antibiotic/hormone free" at Trader JOe's, then I'll do that. Their organic chicken legs are very cheap at Trader joes!

Fruits and veg, always for apples and pears and as much as I can for berries. It's hard! I try to think that as much as I can reduce their chemical load I will try, without making myself crazy. If their friends offer non organic apples to my kids to snack on, I will of course let them eat them.

I try to buy organic but don't freak out if it's not. In particular, I tend not to worry too much if something with a big, removable skin isn't organic (like bananas or an avocado -- really, try to find an organic avocado1). I am a little more careful now that we have kids. I used to buy organic only a little, but now I try to get as much as possible in organic.

Anonymous wrote:I don't buy anything organic.

Neither do we. I was beginning to feel like I was the only one!

I buy a mix--I try to buy organic meat, dairy, and eggs as much as possible, but I don't always. Ditto produce. There are certain price points that are just too high sometimes.

I don't buy anything organic.

Anonymous wrote:Milk, eggs, cheese, meat, grapes, berries, apples, pears, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and squash are absolutes (meaning we don't eat non-organic). Anything else I just get what's available.

What exactly is the difference between organic and non organic potatoes or cheese? I am honestly asking, not trying to be an ass.

PP again, sorry, I meant like zucchini and summer squash.

Anonymous wrote:Milk, eggs, cheese, meat, grapes, berries, apples, pears, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and squash are absolutes (meaning we don't eat non-organic). Anything else I just get what's available.

Why squash? I thought if you don't eat the outside, regular is fine....

Milk, eggs, cheese, meat, grapes, berries, apples, pears, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and squash are absolutes (meaning we don't eat non-organic). Anything else I just get what's available.

Oh, heck no. I would not go to another supermarket.

However, there are a few items I'd rather forgo than eat non-organic. Milk and eggs. I'm a veg., but if I were to eat meat, that would be another. They tend to be much more highly concentrated sources of pesticides. And grapes.

Not very. It's a meaningless term anymore.

I'm just wondering how far those of you who buy organic take it? If your local store doesn't have organic sweet potatoes, for instance, do you just not buy the potatoes? Do you keep going to different stores until you find organic sweet potatoes? Or do you buy conventional items?

We do try to buy organic for at least the dirty dozen, but a lot of times, my local stores (and even Whole Foods- Springfield one, so tiny) don't carry a wide selection of organic.