organic food - is it worth it?

[principalitygirl]

Been mulling this over for a while...
I buy free range meat and eggs whenever there's the option. Some supermarkets don't always have them I find and you can't ever get free range options in some types of meat. I've started noting
buying organic milk too. It's definitely more expensive and / or restrictive so can't help wondering if it's really worth it. We don't eat loads of meat anyway. So, the animal welfare advantages of free range are more obvious, but does organic offer much better animal welfare too? And what are the human welfare advantages? Oh, and if you can only afford to go semi-organic and/ or free range, what's best to prioritise? Thx!

I prioritise organic milk, eggs and meat but don't worry too much about fruit/veg. Mainly because I think quality is better and also there is less use of antibiotics.

I can't get organic meat easily where I live now, but still try to get organic dairy and eggs wherever possible - and yes, it's because of the lower usage of antibiotics etc. I also make sure my milk is unhomogenised, because I prefer it that way.

Fruit - apples especially I prefer to buy organic because of the antifungal wax that is used liberally on other apples (which is why they're so shiny), and bananas purely because of the enormous amount of pesticides they're sprayed with otherwise. Soft fruits like strawberries I go for organic when I have the choice.
Vegetables - I buy organic carrots and potatoes, broccoli when I can and actually most veg if possible - but will buy the non-organic version if organic isn't available.

For me, it's reduction in the amount of pesticide residue - I used to work in a public analyst lab, and one of my jobs was to measure pesticide residue - sometimes the veg were very close to, or even over, the allowed limit, and if you had 5 veg a day, then you'd be over the limit. Pesticides are neurotoxins - ask sheep farmers about organophosphate poisoning from sheep dip! (I know a farmer who got this, it was awful)

Have bought organic milk for years.
Always buy free range eggs from a local neighbour.
I buy organic fruit and veg if it's in iffer or close to the non organic price.

Scottish lamb and mutton is a good option, it's basically a free-range product - the sheep roam over the hills, they have the lambs put out with them when they're big enough, etc etc. So I don't bother about lamb labels as I believe it's generally a sustainably farmed product.

Chicken I always buy free range and if I can't get free range then I don't buy it, but whether I go for organic or not depends on price. Same with eggs.

Milk I always buy organic and think it's well worth it.

For fruit and veg I get a veg box but the rest of my veg I buy on price these days. Used to be different but times are tighter. I

For fruit and veg:

www.perfectlyproduce.com/blog/2013/04/ewg-dirty-dozen-2012/

In the UK we are lucky that most meat is from animals who have had a good life, even if it doesn't say organic or free range. I am from Denmark, where agriculture is very industrialised, and unless it specifically says free range and organic, it will be battery hens/industrial pigs etc. So if you buy British meat, it's a lot better than from most other countries.

I always buy organic dairy produce, carrots, onions, potatoes, apples, tomatoes, bananas and beef. I used to buy more organic produce but I don't feel I can afford it now.

Apparently the levels of omega 3 in organic milk are higher than non-organic milk. I've heard that choirmasters at cathedral schools advise the children to have organic dairy as they think that high consumption of non-organic dairy produce leads to boys' voices breaking earlier.

I'm noticed myself that children who drink a lot of (non-organic) milk seem to reach puberty and have a massive growth spurt before the average age, but obviously that's just something I think I've noticed - it's hardly scientific. But it does tie in with the choirmasters' observations....

Apparently there have been cases of agricultural workers being sprayed with pesticides while they're working in the fields from the little aeroplanes used to spray.

If I had a bigger budget I'd buy as much organic produce as was available. I've had chronic fatigue for a lot of years and bowel cancer diagnosed at the age of 42. I also have multiple food sensitivities.

I also filter my drinking water through a jug filter. It tastes noticeably better so the cartridge must be doing something IMO! I've heard that people with food intolerances have higher levels of chlorine (blood levels? - summary in a magazine)

Apparently there is a product for washing veg with which claims to remove more of the pesticide residue than just washing with water but I don't know what it's called.

Milk yes. Eggs and meat - at least free range if not organic. Veg less so, it depends on the price, except blueberries and salad things. I do think it makes a difference.

thanks for your replies. food for thought, pardon the pun!