htose of you who aren't organic - why not?

[MamaGlamourPuss]

?

I buy locally produced stuff if I can - the only thing I always commit to buying organic is milk for ds. Read somewhere about the hormones in normal milk being bad for little boys... not sure how true that is (probably should as have degree in this type of thing) but until I hear a good argument otherwise, I guess I'll stick to organic milk for him. I just have the cheap stuff for me!

And what a cute picture, HRH!

HrH - love your boys, really sweet.
My ds's eat loads - there's no way I could feed them all on £55 - and that is with growing all my own veg, and at this time of year most of the fruit, and own eggs (all organic of course ) . Soapbox I don't know how you make an organic chicken last 2 meals plus soup unless either your dc's are very small, or few in number, my older two ds's in particular simply would expire on such rations, yes they eat things like organic porridge for brekfast, but then usually also have yoast, and fruit juice or milk, and have late evening snacks of more toast/pitta bread/weetabix. They all do loads of sport, around 1-2 hr daily and have no spare weight on them at all.

Box schemes are all very well but:

a) it's hard to menu plan when you need specific veg for a recipe and then end up shopping AGAIN for the things you need. It's also much more costly than the price tag as a result.

b) my shopping budget relies on me spending over the threshhold for free delivery at the supermarket shop.

c) you get stuff you've never even heard of let alone know how to cook - it's a challenge getting familiar things down the dses throats without having to try the weird wonderful and wacky.

d) there seems to be a fair amount of imports in a box scheme anyway.

e) the last box I got delivered was smothered with little tiny flies, and what veg I could stomach didn't last very long. Quite frankly, that week I would have welcomed pesticides with open arms. Put me off for life.

"Organic food isn't expensive as such - non-organic is unrealistically cheap. "

Spot on, TT

There wouldn't be any nasty chemicals in Moomin Valley, you know, people

(actually, seriously, has Finland not banned loads of pesticides?)

georginaA I have to say I don't menu plan as such, but who did you go with? We're with Riverford, you can see the contents of the box online and you can faff around a bit with different box sizes to get stuff you like or avoid stuff you don't.

But bascially, yes, it costs more. TT is right. Non-organic food is articficially cheap.

Maybe non-organic food is artificially cheap, but considering that every other household bill is inflating by the minute, don't you think that's helpful?

I went with a local box scheme - I don't remember the name. I have previously used a different one though when I was in London (forget the name too) but wasn't overly impressed with quality then either.

We have the organic fruit/veg bozes, and egg - via one of the schemes. I still menu plan, but if I am doing something that needs specific items I tend to add them to my online shop. I use the veg box stuff as my supplements to go with meals mostly.

When doing my online shop I am trying to look more carefully at what I do buy - whether that is organic, free range and/or free trade. Not everything I get is one of these though. We have a mix, but I am trying to buy more of the organic things.

I also have started using the local shops more frequently - butchers, bakers, grocers, etc. That is not organic as far as I know, but it is locally produced - I think it is just as important to support local things as it is for me to support organic productions.

So, a bit of both here.

I posted the contents of my box the other day and someone else did a price comparison with the online supermarker. The veg box worked out cheaper - the shop bought organic was more expensive.

No box scheme available where I live (as far as I know anyway)

DH gets free veg from work, some organic, some not.

Organic meat is expensive, and organic does not neccessarily mean free range.

We are on a very tight budget and tend to buy whatever's on offer, organic or not.

Buying locally is the main priority for us.

I will not buy Organic veg thats grown in Kenya and uses way too many valuable resources and leaves locals without decent food or water. Nor will I buy from Israel and I'm afraid too much organic produce comes from both these areas.

I do buy from a local farm shop that whilst not organic uses minimal chemicals, I also grow my own veg organically. I also buy other organic local products ie milk, butter and eggs but not exclusively.

I feel that buying from small local growers is generally as safe as a lot of organic produce and much better quality definatley fresher than supermarket organics. Its the huge scale farming for supermarkets normal fruit and veg that uses the most chemicals.

we buy quite a bit organic, always milk. but in a way i'm lucky, i work for m&s so buy their organic with staff discount 20%, so it works about about the same price as non organic from anywhere else.

Same reason as everone else - organic is expensive, so we buy it only when we can aford it!

....As long as the government continues to subsidise farmers who use pesticides, and refuses to subsidise organic farmers, then organic food will continue to be a luxury of the chattering classes and out of the reach of most of us who live on a tight budget

Not read the thread but i am sure i'm not alone here.

Organic is too expensive, i do occasionally go to farm shop but its not often. I would love to be organic but its just not feasable when ur on a strict budget.

Example...i can get 1.5 kg of carrots from sainsbury basic range for about 69p. That will last us aaaaages but same amount from my local veg supplier would cost £2-£3!

Not reading thread... just answering OP

COST

I am semi-organic, because DS1 is on a limited diet and some stuff just isn't available organic.

But it is so expensive. We bought an organic Sheepdrove Farm chicken from our local organic shop, and it was over 12 pounds for a 6 kilo bird. Also, in my local supermarket, you can only buy big bags of organic carrots, and if you only want one or two you have to get the pesticide-ridden ones.

We're mostly organic, BUT more than that, we're local!

We buy as much - nearly all our food - from local growers and producers w/i 30 miles of us.

I would say 75% of our food is organic. Definitely all the dairy produce and meat. I hate the idea of feeding my girls meat that has been stuffed full of growth hormones and antibiotics .

I can't say I notice the difference in taste, like some people seem to, but my DD won't drink milk that isn't organic, she definitely notices the difference.

We do local then organic wherever possible and it's handy that our veg box is also organic . All dairy is organic because we are not a big dairy consuming family and given research all indicates significant benficial differences in having organic dairy then I think we need to make the most of it! Meat is at least free range, pref organic. I think we just don't really that much meat in the great scheme of things despite having it almost every night e.g. a 1.5kg organic chicken (about £6-7 to buy) does 6 adult meals and 6 children's meals for us - one night of classic roast, veg & pots, then using the rest for in pasta sauce, curry etc where max 6oz meat feeds 2 adults and 2 children plus heaps of veg and some carbs.

I buy quite a bit local from farm shops and farmers markets rather than organic although that is often the same thing. Use home-grown veg from my parents garden (and some from my own this year!!!). But as with most of the other replies, organic simply too expensive all the time.

"I will not buy Organic veg thats grown in Kenya and uses way too many valuable resources and leaves locals without decent food or water."

And lets not forget that they'll be without money too if no-one buys there stuff..........

For those of you who buy organically from Supermarkets do you know that 70% of all organic produce is imported?

HM - that's ok - I buy fairtrade when I can - and that's imported too..........