NOW CLOSED Talk to Organic UK about about buying organic food and win a Neal's Yard 'pamper hamper' worth £100 plus 10 runner up prizes

[KatieBMumsnet]

As part of the new "Organic, Naturally Different Campaign" the folks at Organic UK would like to know Mumsnetters' opinions on buying organic food for your family. Here's what Organic UK says: "The campaign wants to encourage all of us to think again about the benefits of organic, and support organic producers. We all want good, natural food and that's exactly what organic is all about."


So if you buy organic food, please tell us what you buy and why? Does buying organic only matter to you for certain items and not others? Or is anything and everything you buy organic? Why is buying organic food important to you?

If you don't buy (or don't always buy) organic food, why is this? What prevents you from buying organic? Is there anything that could persuade you to purchase organic food?

Also, are you 100% sure on what organic produce is and how it is classified? Or are you not too sure?

Everyone who adds their comments to this list will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a Neal's Yard 'pamper hamper' worth £100 and 10 runners up will each win one copy of the Discover Organic cookbook (worth £14.99).

Full T&Cs can be found here.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

[QOD]

I only buy organic when it's reduced, if it cost the same as non, I'd chose it, but cost is a huge issue

[coffeewhitenosugar]

I used to buy almost exclusively organic but now I have a reduced budget so sadly not so much of what we eat and use is organic - I do try to buy organic root veg as I was told any chemicals used in growing them would end up in the root. I also try to buy organic bath stuff for the kids but don't always manage. It is only the price which stops me buying organic everything and I have just taken on an allotment which will definitely be organic. I don't 100% understand what organic means on a food/product label.

[JessCartandahorse]

I've always tried to buy organic, but it's not always been available. Having just finished cancer treatment, I'm making more of an effort to source items. We've just decided to eat only organic cheese but again the choice is limited.

Last week dh asked the local butcher for organic meat but he doesn't stock any! Sainsburys have a limited choice of meat and their last two batches of chicken were very tough for some reason

I have a leaflet for Abel and Cole veg which I am going to try though I must admit the thought of washing off soil doesn't thrill me [lazy]

I does worry me that fish are contaminated with pollutants but that's another discussion, I guess.

[mrswee]

I try and but what I can organic and would buy everything i could if I could afford it, but sadly we can't so I buy what I consider to be the most important things-
I always buy organic milk for my DD, I think it's important as as far as I know it avoids antibiotics in the milk and has more nutrition. I also buy organic butter.
I buy organic carrots, taste better and I figure if they are root veg it's probably better to buy organic. Same as potatoes.
When I can make it to the health food shop, about once a week, I buy organic eggs. They are cheaper there, I don't buy them in the supermarket as they are really expensive. Instead I buy free range from the supermarket if we run out of eggs before I make it to the health food shop again.
We also buy organic bacon from the health food shop as a treat, about once or twice a month, again avoiding antibiotics and other nasties. I don't buy bacon otherwise as the organic stuff is so good it doesn't seem worth paying for anything else. While at the health food shop I pick up any veg that is on offer, local and organic.
I buy organic meat when I can but again it's down to cost.
I have recently startyed growing veg in our local commuinity garden which is all organic. It will suppliment what I can afford to buy this year.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

I buy organic milk and as a matter of preference for the brand, buy Yeo valley butter, spread and cream. I buy Rachel's Organic yoghurt for my daughter - I do this as I read about the inhumane treatment of "battery" cows but that's it - I'll buy organic fruit, veg and beauty products if they are special offer but money is tight and I don't believe in the extra nutrients or environmental benefits enough to pay so much extra. So while I like the idea of only consuming organic in theory, I am afraid that I am too tight to put my money where my mouth is

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I only buy organic if it is on special offer making it as cost effective as the regular version. I'm well aware of the increased production costs of organic farming but my household budget is too tight to be able to purchase. We do grow bits and bobs ourself and I do prefer homegrown.

[fanoftheinvisibleman]

I only buy organic if it is on special offer making it as cost effective as the regular version. I'm well aware of the increased production costs of organic farming but my household budget is too tight to be able to purchase. We do grow bits and bobs ourself and I do prefer homegrown.

[ellisbell]

we buy organic milk. We grow some food and that is organic. Apart from that we tend to support local suppliers - eggs are free range but not organic. Eating seasonal and local food seems to me to be doing more good for the environment than eating organic food flown in from abroad.

I might buy more organic food if anyone could convince me eiher that it was substantially more nutritious or that it was better for the planet.

[PepeLePew]

So if you buy organic food, please tell us what you buy and why? Does buying organic only matter to you for certain items and not others? Or is anything and everything you buy organic? Why is buying organic food important to you?

I buy organic eggs and chicken. Meat sometimes, and milk from the milkman, though if it isn't available I don't mind. That's it.

If you don't buy (or don't always buy) organic food, why is this? What prevents you from buying organic? Is there anything that could persuade you to purchase organic food?

I think the price differential is offputting considering I'm not that sure there are notable health benefits. I prefer the animal welfare standards of organic produce, but don't particularly care about the welfare of my veg.

Also, are you 100% sure on what organic produce is and how it is classified? Or are you not too sure?

I know there are legal standards. I couldn't begin to tell you what they are.

[umiaisha]

I buy organic where I can, but have to confess that I don't know much about the claimed health benefits. I buy it more because I want to feed my children the best quality food I can.

[jasminetatu]

Cost is the biggest issue for me. Money is so tight at the moment that I have to be really careful about my food budget - and that means buying the cheapest fruit and veg. I am vegetarian and drink soya milk so meat and dairy is not such an issue (I try to buy organic milk/yoghurt for my ds) - but it would be lovely to afford really good quality fruit and veg.

[TheOneWithTheHair]

We get all our fruit and veg delivered by a company that sells all organic produce. I will occasionally buy other things from there but they are expensive.

I try to make the rest of my shopping organic too where I can but often what I want isn't available.

It is also more expensive for a lot of produce and that makes it harder to stick to.

I prefer to feed myself and family with organic produce because if we can avoid ingesting chemicals then it has to be healthier for us. :)

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I buy organic food when it is comparable price-wise to non-organic. For example if 750g of organic onions are a pound and a kg of non-organic are a pound, I'll go for the organic as there's not that much difference price-wise. I try and buy organic carrots and organic milk if they are not stupidly expensive, because I believe these are two things where you really do get better/healthier food if you go organic. I like buying organic yoghurts, rachel's and Yeo Valley in particular, because I prefer them but only buy when on offer.

I would always buy organic IF the prices came down a bit. Sometimes the gap between organic and non-organic is so huge that I just can't justify buying organic.

Rachel's Dairy rice puddings are a thing of joy though, and I will always buy them even when not on offer! :)

[BonzoDooDah]

I buy organic vegetables. Have a veg bag delivered by Foodlife Doorstep Deliveries who have superb quality and are a family run firm. It's also really convenient having fresh veg delivered to the door as it means less supermarket shops.

Am 100% sure it is Organic as they are registered with the soil association.

I try to buy carrots and other root veg organic to reduce the amout of pesticides in them.

I'd love to be able to afford organic meat. I hate the number of hormones and antibiotics fed to our food animals - but I can't afford to be that fussy. So we eat less meat.

I try and buy other organic items when they are on offer or the price is not too different from the non-organic one.

[BonzoDooDah]

Oh I buy Rachel's stuff too as it is delicious.

[gybegirl]

I buy organic meat from a market. My butcher has the farms the meat comes from listed. I buy it for animal welfare reasons, taste reasons (seriously - organic bacon is outrageously good) and so I know I'm not routinely consuming the drugs they can give intensively reared animals. It's more expensive so we spend the same but eat less.

I used to live in Cornwall and got the Riverford veggie box (with dairy) delivered. It was a delight to behold every week and I could sob about the fact that it's no longer available where we now live. (In Cornwall I bought meat from a local farm shop. It was not organic, but tasted brilliant and you could see most of the happy animals in the fields around the shop.

I now live in Ireland and can't get anything like the same quality of organic fruit/veg so therefore I tend to try and buy normal in season stuff so reducing food miles.

[ifeellove]

I'd love to buy more organic food but am limited by cost and availability. I mostly shop at supermarkets mainly Sainsbury's. I prioritise buying organic dairy foods then veg and fruit

[Oakmaiden]

I started buying organic food when I had my first baby, in 1998. It was very important to me that I fed my children as healthily as possible, and that their exposure to chemicals was minimised as much as possible. I always bought organic fruit and vegetables when they were available (and used to use organic box schemes) as well as preferring to buy organic meats, and using organic flour for bread and cakes etc. I bought organic milk and yogurt too (but not cheese - as I like really tasty cheese and never found an porganic one that was tasty enough for me!)

However, I haven'#t bought much organic food in the past 4 years as my husband lost his well paid job and now has a much less well paid one, and we simply can't afford the additional cost. I have to buy everything as cheaply as possible now. I would far prefer to go back to organic, but financially it is not currently practical.

[Oakmaiden]

I started buying organic food when I had my first baby, in 1998. It was very important to me that I fed my children as healthily as possible, and that their exposure to chemicals was minimised as much as possible. I always bought organic fruit and vegetables when they were available (and used to use organic box schemes) as well as preferring to buy organic meats, and using organic flour for bread and cakes etc. I bought organic milk and yogurt too (but not cheese - as I like really tasty cheese and never found an porganic one that was tasty enough for me!)

However, I haven'#t bought much organic food in the past 4 years as my husband lost his well paid job and now has a much less well paid one, and we simply can't afford the additional cost. I have to buy everything as cheaply as possible now. I would far prefer to go back to organic, but financially it is not currently practical.

[Oakmaiden]

sorry for double post - MN abandoned me, and in my panic I seem to have submitted several times!

[SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots]

So if you buy organic food, please tell us what you buy and why? Does buying organic only matter to you for certain items and not others? Or is anything and everything you buy organic? Why is buying organic food important to you?

There's a farm shop 5 mins from here that has own grown meat, eggs and veg. It's expensive. I don't eat meat but DH always says the meat is much nicer from there. It's a treat though, or pushing the boat out for a dinner party as he is a real foody cook. I can't honestly say that buying a big sack of potatoes from the farmer tastes any different, although now I think about that it is considerably cheaper than tescos smaller 1kg bags. My point is
If we went to the farm shop to do a "shop" we would end up with a much larger shopping bill.
I always buy free range eggs and chicken probably related to all the hype when I was a teenager, even from tesco. The taste of fresh eggs as gifts from friends (people not the chickens!) a this time of year is way above anything bought from caged hens. Do they count as organic?

If you don't buy (or don't always buy) organic food, why is this? What prevents you from buying organic? Is there anything that could persuade you to purchase organic food?

Cost. Pure and simple. I always only buy meat that is locally produced. So if I'm buying meat in tesco, I make sure it's from northern Ireland, not uk, and not just finished or whatever it says on the label in the uk.

Also, are you 100% sure on what organic produce is and how it is classified? Or are you not too sure?

I think organic means without chemicals. But I'm not 100% sure. I know the veg in tesco has a label saying "organic" but I don't trust them that it actually is, and it's way more expensive than ordinary so I don't normally buy it. I dont like the way their carrots are all perfect in size and shape. Makes me suspicious. The value carrots look like they should be more natural, but i suppose thats the marketing hype again. I suppose I am not clear on what the difference is between organic and free range. Oh dear, I'm confusing myself now!

[SquirtedPerfumeUpNoseInBoots]

Reading that back, it's the most confusing post ever on MN.

[fallingandlaughing]

I don't really have an organic buying strategy. We used to buy more organic when we had more money.

I am most likely to buy organic if shopping with my Mum. She is a bit of an organic obsessive so I feel bad if I don't make the effort with her! We have an organic supermarket quite nearby and I will go there for a treat sometimes.

I have a DD who is jsut weaning at the moment, I am more likely to biuy organic for her, especially if getting cereals or ready-made baby food. She is allergic to milk and egg but I think I would buy them organic for her if she wasn't.

When I was pregat I got an organic veg bix for a while but I ran out of uses for kale...

I can be put of organic food by the wholesomeness factor. It seems that if you want organic you are also expected to want vegan, wholemeal and unrefied, such as cakes sweetened with apple juice. "Normal" products with organic ingredients are more appealing. For me and DP I will buy organic products if the difference in price isn't too great, and sometimes I will change what I am making to swallow a price change e.g. buy organic chicken thighs instead of ordinary chicken breast.

The one thing that would make me buy more organic produce or products would be if they became more affordable.

As far as what organic meas in a food context... I take it to mean no presticides, antibiotics etc. I also expect a higher animal welfare standard, But I couldn't say I know the ins and outs of it.

[midwife99]

I buy as many things organic as possible but especially animal products because they are not only nutritionally superior but are farmed ethically & the "dirty dozen" fruits & veg as they are the most heavily sprayed with pesticides. I want to protect my young family from ingesting chemicals & give them the best nutrition I can. I also buy organic toiletries & natural household cleaning products to protect them from topical problems too. If our bodies have to work hard to process & eliminate all these chemicals they can't possibly function as well.