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

klaxon - some people are worried about the impact of pesticides etc on the planet in general so make those choices for environmental, rather than improved gusset reasons

Try as I may I can never manage to get everything organic, the cost is just too much sometimes, I am going to go back to getting fruit and veg bags from the school because they are organic and quite cost effective! :)

Also, non-organic cotton farming is pretty environmentally nasty. It relies on really heavy pesticide use. Lots of people prefer to buy organic cotton for that reason.

Oops x with SuePurbly

Shameless plug - all the Surfers Against Sewage stuff is now Organic cotton. And the Seasalt range is all organic too.

I don't buy organic as it's considerably more expensive and I choose not to spend our money on it as there's not enough to go around as it is.

I used to buy organic milk as I was persuaded of the benefits of less antibiotics in cows but as our milk consumption increased I cut back to normal.

I do grow our own veg and look forward to the home-grown stuff as you can definitely tell the difference in terms of taste from the supermarket stuff.

I dont usually buy organic because it is too expensive. I do however purchase local food, and this is more important to me than it being organic. I will purchase meat/vegetables locally for their taste and if they happen to be organic then so be it.

I am not 100% clear on organic classifications, I realise that they are produced without chemicals/pesticides - what more should i know?

I guess I should buy organic, but don't honestly know why () other than I hear it is better for us and for the environment.
I always buy organic milk, because it is affordable, but most other things I notice are far pricier than regular fruit/veg/meat etc.
If I ever see anything organic on offer, then I buy it.

Wouldn't have a clue how 'you' get the message across what organic means, how it is beneficial, who it benefits etc. If it were an article in a newspaper, I'd probably flick over, if there were a campaign via organic producers, then I might be interested if it caught my attention in the right way.
When I was weaning my DD, I was very careful about organic stuff, but now I guess I've got blase (and my pockets are tighter) and there seems to be far more stuff to worry about!

But I do try to buy local and use local independent stores where possible.

Noticeably soft because they have to process it more to get rid of all the bugs living in it?

I tend to only buy organic meat, I grow some stuff. I would buy organic eggs as well if I bought eggs but I dont as I have my own chickens. It is the price that stops me plain and simple I cant afford to feed my family organic food.

I like the idea of organic but I admit to not really knowing what it means exactly. How far do farmers have to go to be allowed to use the label "organic" ? And is it really better for our health ? I'd like to see a totally objective, independent report on it.

I buy organic meat and dairy partly because I feel strongly about animal welfare and also because I don't think factory farmed meat is healthy - I am particularly worried about all the antibiotics and hormones in it all. Organic chicken definitely tastes better too. I would rather never eat chicken than eat a factory farmed bird which has had a wretched existence.

I don't generally buy organic fruit and veg - partly because I don't want imported stuff and partly because I can't food plan very well with veg boxes even though I love them - so I end up wasting a lot which I then feel crap about. I would like to be experienced and competent enough as a cook to be able to use veg boxes better in the future and I am working towards this...

I do think Organic Food are plain WRONG when they say "We all want good, natural food" as we really don't all care about natural and many people would say they wanted "good, cheap food" Some people care about the idea of natural whatever that is exactly, but it isn't important to everyone.

I don't buy many organic things. On the whole they cost to much and I can't say I'm convinced of the benefits. I'm happier going to the local market for my fruit and veg.

I buy organic food whenever I can and would love to be totally organic but can't really afford it without sacrifices elsewhere that I am not prepared to make. Like others, I would prioritize local food over organic and am lucky enough to live somewhere with lots of small enterprises farming in a more sustainable if not totally organic way.

I tend to prioritise organic meat over vegetables and will happily eat less to have better quality when we do. One thing that I am in unclear about is fish. I am not sure if organic farmed is better than net caught or the other way around.
I don't tend to buy any organic cereal or pasta etc. I don't notice a difference in taste and there isn't the welfare issue as there is with meat.

I think I understand the labelling thanks to John Craven and countryside.

I buy virtually all organic but my main reason for doing so is the lovely organic food shop 5 minutes from my house! Very lucky as I live in the sticks, but it is closer than any supermarket, I get fabulous personal service - they know all their customers, they are lovely towards my children; they have been known, for example, to phone me at home to say they are running low on broccoli and know i usually buy it, shall they save me some. I would never leave that to go to Tesco :)
That said, I started going there because I do prefer organic food - I won't buy non-organic meat at all, prefer organic eggs (will buy freerange if I absolutely have to) and like non-homogenised (organic) milk. Organic veg genuinely tastes better and chlorine-washed non-organic salad makes me feel - that's a sick face not an envy face, obv.
Surprisingly I don't spend more there than at a supermarket (I do go to one occasionally for items they don't stock, when they are on holiday, etc). I don't know if this is because I don' buy rubbish and processed food there or because it is genuinely not more expensive. (I do buy "taste the difference" type stuff at the supermarket so am not comparing organic with the basics range.)

I buy organic frequently. Some items I buy exclusively organic - dairy products (except cheese), vegetables, fruits with edible peels, flours, eggs, cereals, biscuits, nut butters and jams. I buy organic because I think that it is, in general, better for the environment and also because I want to keep the pesticide exposure in my family's diet to a minimum.

I do not think that organic always equals better tasting or better quality, and know that there are ways of farming which are not able to be labeled organic, but which are environmentally friendly and have a superior product. To this end, I buy meats from specialist butchers for their superior product, and also for the knowledge of the origins of the items they are selling. I buy artisanal cheeses which are not "organic", but are produced in a non-intensive manner. This also goes for my fishmonger and my local gourmet deli.

I tried various organic weekly boxes but was never completely satisfied with the choice or quality - particularly in the winter months.

I would love to buy more organic. I try to buy organic milk, fruit and vegetables when I can, although I find the fruit and veg don't last as long (I know, for obvious reasons).

I also buy Rocks squash, seeds of change pasta sauces and other items when on offer. I also find organic wine doesn't give me a hangover.
:)

I would buy more organic produce if there was more of a selection readily available in my local stores, as to drive 15 miles to get a better range kind of defeats the object in my eyes. I have attended the Soil Association Food Festival in Bristol the last few years and always leave feeling inspired but the the reality of my bank balance kicks in.

I'm not too sure about classification, tbh, I am very trusting.

I don't purposely buy anything organic, only if it is the only choice available in the item I want. It's a cost issue - I will always choose the 'basic' range if it's there, apart from on meat, which I am prepared to spend more on.

Having said that, I grow some of my own veg and it tastes sooo much nicer than the stuff I buy from the supermarket, I am sure organic stuff probably does have the edge, but not enough versus the cost saving.

Does buying organic only matter to you for certain items and not others? I can't afford organic for everything, so I choose organic Eggs and mostly organic (or outdoor reared) meat, the ones where the animal's welfare is better, and carrots, because we eat loads of carrots and I worry about pesticides.

Why is buying organic food important to you? Animal welfare and less pesticides, antibiotics etc going into the ground. Eggs are the only thing where I think you can taste the difference.

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? Price and variety; for example, sometimes you just want something quick and easy, and there are less organic convenience foods available.

Also, are you 100% sure on what organic produce is and how it is classified? Or are you not too sure? Not too sure, suspect a lot of "organic" is still very mass-produced and intensive if the truth were known.

So if you buy organic food, please tell us what you buy and why?
I buy local more than organic - I think the idea of growing food naturally is a good and healthy one, but I also like to buy locally so food doesn't have to eb transported half way round the world. Also, food in season tastes so much better! I love my weekly organic veg boxes because you are buying local food with low food miles that is in season and that is helping British farmers. I find my organic fruit and veg to be tasty, easy to cook and makes me feel a happy glow :) Also, it makes me try new veg that I wouldn't necessarily buy.

Does buying organic only matter to you for certain items and not others?
More for fruit and veg - those with thin skins where pesticides can get into the fruit through the skin.

Or is anything and everything you buy organic?
No, not meat. Too expensive!

If you don't buy (or don't always buy) organic food, why is this?
Money

Is there anything that could persuade you to purchase organic food?
By making it cheaper.

Also, are you 100% sure on what organic produce is and how it is classified? Or are you not too sure?
No, I'm not sure tbh.

I get organic formula but that's it.

I can't afford organic everything (so I suppose that makes my breast milk also non organic )
I also don't really taste the difference to be honest.

'Organic' food is only as organic as the rain that falls upon it during its growth.

When the DCs were young (under five) we always used to buy organic milk much to FIL consternation. But did feel it was better for the children. However with everything going up and up in price we've abandoned it I'm afraid to admit!

Never really gone down the organic fruit and veggies avenue probably because we aren't rich enough to afford it. But the veggies we grow at home are organic. SIL majorly buys organic but then she's a singleton living on the same salary as us as a family of four - so she can afford to indulge!

Not entirely sure I'm convinced that the health benefits of organic goods match the inflated prices although I do think that organically grown products are probably better for the environment in the way that they don't use pesticides and harmful chemicals.