I've decided to add more organic food to my diet and was wondering what experiences you guys have had with organic food.

I don't buy exclusively organic, but I do consult this list to help me decide what MUST be organic. It's a list of the worst foods as far as pesticide residue are concerned:

Dirty Dozen

In addition, I try to pay attention to where food comes from. If the organically grown food is flown in from Chile, I don't buy it, period. That's more of an environmental concern than a health concern, yes, but it's all interconnected in my opinion.

It can definitely be overwhelming - local, organic, seasonal - and many people balk at the added dollar cost of buying food this way, but I think it's important to remember that there are hidden costs to the cheaper food we buy.

my experiences: if you can't afford it all, shoot for fruits and veggies you won't peel (ie, strawberrys). Many of the pesticides come off in the peeling. It's not perfect, but an easy way to focus when you can't afford it all.

Additionally, i look for store brands of organic items. i live in the midwest in a very vegan-challenging area and even we have those.

Also be prepared for it all to be less pretty and plump. The fruits and veggies may not last as long or be as gigantic or as sweet as what we are used to. Afterall, the chemicals are used to enhance the "end product." Also may i suggest organic honey. yum.

(yes, i know, some vegans don't eat honey. i do).

~fm~

While it's much better in Northcentral Wisconsin than it was in Illinois, good fresh organic produce is hard to come by. It's either in bad shape or quadruple the price, and sadly is often both. There's no way, I'm paying $5 a lb for wrinkled apples. In cold storage, apples can last almost a year, so I always wonder exactly how long these have been off the tree and where they were stored (in the sun?)

I do buy organic occasionally, but usually when the price is good, which isn't often. I do buy the organic baby greens and fuji apples at Sam's Club because the prices are extaordinary (even compared to non-organics).

In the summer I buy local. The local certified organic vendors tend to be extremely pricey (and they look too perfect. When I don't see even one insect bite on the leaves, I know they're using SOME kind of pesticide, and some of the organic pesticides are as dangerous as the synthetic ones, only they're not tested for).

I hate when certified organic farmers cut off the tops of carrots, beets, kohlrabi... It makes me wonder what they're hiding. I hate when they wash the produce first also. Not only does it wash away any sign of insect damage (which I want to see. Too much is a sign of carelessness, and too little is a sign they're using strong pesticides). Also washing shortens the shelf-life, and makes it difficult to tell how long ago the produce was picked (because the tops will show age by the degree of wilting. It's harder to tell when the tops are cut off).

I tend to like the Hmong vendors best, because they generally pick the veggies the morning of the market rather than the night before, and except for brushing and wiping the dirt off, they generally don't wash or trim the produce. Not only does the produce last longer, I can see from the state of the leaves whether or not the crop was heavily treated for pests. I also like that less is being wasted. For example the Hmong vendors sell everything they eat, which is everything they grow that is edible. Beet tops aren't thrown away, because they're good to eat. They even sell pea leaves/tendrils and squash vines. It's kind of funny to hear people say "you can't eat those," because they don't know any better. I love the pea tendrils. I think I like them even better than sugar snap peas.

I also like the vendors who grow for taste rather than symmetry. I want my carrots to taste good more than I want them to be long, and slim. Short, knobby carrots are hard to peel (so I don't) but they taste so much better than the long, slim varieties.

I wish we lived in a climate that could sustain farmers markets all year round. I eat a lot of veggies all year-round, but I eat a lot more in the summer, because they're just so much tastier from small farms, with farmers who are proud of what they sell.

I like to visit the Saturday market, there you can question the vendors how they prepare there meat products or how there fed etc. I guess I'm partiel organic...because I cant always afford it but make the best next choice.

I've started buying organic again. The book I'm reading calls for changing over to an organic, plant-based and organic, hormone-free protein diet because of the hormones that enter into our foods through pesticides which affect our ability to lose weight.

UGH! Organic is expensive! My food bill was twice what I usually pay per week. But I justify it by telling myself that I'm feeding my family better food and I'm supporting local farmers. Plus, I'd be paying out the wazoo if I were on some other diet plan that required me to buy their supplements and pre-packaged foods.

I never really shop organic food. Yesterday, was LITERALLY my first time ever trying to buy organic. I bought organic egg, organic milk, organic cheese, organic chocolate milk, organic kidney beans and organic chopped tomatoes.

It was more expensive for the organic produce than what I pay for regular food. I bought Tesco organic, which is a store brand here in England. Often, I have an 'all or nothing' mentality. With this change to my diet I'm just going to start off easy and not go crazy and immediately buy and eat only organic food. It's so confusing to attempt changes.

I'm fairly broke, but one thing I will always buy organic is carrots. The non-organic ones taste far too bitter to me now. I've had luck with organic fruit and veg box schemes in the past, where it tends to be cheaper and mostly local produce too, and for anyone in this part of Scotland I can warmly recommend Grow Wild.

I, too, buy organic carrots, they are so much better. I always get a comment from the cashier about it because I buy the 5lb pound bags, I have to share with my dogs

Mostly I buy organic, especially celery, apples, and any corn product. Alot of the times it is around the same price as the conventionally grown stuff. I am lucky that every Tuesday there is a market in the summer, downtown a couple blocks from where I work, that has locally grown produce. I also live close to another market that has local farmers.

As for meat I buy Amish chicken (I don't know how much better they are treated than regular chickens but I definitely notice a taste difference from brands like Tyson or Perdue) or organic, frozen wild Alaskan salmon, grass fed beef online or from local farmers, I don't eat pork. I'd like to try more grass fed cheese but it is soooo expensive. I do know that Kroger brand milk does not use RBGH (growth hormone) but I don't know if that translates to their cheese. Also Daisy brand sour cream and cottage cheese does not come from cows treated with RBGH. You guys in the EU, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand don't have to worry about it because it is banned.

OMG!! I had to comment because you use Martin Luther King's quote, and so do I!!!!! I've never seen it anywhere else until now. Very cool.

I don't have it on my 3 FCs signature yet because I can not have a signature until after 20 days. But I have it on all my emails, including replies

I love organic foods and believe it is much healthier. From the websites I've read, pesticides contribute to all kinds of cancers, etc. Isn't it sad the FDA will approve things that are horribly unhealthy, even deadly for us, all for the love of money?

I've read that fruits & veggies that have a hard outside, such as, bananas, cantaloupe, watermelons, etc. we do not need to buy organic because the outer peel protects the fruit. However, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, broccoli, spinach, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, etc. we should buy organic because there is no outer shell protecting the part we eat, therefore, we are eating lots of poison.

I wish they would band that crap here too. RBT or RBGH whatever its called. I can't believe they allow farmers to use it! Again, all becuase of money. I mean when is enough, enough??? They already have billions of dollars.

I always buy Kemps milk not treated with that crap. Have you seen videos of the cows that are injected with that stuff?? OMG, its scary. And gross.

Yea, pretty sad its so expensive to eat healthy. But the more we buy organic, the more our farmers can make, thus, reducing the cost...hopefully anyway!

Pesticides cause cancer too.

I support my local CSA farms that grow entirely organic, beyond even the certified levels, which allows for some chemical pesticide/fertilizer use. I also grow some of my own fruits and veggies. It's easier to find organic produce in California, but I still struggle sourcing some things.

Farmers will grow whatever they find profit in, even the organic ones. The delicious apples may not be available locally across the country year round like the other varieties, but you can buy them online and have them shipped to you when they're in season.

we have plenty of organic red delicious around here.