Organic Food

Discussion in 'Food & Drinks' started by Corie Henson, Aug 11, 2015.

  1. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    I encountered organic food sometime in the year 2000 when there was a festival held in front of our office building. The first things I noticed were the sweet potato and the eggs. They look different and according to the vendor, that is the real color of organic farm produce. I bought a dozen-pack of eggs and a kilo of the sweet potato.

    The egg surely tasted different, I could not say if it was good or bad but definitely different. The people in the house have the same opinion. With the sweet potato, they tasted good. However, the few pieces that were left turned spoiled next day. It seems to me that those sweet potatoes have a short shelf life.

    What is your take on the so called organic food?
     
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  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I have no doubt that organic foods are a healthier way to go, although I have some concerns over the fact that the government gets to decide whether a food can be labeled organic or not, since they have been known to cut corners for large-scale food growers, and without letting the public in on the secret. Still, choosing organic over non-organic is a good choice. I also look for non-GMO, as I think that eating genetically modified foods is an even greater health risk than those that use pesticides. Yes, organic foods are more expensive but anyone who has grown foods organically will be able to appreciate that it's a lot more difficult to grow organic foods. Even with our small growing plot, we have lost crops to insects, and could have probably avoided this had we used pesticides. If you live near an agricultural area, another thing to consider is that there are farmers who use limited or no pesticides, yet do not qualify for labeling their crops as organic, largely because of the costly fees involved, so if you can get to know a farmer who you can trust, you might be able to get healthy fresh vegetables and meats.

    I was first able to appreciate the benefits of making good food choices when I looked at what I fed my cats. I won't go through the whole story here because I think I've done so elsewhere, and because it would be off-topic, but one of my cats had some serious medical problems. The veterinarian had her on steroids and was considering other medication.

    Instead, I began paying better attention to what I was feeding her, choosing human-grade foods, with no corn, soy, wheat, byproducts, or gluton. Her problem disappeared in two weeks and now, thirteen years later, she is twenty-five years old and that problem has never returned.

    Since it's hard to feed a special diet to one cat when you have more than one, I began feeding that to all of my cats, and what I found was that they all began looking prettier and acting livelier. I don't feed them entirely organic foods because, quite frankly, there isn't enough of a variety of organic cat foods available, but I do make good choices for them. While the cost per pound of cat food is much higher then when I was feeding a lower quality of food, they have had very few veterinarian bills. My most common visit to the veterinarian is for damages caused by cat fights, and there is something to be said about having cats that are more than twenty years old and still feeling good enough to get into fights with other cats.

    Back on topic, seeing that it has become so clear to me that feeding healthy foods to my cats has resulted in healthier cats, it would stand to reason that the same would be true of what I am eating myself.
     
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    Last edited: Aug 11, 2015
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  3. Tom Locke

    Tom Locke Veteran Member
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    I don't eat meat, but friends that do tell me that organic meat tastes infinitely better. I do, however, eat eggs and always buy free-range. This is partly because I find battery farming objectionable, but there is no question that free-range eggs taste a whole lot nicer than battery-farmed eggs.

    A friend of mine is an organic farmer and it's hard work. I understand why many - indeed most - farmers tend to farm using pesticides, etc. but unfortunately our government does little to encourage or support organic methods.
     
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  4. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    Because foods are grown for a long shelf life, varieties are chosen that last longer, as well as ones that are more uniform in size and shape.
    What they are not chosen for is their flavor.
    We grew some of the heirloom (non-hybrid) tomatoes this year. They come in odd shapes, sizes, and colors; but the flavor is intensely better than the mealy tomatoes which we can buy at the store.

    I really enjoy having the fresh, home-grown produce; and better flavors; but you do have to expect that it is not going to last as long as ones that have been waxed, sprayed, or otherwise treated to last longer.
     
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    Last edited: Sep 1, 2015
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  5. Tom Locke

    Tom Locke Veteran Member
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    The tomatoes that are sold in supermarkets are little more than tasteless balls of water. I'm lucky in that I have a good fruit and vegetable shop in my town. They sell a variety of tomatoes - I like vine tomatoes, which have lovely minty stalks that seem to impart flavour to the fruit.
     
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  6. Ike Willis

    Ike Willis Supreme Member
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    Used to eat a lot of wild game and fish, back in my good ol' days. My x-wifey had a way of preparing game that was delicious. God, I miss those days.
     
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  7. Sheldon Scott

    Sheldon Scott Supreme Member
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    We grow almost all of the vegetables we eat. What we grow is not organic. though. As Yvonne said it's the varieties you can grow at home that makes all the difference.
    Vegetables grown commercially are grown because they can be shipped without spoiling. They are picked before they are ripe and don't develop properly. Tomatoes are a good example. Vine ripened just taste better. And let me tell you about sweet corn. It should be picked and eaten right away to taste best.
    There are so many varieties of vegetables you can grow in your garden that you will never see in stores.
     
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  8. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    When I was growing up, my dad always went deer hunting, and in her younger years, my mother hunted also. It was part of a way of life back then, especially for people who lived in rural areas.
    When we had a deer, mom would cut strips of the fresh meat, dredge them in flour, and pan-fry them, making a little gravy from the pan drippings. Those little venison strips were the best and most flavorful meat ever !

    The strips looked similar to the ones that they make from chicken nowdays and call "chicken fingers", but these were not deep-fried like the chicken fingers usually are.
    Cooking the venison that way made it very tender and easy to eat as well. I have not had venison since I was a teenager; but it is still (and always will be) one of my most favorite food memories.
     
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