What does 'Organic' mean anymore??

[suunto]

To me, a strong argument for buying local (whenever/wherever you can) and knowing your producer...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/bu...ence.html?_r=1

"The fact is, organic food has become a wildly lucrative business for Big Food and a premium-price-means-premium-profit section of the grocery store. The industry’s image — contented cows grazing on the green hills of family-owned farms — is mostly pure fantasy. Or rather, pure marketing. Big Food, it turns out, has spawned what might be called Big Organic."

[linrose]

That's why we only buy produce in summer from a local certified organic grower we know and buy from them every Tuesday and Saturday at the SKY Farmer's Market. My daughter who lives in an urban area gets an organic CSA delivery every week and brings some to us when she doesn't know how to use it. Last week she brought us kale and garlic scapes. I love the CSA program because you never know what you are going to get and you have to be creative in meal planning.

[jack]

Originally Posted by suunto

To me, a strong argument for buying local (whenever/wherever you can) and knowing your producer...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/08/bu...ence.html?_r=1

"The fact is, organic food has become a wildly lucrative business for Big Food and a premium-price-means-premium-profit section of the grocery store. The industry’s image — contented cows grazing on the green hills of family-owned farms — is mostly pure fantasy. Or rather, pure marketing. Big Food, it turns out, has spawned what might be called Big Organic."

To get to the closest Whole Foods Market, I need to drive 30 minutes to and from, so I need to consider wear on my car as well as fuel dollars. I don't think I will be making the trip as often anymore, as this article decimated my confidence in that food chain:

"Six board members, for instance, voted in favor of adding ammonium nonanoate, a herbicide, to the accepted organic list in December. Those votes came from General Mills, Campbell’s Soup, Organic Valley, Whole Foods Market and Earthbound Farms, which had two votes at the time."

If that is not an indictment against Whole Foods, than what could be? Yes, as Linrose says, those CSA's are looking mighty good. Problem is that I live alone, and though a vegan, could not keep up with the selections they choose to bring. I'm also not much of a cook, and depend primarily upon my juicer and certain recipes I've become comfortable with - but not many. I don't, therefore, think I would end up using much of what they brought.

I do shop at local farm stands, though, that have CSA customers also.

[BeeWonderful]

I found this article very enlightening. And it certainly makes me want to support Eden Foods! On the other hand, I have heard many questionable things about Whole Foods over the years. I don't trust them.

[Doozerdoo]

Studying foods I have been amazed at what the market tells us is organic.i have Eden foods by the case sent monthly, Mexican rice and beans, Spanish rice and beans etc. I order it on amazon.com as the shipping is included and it's far cheaper then buying it by the can. I'm constantly on the move to find good food, organic with out the garbage in it . It's getting harder and harder! Storing this Eden foods for future also. We may ot see pure organics soon !

[jack]

How the NY Times Went Too Far in Slamming Big Organic | Mother Jones


"A fraud, huh? Strom's story raises many important points that need to be thought through and debated. But it misses a key one: The organic label, for all the untoward influence of Big Food players like dairy giant Dean Foods, still means something. If you buy food labeled organic, you can be reasonably sure it was grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers, without genetically modified seeds, without (in the case of dairy, meat, and eggs) antibiotics and other dodgy pharmaceuticals, and on farms required to have a plan for crop rotation and (quoting straight from federal organic code) to "manage plant and animal materials to maintain or improve soil organic matter content.""

[suunto]

Thanks, Jack, for pointing out that there usually are two (or more) sides to every story. That aside, I still prefer to buy from local producers whenever possible anything that I do not grow myself.

[Equilibrium]

Ahhhh….. another fine example of bias propaganda from the NYTimes which…. is controlled by a Sulzberger who’s obviously into printing “All The News That’s Fit To Twist”. We’re not supposed to think for ourselves…. we’re supposed to let them do the thinking for us so we’ll have more time to be good little consumers of…. their “stakeholders” foreign products. The NYTimes has an agenda and it’s pursued….. this isn’t the 1st time they’ve gone after organic foods, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/di...pagewanted=all.
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I totally agree there’s at least 2 sides or more to any story but it’s usually easier just following the $$$.

[Staff]

Whole Foods confirms it knowingly sells products containing Monsanto's genetically modified corn: Don't ask, don't tell!
Thursday, October 04, 2012
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger
Editor of NaturalNews.com

Whole Foods confirms it knowingly sells products containing Monsanto's genetically modified corn: Don't ask, don't tell!
Excerpt from above:

Ronnie Cummins of the Organic Consumers Association has been protesting Whole Foods for several years, demanding the company label the GMOs it sells. Whole Foods management has foolishly ignored him.

In fact, until recently his efforts achieved relatively little traction, but all of a sudden "he appears to be a prophet," a friend told me yesterday. Yep, Ronnie Cummins was right, and the fact that Whole Foods has sternly resisted labeling the GMOs it sells has the company in a virtual P.R. panic.

Why? Because Whole Foods CEO John Mackey confirmed in a blog post three days ago that Whole Foods knowingly sells…

[Staff]

Whole Foods’ SICKENING TRICKS
15Oct2012
By coto2admin

http://foodfreedomgroup.com/2012/10/...rmer-customer/
excerpt from above:

In a Whole Foods store not far from the corporate headquarters, a customer did the unthinkable. They showed pictures of the rats in the Criigen study to a few other WF customers (all of whom were grateful and asked for the link). They had brought their computer with the photos into the store to show management how serious GMOs are because despite being asked for a year, management had not removed the GMO canola oil from the items they make in the store.

Here is what the customer showed other customers...