STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

itsapinkthing · Coach

On the topic of Organic

halleybird · Hermes

I am no expert on organic, but if I was just telling my husband last night that if we had kids, I would absolutely be giving them organic dairy products, especially milk, due to the hormones in some of the mainstream brands.

Cricket · Gucci

I buy quite a few organic products, but with two girls, organic dairy is by far the most important to me.

ETA: I buy my organic milk from Costco (Kirkland Signature). They have 3 half gallons for $9, which is the cheapest I've found, and I love the taste. It's expensive, though, to jump from being able to get a gallon of regular milk on sale for a dollar or two a GALLON, to paying $3 for HALF a gallon. It's worth it, though. Costco has a lot of organic products for a lot cheaper. I buy organic lettuce, spinach, apples, asparagus and other things there for pretty cheap.

-- Edited by Cricket at 10:52, 2007-04-21

littlebean · Kate Spade

I love organic dairy and meats and, when I can get them affordably, vegetables and fruits. The one item that I very rarely buy organic is bread because I have found that organic breads have a really short shelf-life, so that could be one thing to watch out for!

Teresa · Kate Spade

my favorite organic brand is kashi, for sure. I also love Annies.

hotcocoa · Kate Spade

starting with milk is an excellent choice. not only does organic milk taste A LOT better (IMO) it's not coming from a cow injected with all those nasty growth hormones and antibiotics. and... speaking of those hormones and antibiotics, your meat and poultry should be next on your list.

when it comes to fruits and vegetables i tend to pick and choose between organic and conventional grown. i always, ALWAYS buy organic berries. they have the highest amount of residual pesticides left on them. here's a list of the fruits/veggies that have the LEAST amount of chemical contamination (ones that are safe to buy conventional if organic isn't available). it's from an article i pulled from "delicious living" magazine: asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and peas.

here's the full article if you're interested:
http://www.deliciouslivingmag.com/healthnotes/healthnotes.cfm?lang=EN&org=nh&ContentID=4407008

-- Edited by hotcocoa at 09:22, 2007-04-24

Suasoria · Chanel

I've seen lots of helpful info online about this. Consumer Reports says:

Buy organic as often as possible:

Apples, bell peppers, celery, cherries, imported grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, red raspberries, spinach, and strawberries.

Meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy

Baby food

Buy organic if money is no object:

Asparagus, avocados, bananas, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet corn, kiwi, mangos, onions, papaya, pineapples, and sweet peas.

Breads, oils, potato chips, pasta, cereals, and other packaged foods, such as canned or dried fruit and vegetables.

Don't bother buying organic:

Seafood

Cosmetics (I disagree. Anything you rub on your skin is absorbed into the body, so you may as well be eating it.)

Another site, deliciousorganics.com, provides this list:

FRUIT

Peaches - listed as the worst with the highest levels of pesticides of all conventional produce
Strawberries - one of the most pesticide laden food of all and so scrumptious and not easy to wash because they are small and sweet, like Raspberries, so choose organic to be safe and keep your family safe
Raspberries
Apples
Grapes(& therefore
Raisins and
Juice! - many kinds of juices have Grape Juice in them)
Nectarines
Apricots
Pears
Cherries
Lemons- especially if zesting, should definitely use organic
Limes
Bananas - heavy chemicals for the trip to America including Thiabendazole which Damages the Brain and Nervous System. Especially troubling since this is the first food we can feed our babies! Not on EWG list anymore but we're keeping them on ours.
Kiwis - off the latest lists
Pineapple depending from where
Cantaloupe from Mexico
Tomatoes- yes, they're a fruit, but they were recently taken off the top ten list. Of course, grape and cherry tomatoes are difficult to wash giving reason to get those organic. And organic tomatoes just taste better!
VEGETABLES Potatoes
Corn - kids love it and so do bugs plus most corn is now genetically modified! Many products contain corn syrup too so choose organic when you can for those items as well. Off some lists but we're keeping it.
Celery
Cucumbers
Spinach
Lettuce
Green & Red Bell Peppers
Lettuce - some more than others
Hot Peppers
Green Beans- Acephate, Benomyl, Chlorothalonil, Methamidophos - Damages Brain and Nervous System, Cause Birth Defects
Winter or Hard Squash - recently taken off the top 10 list.
Carrots - newly added to the list!
Also important to buy organic:
Rice - loaded with pesticides!
Oats- read those cereal boxes!
Milk - antibiotics and hormones are forced into America's conventional dairy cow to increase profits without regard on our children's health or that of the cow's - see Not in My Milk
Baby Foods! - babies are particularly sensitive to pesticides to make your own or go Organic!
Wild Salmon - okay, so it's not officially "organic" but Wild is the right choice for many reasons
Foods that are GE like Corn - there are more pesticides on genetically engineered foods so avoid GMO Foods
Nuts - because of the high fat content, they hold on to pesticides more than others
Anything you or your kids eat a lot of - since pesticides accumulate, if you eat a lot of something that may not be listed here, lets say your kids eat peanut butter every day, then you should certainly avoid an excess of toxins by choosing organic for those items.