Organic Does make a Difference

[Mike 03]

This week I actually experienced why it does make a difference whether I purchase organic or non-organic vegetables. For a couple of years I have been on a very healthy diet, but have rarely gone to the extreme of buying organic due to the price. In the past I have bought organic nuts, onions, tomatoes, but little more than that.

But this week I bought organic mushrooms for the first time ever, and I could not believe the difference between how these tasted and how ordinary store-bought mushrooms taste.

Hopefully, the most important thing is to eat vegetables regardless of whether or not they are organic, but for the first time I experienced some quantifiable difference in how organic products actually taste compared to their non-organic counterparts, so I'm motivated to try, when I can afford to, to buy organic.

Maybe it does make a difference. And the irony is, when I looked carefully at the prices, there was not the discrepancy between organic and non-organic that I feared (except for the nuts).

I asked the store manager about this, and he confessed that because of the economic hard times, many stores in this chain were lowering the prices on organics to get rid of them before they rotted.

[MajorChode]

1. It's pretty easy to grow organic mushrooms vs the alternative

Mushrooms are usually grown in the dark on beds of compost anyway. There's not much need for 'non-organic' growing methods.

[AlecBGreen]

4. my boss treats me like a mushroom

keeps me in the dark and feeds me shit :)

[Gormy Cuss]

2. Look for local organics.

That's where you'll experience the biggest difference in taste and quality. It's not just because they were raised organically, it's also because they're days fresher than the standard produce in the stores and/or grown on smaller farms that are owner-operated.

In fact, look for locally grown produce whenever you can. It's usually so much fresher that the taste and keeping qualities will have you coming back for more. In some places "locally grown" is used as a marketing tool. In other areas it's not so easy to identify the local food.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

3. We belong to a local organic co-op CSA

We get the big box, and we get a ton of produce.

[mainegreen]

5. I love my CSA.

My farmer is a grumpy old coot.

:D

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

6. Our's is a co-op CSA combo

In the off-season, they get stuff from a good local organic distributor (I know the people who run it from my time as a buyer for a natural foods store) and in the growing season, they get stuff from a farm in PA and a farm in our town. I know the farmer in our town. She's not grumpy at all, but she is pretty snarky.

[Gormy Cuss]

7. CSAs are the best inducement to try new produce & recipes.

When I lived in Boston I belonged to one that exposed us to pea shoots -- in those days only a few non-Asian restaurants dared to serve them and all of them in Boston bought produce from this worker-owned farm.

It was also the reason that I tried kohlrabi for the first time and "sauteing greens," a mix of young leaves of kale, collards and chard.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

9. In this week's pick up we got...

Apples
Oranges
Mango
Avocados
Lettuce
Kale
Sweet Potatoes
Alfalfa sprouts
Leeks
Celery
Dates
Sugar Snap Peas
Green Pepper
Yellow Squash
Zucchini
Bananas

[mainegreen]

10. I hate you and am jealous.

MANGOS???

:cry:

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

11. One mango

Oh, and I forgot the lemons.

[yewberry]

8. Try organic broccolli.

It tastes completely different.