Those of you who choose to eat organic food, what are your reasons?

The lack of pesticides and other harmful things.

I buy local. It’s usually organic (no pesticides on my food, or in the air, or in the bodies of farm workers, thank you), the production is typically sustainable farming, and you are supporting small businesses.

What’s the problem?

@tinyfaery basically what you said. i try to buy things local as well. my whole family does. if you can, you should. pesticides are chemicals and if i can avoid them being on what is going into my body, i will.

Yeah, I guess.. but if you read the article above.. it says the difference is minimal. There’s nothing wrong with eating organic I just think that if you live in a big city and buy stuff that says it’s “organic”, you might be getting cheated.

Almost everything that we eat today has harmful chemicals that do not have short term affects but long term. It is also said that is one of the causes for cancers though i’m not completely sure. I havn’t read the article yet but you will be told there is nothing wrong with their (toxic) food because so many would go out of buisness or would lose part.

Because there is such a large population in North America and several other countries, farmers need to provide, provide provide as fast as they can. A farmer has not time to wait so the food is infected with harmful chemicals that speed up the growing.

I choose to eat organic food because I will not have harmful things in my body like pesticide and will live longer.

Also, growing your own food can save lots of money. Your body will thank you.

@kheredia I live in Los Angeles (a HUGE city), and there is fresh, locally grown food everywhere. We are home to one of the first and largest farmer’s markets. 75 years this year.

It tastes better. I can get factory-farmed bell peppers, for instance, that have decent crunch but taste like water; or I can get organic bell peppers that have even more crunch and taste like green peppers. Since if I buy it at a farmer’s market, it’s not materially more expensive, why shouldn’t I?

I got into an interesting argument with my friend: is large-scale organic food production any better than conventional production?

I don’t really understand the point of the study. I never assumed my food was more nutritious because it is organic, I believe it is healthier because the lack of pesticides or chemicals.
Of course there is the dirty dozen list of what should be organic, which is true for me. Or I buy locally, which I feel is tastier and safer.

@Casheroo I feel the same. Organic isn’t more nutrition just less toxic.

Many organic farmers can and often do, use pesticides. The difference is that the pesticides are “all natural” – meaning no synthetics are added. In order to truly buy food just as it grows, you need to do a lot of research about who you’re buying from. Personally knowing them would help. Or even better, start a small, manageable garden where you live.

Buying organic food from large corporation grocery stores is definitely not worth it. There will still be pesticides on the food in most cases (just a different kind, as I said above) – because it comes from mass-producers of food, it costs a ton more and often times they ship it in from places far away, so not only are you polluting the air by buying things that take a lot of gasoline to ship, you’re also not supporting your local economy. And you’re paying higher prices for no reason.

Buy local and buy from a tiny “mom and pop” store. Ask if they use pesticides before you buy. I have a garden and trust me – organic food that is grown with no pesticides does taste a lot better. Is it truly healthier? Well… The American Cancer Society has said that there is no proof pesticides are harmful to human beings. What they didn’t say, however, is more important: They did not say that there is proof that pesticides are not harmful, either.

Knowing how bad pesticides are for the environment and the animals in it (based on tests done in the past), is what the ACS didn’t say worth the possible risk?