Organic food in supermarkets

Edwardia

I lived in Suffolk for awhile and remember the pigs - they just love mud.

As a teenager I had ducks and a couple of geese and it's always uplifting to see animals looking happy and enjoying themselves. I reckon that 99.99999% of people would prefer to eat animals which have had a happy life.

However, millions of people just never see farm animals close up, there's a disconnect between the animal and the food. In fact, millions of people don't even think of the food as once being an animal because it's so processed eg burgers.

When I did my own research, I discovered that Waitrose is the ONLY supermarket in the UK which bans farmers from feeding GM feed across ALL ranges.

We bought pork loin steaks from Tesco and discovered they contained glucose syrup and sodium acetate. When I called Tesco to complain they admitted to 11% added water as well !

Last year ASDA was caught selling beef labelled Hereford beef. Now Hereford is a breed of cattle but it kinda implies that the beef was British whereas it was actually imported from Uruguay.

If supermarkets will adulterate our meat and try and disguise its' origins they probably aren't too concerned about animal welfare either.

The UK cannot feed itself even with agribusiness so the reality is that the entire population couldn't be organic. In Germany and Sweden organic food is really popular and even here 83% of the population has bought organic food.

In other European countries, in India, China and the Middle East organic food is increasingly popular. In the USA also, but that may be because food labelling is so bad - food can be irradiated, have added pink slime (see bornintoit's post a few pages back) and GM ingredients and none of that appears on the label :eek:

In the UK sales of organic food have dropped - not by much but presumably this is because of the recession. However as supermarkets control so much of the organic market, if Tesco decides not to stock organic chicken in a store because Southern Fried Chicken sells better, then that contributes.

It can be really difficult to find organic food and I've complained and I think if food disappears as you have stated RedLass (and bornintoit as well) then personally I think it's time to whinge

Edwardia

Waitrose does frozen organic Italian stone-baked Margharita pizza for 2.99 as previously mentioned. Also available from Ocado.

What On Earth does packs of 2 organic 11" pizza bases for 2.85 plus ready made organic pizzas (either boxes of 5" or single 11" ones) from Abel & Cole.

Pegoty Hedge organic ready meals aren't cheap (OK if not a regular thing) and you could easily pass them off as home-made. OH loves them.www.pegotyhedge.co.uk available from Abel & Cole and Ocado.

Higgidy www.higgidy.co.uk makes pies and quiches which you can find in Sainsbury's, Waitrose, Ocado, Booths, Budgens, ASDA and Co-op. I haven't bothered to make a quiche since discovering these and OH is a complete addict. They aren't certified organic but I've yet to find a nasty and everyone who's had them in our house goes and buys them.

Ocado has Laverstoke Park Farm organic steak and ale pie but the 270g size does seem expensive at £5

Clive's organic A Pot of.. range can be found at Ocado and Abel & Cole does the organic Rod & Ben's range which is similar.

Amazon has some organic food which includes organic Kraft Dinner macaroni cheese.

Suma, Biona, Geo Organics, Eden Organic all do tinned organic soups or things like balti, Bombay potatoes, chilli. Waitrose stocks some Geo Organics, Ocado stocks Biona, Amazon stocks Eden Organics.

NB: if Abel & Cole delivers to your area the delivery charge is 99p and minimum order £10

bornintoit

Evening everyone and welcome RedLass, I am not 100% Organic at present either. I am making positive progress and know where I want to be and am making the right steps in the right direction. Don't feel guilty, I know exactly what you mean about not wanting to go to the other side of town to a different shop to get one product as I have the same problem. It's not easy but stay motivated and everyone here is very welcoming and willing to help and advise.

As for organic food no longer being stocked, I have had this problem recently with Sainsburys. They used to do Cloud Nine organic meatballs but sadly they are no more and the organic selection in my local store has reduced greatly. Sadly I think it's because there isn't much call for it where I am (North West), I went into that same store on Sunday with my mother and noticed several 2 pinters of organic milk YS from £1.09 to 69p. I thought ohhhhhh that's good but I only bought one because I wasn't sure about my freezer space. On reflection though it probably isn't good because it's obviously been reduced because noone is buying it.

As for the recession, I think most people in general tend to buy more than what they need. I am on a low budget but by reducing the amount of food I buy (cutting out the processed and junk food) I am finding organic food perfectly affordable and we do not go without a meal.

Edwardia

Bornintoit has a good point there, if you have been buying processed food and switch over to organic you'll often find that you save money because you're not buying ready meals and making it yourself.

I think the reason I'm not saving money is that I buy too much organic veg.

At the moment I have potatoes for OH, two kinds of mushrooms, about 2kg of carrots, garlic, shallots, at least 1 kg onions, red onions, salsify, Jerusalem artichokes, beetroot, kale, bell peppers, celery, aubergine, leeks, brussels tops, swede and celeriac plus peas and spinach in the freezer.

Quasar

Hi folks

Here is a list of the 12 most contaminated produce items which SHOULD be bought organic, and the 12 least contaminated. Very useful when planning one's budget. Apologies if it has been posted already.

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

bornintoit

Quasar wrote: »

Hi folks

Here is a list of the 12 most contaminated produce items which SHOULD be bought organic, and the 12 least contaminated. Very useful when planning one's budget. Apologies if it has been posted already.

http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214

Thanks for that. I don't think it has been posted before but I can't be sure. I had one emailed to me from Prevention magazine which is similar but a couple of different items.

On the Dirty Dozen list I was sent it also includes Blueberries and Kale.

On the Clean 15 list I was sent it also included Cantaloupe, Aubergine, Grapefruit, Honeydew Melon, Sweet Potato and Water Melon.

Quasar

bornintoit wrote: »

Thanks for that. I don't think it has been posted before but I can't be sure. I had one emailed to me from Prevention magazine which is similar but a couple of different items.

On the Dirty Dozen list I was sent it also includes Blueberries and Kale.

On the Clean 15 list I was sent it also included Cantaloupe, Aubergine, Grapefruit, Honeydew Melon, Sweet Potato and Water Melon.

YeS, blueberries (most berries I believe) and kale are also heavily contaminated, which is why I'm deeply disappointed at the price of organic blueberries.

Tomatoes are also hopelessly contaminated, and apparently green beans too.

A rule of thumb is that all produce that has a very thin skin does absorb an inordinate amount of pesticides. All leaves such as spinach, kale, endive etc. are so thin that they absorb a lot and no amount of washing can get rid of all the chemicals.

What I do not buy organic are thick skinned fruit such as bananas, lemons, clementines, pineapples etc, pulses (as only their pods took the pesticides), nuts and seeds etc.

vincenta

And if you don't buy ready meals and junk food but cook everything from scratch it will cost more to go organic.
At least it was in our case.
For example, basic Sainsbury's eggs x 18 cost 2.10£
Family free range eggs x15 cost 3.10£ ( on sale you can buy these eggs for 2 £ )
Sainsbury's Woodland free range organic large eggs x 6 2.00£
When you bake your own sponge cakes, brownies, biscuits, omelletes,and eggs with solders you will soon see difference. 18 of 15 eggs a week is nearly enough for a week, but 6 isn't and if you need more it will cost you more too:mad::eek:
vegs and fruits are expensive too.
I buy organic pears from riverfor, they are fantastic so sweet and juicy.1,5 kg 4.75
Bananas 800 g cost 1.75 £ :eek:
in sainsbury's I can get 1 kg fairtrade bananas for 0.79 £
I choose Sainsburys
I try to change the way I cook, try new recipes to get costs as low as possible eating good organic food.BUt still it is pricey as we eat meat and lot of vegetables,fruits , dairy products and home baked treats:cool:

Haffiana

vincenta wrote: »

I usually use Waitrose Canadian strong bread flour, to be honest didn't try organic flour:o maybe I should do it in a future.

Carry on using the Canadian flour. It is a far better source of selenium than any of the organic flours. In the UK and the EU we are very short of selenium in our wheat.

Edwardia

Thanks Quasar for the list which hadn't been posted before. Prior to being diagnosed with diabetes I had a huge old Mason Cash mixing bowl full of fruit in the kitchen which husband and I would chomp on.

Having tested my blood glucose I found that most fruits will put it up so I really only eat strawberries, cherries, grapes and bananas in small quantities. Husband has a fruit bowl in his office now.

Banana prices are really random:

Sainsbury's SO organic bananas (5) 1.50
Tesco organic Fair Trade bananas (6) 1.40
Tesco organic Goodness bananas (6) 1.50
Waitrose organic Fair Trade bananas (5) 1.85, Waitrose and Ocado
ASDA organic bananas (5) 1.29 (normal price not offer)
Abel & Cole organic Fair Trade bananas 700g 1.59 1kg 2.30