Organic - Price Prohibitive?

MATH

A little while ago there was talk of the government bringing in a FAT TAX on high fat, high salt products to 'encourage' us to eat more healthy food:rolleyes: If they were serious about getting Britain healthy they could subsedise organic fruit and veg and make it cheaper than mass produced rubbish. My kidz and I eat our 10 fruits/veg a day and I would love to be able to buy organic but can't afford it.

Lillibet_2

I can't afford to eat nearly as much organic produce as I would like but I would rather go without eggs than eat non-organic ones. I try to buy organic produce which we eat with the skin on : Apples, tomatoes, potatos and to a lesser extent carrotts. Other stuff is way out of my price range but you have inspired me to investgate veg boxes in my area (Surrey, bet they'll be extortionate:rolleyes: ). Can only afford organic meat when it is reduced but I must admit organic chicken is something else and I awalys take the opportunity to stock up when I can:D Sainsbuyrs used to do bags of "green pastures" organic steak, I think about 7 or 8 for £10 which were really good value but I haven't been able to get them for months now.

Galtizz

Sarahsaver wrote:

www.edenfarms.co.uk deliver to nottingham, leicester and loughborough, and are actually the first reasonably priced veg box scheme i have come across.

Thanks Sarahsaver, they have farmers markets too (and there is one near me) :T Should keep me going until my garden starts to grow.

Pal

The key to buying good organic veg or free range meat is to hunt out a good greengrocer, or buy from a farm shop or farmers market. Many are not even that expensive.

To the list of organic "musts" I would add:

- Pork of any description. Intensively farmed pork is worse than chicken and tastes awful;
- Sausages of any description.
- Pate made with Chicken Livers (i.e. most of them).

The latter is probably the most important. Chicken liver pate can be sublime but if it is made with non-organic chickens, most of the high concentrations of crap from their feed and the drugs they are fed are going to end up concentrated in the livers.

Pal

Pal wrote:

The key to buying good organic veg or free range meat is to hunt out a good greengrocer, or buy from a farm shop or farmers market.

Before anyone suggests it, I was not suggesting that a good source of free range meat is to go hunting for greengrocers. Many are not organically certified although their diet is likely to be better than, say, a fish & chip shop owner.

one-non-blonde

Pal wrote:

Before anyone suggests it, I was not suggesting that a good source of free range meat is to go hunting for greengrocers. Many are not organically certified although their diet is likely to be better than, say, a fish & chip shop owner.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I would add milk (and other dairy produce) to the list of organic must-have's (link with breast cancer).

I've been buying organic food for several years now and the way I justify the cost is NOT to compare prices (childish I know). I couldn't even begin to tell you how much more a bag of organic potatoes or pint of milk costs. I have gradually increased the amount I buy over the years and absorbed the cost by cutting back in other areas. Some things are too important to me to compromise with my children's future health.

Bet I would get a shock if I filled my trolley up with value stuff! :eek:

spendaholic

I've found a new box scheme provider in Sheffield that delivers organic produce and they're no dearer than ordinary non-organic box providers in the area.

The only trouble is, as I'm such a finnick, and as they're a company that sends seasonal stuff (you have to pay a premium to get them to pick and choose for you), I probably wouldn't use/eat all of it.

I think that organic prices are coming down as more people are buying it. The meat is still very expensive in Tesco, but the fruit & veg is pretty much the same price as the ordinary stuff. Sometimes, when there's a glut, it's even cheaper.

But we're gradually putting our garden over to fruit and veg. We already have minarette fruit trees (excellent in a small space), blueberries and tomatoes. And as soon as the weather's right, the foxgloves are making way for the sunflower and runner bean companion planting.

Note: For all you foxglove lovers, they're not being killed. They're being moved to the bird-friendly side of the garden.

Loadsabob

A lot of my shopping these days is organic. I only shop for myself, and my boyfriend joins me at the weekends.

I read a shocking article about washed, bagged salad in the Guardian last year (it was a book excerpt, I'll have to check out which book tomorrow - there was a second article on bread). Basically, after it's aged, sprayed, washed in chlorine and bagged, there's more nutritional value in the bag! It basically suggested that you'd be marginally worse nutritionally for eating it, considering all the junk in it. So, that was the end of that for me!

I have read from several sources that apples and pears are definitely best organic, for the amount of pesticides on their skins. BUT, if you're not able to buy these (and often organic is twice the price or more, of regular apples and pears), then there'a producte called vegi-wash or something similar, that our health food shop sells. It's a concentrate that you dilute down to use, so probably lasts ages, and would at least get some of the bad things off the skin.

I get organic potatoes, because more often than not I use the skin. My pasta, rice and flour are always organic. However, the Independent recently suggested that if you're buying white flour, no need to buy organic, as all the husk - where the pesticides would concentrate - are removed anyway.

Organic dairy is a must for me, for cow's milk products. In Tesco the cost of switching to organic milk is negligible. The butter is only 88p, and the cheddar compares fairly favourably, too. All my yogurts are organic (I will soon try making my own). The antibiotics put me off, but more than them in themselves...I hate to say it...but...pus. I have this from several sources, and it has really put me off non-organic milk.

I had a veg box from Cusgarne organics, about 20 minutes away from where I live, a farm. It was £7 per week, always included eggs, potatoes and onions, and a range of other seasonal veg. It was £10 for a fornightly box, and you could ask for fruit. Meat was extra, but available. Very good, and mostly local, too. I struggled to get through it all on my own, but am considering starting it up again. It would knock the meal-planning into touch though, that's the only thing!!

spendaholic

MATH wrote:

A little while ago there was talk of the government bringing in a FAT TAX on high fat, high salt products to 'encourage' us to eat more healthy food:rolleyes: If they were serious about getting Britain healthy they could subsedise organic fruit and veg and make it cheaper than mass produced rubbish. My kidz and I eat our 10 fruits/veg a day and I would love to be able to buy organic but can't afford it.

We can all write to our MPs and suggest a subsidy on organic food. If we write to our MPs they have to respond, and if enough of us do so, one of 'em just may bring it up in questions.

Pal

Loadsabob wrote:

I read a shocking article about washed, bagged salad in the Guardian last year (it was a book excerpt, I'll have to check out which book tomorrow - there was a second article on bread).

Sounds like "Not on the label" by Felicity Lawrence.