to buy or not to buy, that is the question.

January 10, 2006 8:49 AM

Organic Foods... Consumer Reports spells out which organic foods are worth buying, and which you should skip.
posted by crunchland (34 comments total)

so according to that people shouldn't eat seafood?
posted by goldism at 8:54 AM on January 10, 2006

nothing on organic Twinkies. I'm disappointed.
posted by jonmc at 8:57 AM on January 10, 2006

Twinkies are free-range, not organic.
posted by 40 Watt at 9:00 AM on January 10, 2006

Quality link, I'll keep this information in mind.
posted by cloeburner at 9:01 AM on January 10, 2006

so according to that people shouldn't eat seafood?

No, just that you shouldn't pay Whole Foods an extra $5/lb for the fake organic label.

As an aside, you're better offer buying fresh over farm-raised — fewer pollutants at lower levels. That said, you should minimize your consumption of fatty, fresh fish (salmon, tuna, etc.) because many organic compounds (like PCBs) are fat-soluble and will accumulate in higher levels in fatty fish.
posted by Rothko at 9:04 AM on January 10, 2006

7 times out of 10 the seafood i eat, is the seafood i catch.
posted by goldism at 9:18 AM on January 10, 2006

With phrasing like that, who could doubt you!
posted by parallax7d at 9:20 AM on January 10, 2006

:D
posted by goldism at 9:23 AM on January 10, 2006

I guess I just wasted my money on that big bowl of organic cosmetics that I just ate.
posted by StickyCarpet at 9:24 AM on January 10, 2006

I remember reading once in "Organic Style" magazine (which looks like it is now defunct) all the different types of fish and what impact "wild" versus "farm-raised" and such have on the environment. I can't recall the specifics, but basically if you buy wild fish, you're contributing to dwindling wild fish stocks, and if you buy farm-raised fish (ocean fish, mainly, I think) you're contributing to massive amounts of pollutants from said farms absolutely wrecking non-farm natural environments. So fish is good...but totally bad. I think inland-farm-raise Tilapia/Whitefish was the best, relatively low environmental-impact fish to eat.

Wish I could find that article...
posted by tpl1212 at 9:24 AM on January 10, 2006

It doesn't explain how to determine who is organic if you're on a lifeboat and must eat another shipwreck survivor.
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:31 AM on January 10, 2006

So is the desire for wild-caught salmon having any positive benefits, such as increased monetary pressure not to dam the hell out of every river on the Pacific coast?
posted by caution live frogs at 9:31 AM on January 10, 2006

is it still okay to eat another humans ass?
posted by goldism at 9:40 AM on January 10, 2006

It doesn't explain how to determine who is organic if you're on a lifeboat and must eat another shipwreck survivor.

Look for the skinny one. Less fat-soluble pollutants.
posted by Rothko at 9:40 AM on January 10, 2006

Twinkies are free-range, not organic.

Not mine. My Uncle Bob in Minnesota hunts them down in the Hostess Forset.
posted by jonmc at 9:44 AM on January 10, 2006

so according to that people shouldn't eat seafood?

At the very least, first read the Chicago Tribune's expose on how mercury-tainted most commercially available seafood is.

"The Tribune's investigation reveals a decades-long pattern of the U.S. government knowingly allowing millions of Americans to eat seafood with unsafe levels of mercury.

Regulators have repeatedly downplayed the hazards, failed to take basic steps to protect public health and misled consumers about the true dangers, documents and interviews show."
posted by soyjoy at 9:46 AM on January 10, 2006

I guess I just wasted my money on that big bowl of organic cosmetics that I just ate.

Don't worry, you'll have some good old organic compost when you recycle them.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:53 AM on January 10, 2006

My Uncle Bob in Minnesota hunts them down in the Hostess Forset.

As opposed to me, who hunts them down in the Hostess's Corset.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:55 AM on January 10, 2006

how mercury-tainted most commercially available seafood is.

Yikes. That's best best way I know to create giant mutated Prophesy bears!
posted by Astro Zombie at 9:55 AM on January 10, 2006

is it still okay to eat another humans ass?

Before tossing a salad, make sure that the contents have been thoroughly washed to ensure the removal of any pesticides and fertilizers that may be lingering.

Then, you can get straight on down to the good organic matter.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 9:57 AM on January 10, 2006

So fish is good...but totally bad.

Well put. Unfortunate but true.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:13 AM on January 10, 2006

damn live preview.
posted by mrgrimm at 10:16 AM on January 10, 2006

I was at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh a few years ago and there was a travelling exhibit there about enviromental issues. Part of it was an interative quiz on seafood. I was shocked to find that the farm-raised salmon I'd been buying, thinking I was doing the world a favor, was contributing to pollution. Since then I don't buy a lot of fish, but when I do it's wild.

One of the problems with farmed fish is that they can get free and infect wild populations with diseases that they (the farm fish) are treated for, but the wild fish aren't.

Oh, and not to derail, but you really ought to check out the back page of the print version of this issue. The "selling it" column has a very funny pre-Katrina flood insurance sales-pitch letter from Michael Brown warning that the federal government is unlikely to help in the event of a flood. O RLY? YA RLY!
posted by Biblio at 10:16 AM on January 10, 2006

Thanks for the link -- I was actually looking for this article a while ago to help answer an AskMe question.

For more info on seafood, the Monterey Bay Aquarium publishes free pocket guides that rate the environmental impact of seafood, depending on your location (US only).
posted by occhiblu at 10:44 AM on January 10, 2006

As opposed to me, who hunts them down in the Hostess's Corset.

You're nothing but a couple of shameless Ho-Ho's. ;>
posted by jonmc at 10:53 AM on January 10, 2006

Thanks, crunchland. I eat a lot of organic food, but I never really knew what the priorities were, beyond apples.
posted by fossil_human at 10:53 AM on January 10, 2006

So if you’re buying organic only for health reasons, you may not want to pay 22 percent extra...

but health is only one of many reasons to buy organic
posted by Lanark at 11:01 AM on January 10, 2006

I always try to buy organic celery, but I gave up on organic carrots. As for the other reasons to buy organic : "#10 : Top for taste" ... I have to admit that the organic grapes I've seen in the supermarket look pretty awful, and since they're one of the worst culprits for sprayed on nastiness, I sure wish they looked more appetizing.
posted by crunchland at 11:10 AM on January 10, 2006

Here's one I'm kinda surprised they didn't mention: If you use canola oil, always buy organic when possible. If you buy any non-organic canola in the States (where this report is focused) you're almost certainly buying GMO canola. If you actively seek out GMO canola, then, hey, you're in luck, but otherwise you may want to spring for the organic.
posted by soyjoy at 12:02 PM on January 10, 2006

I was very scared when I first read these reports when I had a small baby. So I buyed organic as much as possible, on our single income. It meant eating only the recommended amount of fruits and veggies (five servings a day). (organic strawberries and spinach are about four times as expensive as regular).

I have since changed my mind. I think it is more important to eat lots of fruits and veggies. The health risks of eating not enough fruits and vegetables are well documented and undisputable, whereas the exact health risk of pesticide residu is still much more unsure.

I have heard more than once people warn against eating non organic apples, who eat cookies and bread instead. That can't be right. I think that if you eat a predominantly plant based diet, you already have a very low risk, because contaminants build up in animal products. It is good that this report also says to eat organic meat and dairy, the reports in my country often only warn against apples and grapes (etc.), and do not say anything about meat and dairy, leaving people to think that their child should not eat any non organic grapes, but having no problem with their child eating lots of non organic cheese.
posted by davar at 12:28 PM on January 10, 2006

Crunchland, this is awesome. I printed out copies and gave them to my coworkers.
posted by Nice Donkey at 2:26 PM on January 10, 2006

First of all, thanks to crunchland for the article. It's always good to help sort out the wheat from the chaff (so to speak) when dealing with retail organics.
Whenever possible you should buy from farmer's markets or directly from farmers. This helps out the farmer's (they get fair asking price), and you (you don't have to pay the middleman mark-up).
Here's a few links to help you locate local and organic produce and meat providers.
Unfortunately I only have this information for the U.S. and Canada, but you can search by state or province on most of these.
posted by kaiseki at 4:54 PM on January 10, 2006

kaiseki, thanks for intending to supply us with some helpful links.

It must be noted, though, that you didn't actually include any.
posted by soyjoy at 7:19 PM on January 10, 2006

the whole article is predicated on the idea that you're buying organic food solely because of the idea that it's healthier for you. Personally I buy quite a lot of organic food, and try to buy pretty much all my meat organic, but I'm doubtful of a lot of the health claims - I buy organic meat mostly because organically farmed animals generally have a better life.
posted by silence at 5:54 AM on January 11, 2006