Community Chat

[Cakers3]

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@Marienkaefer2 wrote:

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****Cakers, ITA.   I can't eat berries because of GI issues, and I hate that because I do love all the berries.  So, I'm eating my favorite apricots, peaches, and cherries now!...

Marienkaefer:  Can you eat grapes?  They also freeze well. 

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[sandraskates]

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@shoekitty wrote:

I buy only organic.  I agree with Marian, it is not all alike.  Buy only fruit or produce in season.  I know it is hard to do, but if not it is just tasteless junk IMO.  That is because although organic is strictly graded on farming methods and regulations, that doesn't stop them from picking green to ship them across the world to us.  I do not buy Whole Foods produce as a rule, most of it is from overseas because it is cheaper, then they mark it up higher.  They bring in organic tomatoes from Israel, South America and all over.I can't believe it.  We live in a part of California that was once the produce provider to the US.  Although homes now rest where orchards once were, we grow excellent tomatoes, strawberries, brocoli, etc.  So why does Whole foods bring 80% of the produce from overseas?  Also, some organic can be greenhouse grown to regulate weather. That stuff is no good either.  Yes, it grown organically, but it is crapppppola

If you stick to locl, in season produce you will love it.  I so agree that it can be tasteless when out of season and imported.

Conventional produce isn't good wither.  It is GMO'd beyond recognition.  Yes, it looks good, it keeps longer...but it has no flavor either.

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My experiences at Whole Foods does not support your claims that I've bolded. I've read your posts about imports at Whole Food before.

Ever since I was 16 (a long time ago) I have looked at labels - from clothes to food before I buy anything. I do shop at Whole Foods and their fresh produce at my store is about 80  - 90% from California. And the quality is EXCELLENT. I have yet to see tomatos from Israel or South America.  Mexico - yes, at certain times of the year and at many stores,  not just WF.

I also check the labels on the frozen veggies (which I don't buy much) and most of what I've picked up is from the USA, although not always. Again, depends on what time of year.

I shop at my local indepently owned market too and at the farmers markets on occasion. Most of the time, for fresh organic produce I end up going back to Whole Foods.

[biancardi]

as others have stated, not all organic produce is created equally.  I am lucky that I live near stores where we have local and organically grown produce available and I am able to purchase really good and tasty fruits & veggies.

local doesn't always mean organically grown, but the grocery stores I frequent do label them properly.   We also have a farmers market, but it is inconvenient for me because it is during the week and I work.

I cannot go back to commerically grown produce for some products, as I do find them to be tasteless - such as apples and tomatoes.

[haddon9]

We joined an organic CSA this year for the first time and every Wednesday DH picks up our share.  It's great because everything is fresh since it's grown by a local farm.  We also have a local organic grocery store and we go to Whole Foods usually once a month.

We try to buy local as much as possible and there is a Farmer's Market in town that has mostly organic produce (that's how we found out about the CSA.) If you buy locally and in season you should get great tasting organic produce.  I do feel for those who don't have good small farms nearby for purchasing produce.

Both of us prefer to eat organic.  For us it's about health and not eating conventional produce that has been sprayed with a lot of chemicals.  I also prefer to eat as little GMO foods as possible. It's not easy since the overwhelming majority of conventional produce has now been genetically modified.

[Tinkrbl44]

Just came across this on WebMD ....

http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/ss/slideshow-to-buy-or-not-to-buy-organic?ecd=wnl_wlw_071915&ctr=w...

[sunshine45]

i never buy organic and have not had any that tastes any better or looks any better than the "regular" fruits available in grocery stores, sams club, and ethnic markets. some of the ethnic markets in our area have wonderful fresh produce that is quite a bit more affordable than the grocery stores. i will spend the money though to buy from our local farmers during this time of the year if their produce is good. we have plenty of farmers markets available through part of october.

[GingerPeach]

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@sandraskates wrote:

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@shoekitty wrote:

I buy only organic.  I agree with Marian, it is not all alike.  Buy only fruit or produce in season.  I know it is hard to do, but if not it is just tasteless junk IMO.  That is because although organic is strictly graded on farming methods and regulations, that doesn't stop them from picking green to ship them across the world to us.  I do not buy Whole Foods produce as a rule, most of it is from overseas because it is cheaper, then they mark it up higher.  They bring in organic tomatoes from Israel, South America and all over.I can't believe it.  We live in a part of California that was once the produce provider to the US.  Although homes now rest where orchards once were, we grow excellent tomatoes, strawberries, brocoli, etc.  So why does Whole foods bring 80% of the produce from overseas?  Also, some organic can be greenhouse grown to regulate weather. That stuff is no good either.  Yes, it grown organically, but it is crapppppola

If you stick to locl, in season produce you will love it.  I so agree that it can be tasteless when out of season and imported.

Conventional produce isn't good wither.  It is GMO'd beyond recognition.  Yes, it looks good, it keeps longer...but it has no flavor either.

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My experiences at Whole Foods does not support your claims that I've bolded. I've read your posts about imports at Whole Food before.

Ever since I was 16 (a long time ago) I have looked at labels - from clothes to food before I buy anything. I do shop at Whole Foods and their fresh produce at my store is about 80  - 90% from California. And the quality is EXCELLENT. I have yet to see tomatos from Israel or South America.  Mexico - yes, at certain times of the year and at many stores,  not just WF.

I also check the labels on the frozen veggies (which I don't buy much) and most of what I've picked up is from the USA, although not always. Again, depends on what time of year.

I shop at my local indepently owned market too and at the farmers markets on occasion. Most of the time, for fresh organic produce I end up going back to Whole Foods.

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I also do not support shoekitty's claims about Whole Foods.  That is an extremely broad generalization.  My local Whole Foods has PLENTY of local produce.  

Taste can be independent of source and/or method of growing.  

[sunshine45]

interesting article on slate.com

Unhealthy Fixation

The war against genetically modified organisms is full of fearmongering, errors, and fraud. Labeling them will not make you safer.

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/07/are_gmos_safe_yes_the_case_against_...

[GingerPeach]

There are plenty of articles that provide a more balanced view.  For example, this WSJ article that provides arguments for both pros and cons: 

http://www.wsj.com/articles/should-companies-be-required-to-label-genetically-modified-foods-1436757...

I believe consumers have the right to know.

[VaBelle35]

July/August Eating Well Magazine had 3 great articles on GMOs and they were easy to understand and also dug under the GMO hysteria that I see on many of the Paleo forums/blogs, etc.

Eating Well-GMOs