Do WE buy organic foods?
"Organic foods are a waste of money" caused a bit of a stir — we were called "hypocrites" for not sticking to our guns recommending "healthy foods."
So I started thinking that I needed to clarify some points — I summarized a recent study that was published, basically showing there was no difference between organic and conventional foods.
But the question resurfaced — "I don’t care what the research says, what do YOU personally do?"
At the Mohr House, we belong to a CSA (community supported agriculture) and supplement with weekly trips to the Farmer’s Market.
As I said, local is best in our opinion — and 99% of the time, these farmers are also organic, even though they may not be "certified" as such because of the associated costs. You should ask the farmers how they grow their produce.
A CSA is simply where you buy a share of a farm — we paid $500 and get weekly, local crops, from May – December. That’s well worth the price. Find one in YOUR area by visiting Local Harvest.org. These are the greatest way to buy the best vegetables and fruit from YOUR area. Our particular CSA guarantees nothing they carry will come from more than 50 miles away … and, as I said, local means tastier and much higher in nutrients. If it’s organic too, it’s a great bonus.
Our goal is to buy everything as "close to the ground" as possible. We also buy all of our meats from the farmer’s market — we’re fortunate to have one near us with farmers who have free range chicken & eggs (with pictures on the farm of their "happy, bug eating chickens" as they call them), 100% grass fed and finished red meat and pork. We want to know where our food comes from … we know the farmers and they know us.
You know your hair dresser by name and you likely know your mechanic and your tailor. Doesn’t it also make sense to know the person growing the food you’re eating and feeding to your family?
We also grow some of our own veggies — we’re not making Martha Stewart nervous, but we have loads of tomatoes, some bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash, along with a boatload of fresh herbs. What a blast! There’s also data that shows families who grow their own vegetables have kids who eat more of them.
So in a nutshell — 99% of our produce and all our meats are organically produced and are from local farms.
And we do that by "following" these three "rules."
- Grow them ourselves.
- Buy them from a Farmer’s Market (or our CSA).
- Join a CSA ( $500 over 6 months — you can’t beat the price for the quality!)
Speaking of knowing where our foods come from, has anyone seen the movie Food, Inc? Anxious to learn a bit more about the food industry … I have a feeling it’s going to reinforce just how important "local" is!!! Check out the trailer — Foodincmovie.com
August 3rd, 2009 at 9:23 am
Thanks for the localharvest.org info. I have been looking for good local farmers and it seems sporadic. I just found one that will deliver to my house.
Great tip!
Jayson Hunter RD, CSCS
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August 3rd, 2009 at 9:26 am
As far as organic vs non organic I feel that organic is not a waste of money due to the simple reason of less pesticides that can harm the food and us. Also my experience of having organic food is that it lasts longer. I try to grow as much as I can in the Summer and can what I can so that I can have fresh veggies the whole year. The problem with organic is that it is not affordable. I willnever understand why it is so expensive to live a healthy lifestyle that is a major reason of why most Americans are overweight because bad food is cheaper and more filling for the average size family of four.
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 10:18 am
This is a great question, Mary! Organic foods are more expensive, making it tough to “compete” against fast food and the like. The key is to fast forward and know that eating well now will surely pay off in the long run. Keep in mind, too, that eating healthy doesn’t have to be expensive — beans and rice with a veggie is a great meal, nuts, eggs, grains (in bulk), can all be purchased for a reasonable price.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 10:10 am
Thanks for the info on CSA!!!!
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August 3rd, 2009 at 10:10 am
Great tips about easy, cost effective ways to eat locally! I like Paul’s Fruit Market, which also carries “Kentucky Proud!” produce and products.
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August 3rd, 2009 at 1:39 pm
I talked to my fiance and I think we are going to join the CSA next season!! Thanks for the info! Also – I bought some happy eggs, made by happy chickens who are happy eating bugs over the weekend from the market on Bardstown. Love that motto
They were very happy – especially when they made it to my stomach 
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August 3rd, 2009 at 1:59 pm
This was VERY helpful info…especially the CSA. We are slowly making the transition to LOCALLY grown produce, chicken, and meat. I have heard about food inc. and have read many articles about the HUGE benefits of free range chicken, etc. It IS more expensive, but I feel much better about what we are eating.
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
August 3rd, 2009 at 7:29 pm
Hi Kim — we belong to Family Farm Project, which we love. We were part of Grasshoppers last year — both are good, but we think this offers a bit more.
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August 5th, 2009 at 8:14 am
My husband and I went to see Food, Inc. last weekend and we both really enjoyed it! It was a great wake-up call for both of us to see how are food- particularly, meat is processed in the country. It was both disheartening and disgusting to see how the animals and workers were treated by these large corporation. Before seeing the movie we would only buy organic and/or local milk, eggs and meat if we had extra that week…as it is more expensive. But while walking out of the theater that night, we decided we will cut cost other places to ensure we can buy local and organic for most things we consume- especially meat, eggs and dairy. And while we participate in a CSA and visit farmer’s markets weekly, we plan to do a better job getting to know the farmers.
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August 7th, 2009 at 10:16 am
What is a healthy sweetener to use instead of sugar? Anything to sprinkle on cereal that is natural and good?
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August 11th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
I have been a member of a CSA for the past several years, however I generally find myself disappointed with a CSA simply because we don\’t always want weeks of greens. I still have to go to the market to buy a good portion of what we use on a regular basis. A friend / farmer is thinking about offering gift cards (which would be similar to a CSA). She and her husband\’s thoughts are \’Buy 1 $100 gift card but get $120 worth of produce and food with that gift card\", so price wise it would be similar to that of a CSA, but you would get to go to the market on a weekly basis to purchase what you will use versus stuff you may not always use.
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August 13th, 2009 at 8:23 am
Went to see the FOOD, INC. movie with my daughter who is 14. We both couldn’t believe where are food is coming from! We talked about it all night and posted on facebook for all our friends and family to go see it. We live in Shebyville and will be going to our Farmer’s Market this Saturday to see what is offered. I am absolutely changing what I buy for my family to eat. Thank you so much for recommending the movie and for all the great info on this site!
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