If we can't trust the "organic" companies we believe to be helping the planet then who can we trust? I'm concerned because I only shop at health food markets and even more rarely Stater Bros & ). With this list it only limits whom I'll buy from even more because I do not want to support these for profit regardless of the outcome companies. Shame! Shame! on them for not telling who holds the moneybags on their profits and shame on us for not asking who's their daddy. :$ http://www.certifiedorganic.bc.ca/rcbtoa/services/corporate-ownership.html Guess its a damn good thing I'm working on my own garden...I KNOW I can trust me.
the whole point of having any kind of business is to make a profit. The organic farmer I buy my stuff from makes a profit, othetwise he wouldn't be in business. I make a profit from my business. I say keep buying organic so we can show these companies that there is profit in taking care of our earth.
I have a hard time stopping purchases just because some corp investerd in Organic. Who else can on such a scale? If it increases availability and the organic farmers' income, I am hard pressed to have a personal boycott. Of that structure, I mostly purchase from Hain Celestial group. going to the scratch ingredients might be a better option. btw, Colgate Palmolive bought control of Toms of Maine.
Local organic farmers or organic hobby farmers if they are in your area. A part of me wants to believe that all these "organic" companies owned by the likes of Kraft and Coca Cola are pushing for a better environment, but then theres that other part of me that thinks they just want in on the big bucks (which is really unfortunate). Thanks for the link, I think I may print it off and tape it to my fridge.
That is not entirely true. We all know/heard of some individuals who don't always go into a business to make a profit but to make a change. If they make some dollars along the way, cool. If not, they are happy making a difference no matter how small it is. Even if those profits are chanelled into questionable business practices/money laundrying/political lobbying for the regular agri-business? Hm. To each thine own, I guess. The worst part of this to me is the fact they do not print anywhere on their bags that they are owned by such-such company. If people who purchased these organic products knew who really held the purse strings, these "organic" companies would find themselves scrambling to explain this to parts of the customer base. I for one, would like to have that explaination BESIDES the profit excuse which is an easy out.
Sorry, I forgot how cut and dry everything can be for the young without kids. Change doesn't feed my kids, profits do. Everything I buy somehow supports something I don't like or agree with. I do the best I can I shop at thrift stores, stay out of wal mart. I say every bit of organic food we can help be produced is better for my earth than non-organic. Even if the company ultimatly in charge is not the kindest. I will still be buying what I have always bought. Even if my organic milk screamed at me "I am owned by a huge conglomerate" I would still buy it before I bought anything else. And before you tell me to just do without, please understand and accept that just like lots of people, I have growing children to feed. It stretches my food budget enough to buy what organic I can, but it is that important to me. We all have choices to make, personally if it was feasable, I would like to live on a farm and just grow all my own food. But our society is not set up to allow that to happen easily. I don't begrudge the farmer I buy my organic eggs from a profit. If he didn't make a profit selling organic food, he would have to have another full time job and then there would be no nice little organic stand for me to shop at at all.
buy local support csa's and shop at your local market then you dont have to worry about crazy assed bubble charts cheers!
Sub-Companies who advertise their products as being better alternatives to their mother companies products has always been a good marketing ploy.... sorry babe =| DTA
Sorry, urbangel, but you really shouldn't be surprised. Organic corporate farming is still corporate farming. Shopping at this or that health food store or buying certain brand names doesn't guarantee quality or change. These same corporate organic labels are the same people pushing to change organci standards to allow sewer sludge and GMO's. Even something labeled "organic" is no guarantee of organic quality anymore, and you're not helping the environment any by purchasing a 5 calorie strawberry that took 40 calories of fossil fuel energy to ship, just because the label says "organic". Buy local and buy fresh. Local is now adays more important than "organic". Many growers using earth-friendly organic growing methods don't use the "organic" label, either because they don't want to get involved with the corporate organic politics, or because organics have become so over-regulated that it's easier just to grow green and not use the label. Look into farm markets, co-ops, or better yet, CSA in your area. Talk to the vendors at larger public markets, in Rochester it was often assumed that all the public market vendors were local growers but many were just vegetable merchants who sold produce shipped from Gods-know-where. Growing your own garden is an even better idea. Stay awake and aware if you really want to make a difference as a consumer or to just keep bad products off your family's dinner plate. Just because a product bears a label doesn't make it safe to roll over and go back to sleep. Corporations have cashed in big-time on the whole "green" movement, and corrupted it as well. Being an aware consumer means staying an aware consumer. Here's some links: http://www.csacenter.org/ http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/ http://www.coopamerica.org/ http://www.localharvest.org/ http://www.farmersmarkets.net/ http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm busmama, I don't think that supporting corporate agriculture is the "only" way to feed kids organic, or even the cheapest. I have kids, and am on food stamps, and I don't buy organic or nonorganic brands when I can avoid them. I buy fresh and organic from local farmers and CSA, and save a ton of money, too. There's an organic farm market a few doors down from me every Thursday in the spring, and the produce there is cheaper than anything shrink-wrapped and flown in from a corporate farm in California, and since its a small town the growers and the customers know each other by name. Sorry, I really don't mean to come across as testy; it just bugs me a bit when people use "yeah well I have kids/you don't" as a qualifier for anything beyond parenting issues. If your food budget is stretched, however, you may seriously want to look into CSA - it provides great educational and socialization opportunities for homeschooled kids, and is a way of purchasing that really does save money, support farmers, and create change: a win-win for everybody. Check the links above to find farmer's markets, co-ops and CSA near you. Oh, and as for saving time with fresh foods vs. processed - I just wash 'em off at home and let the kids munch cherry tomatoes, carrots, celery stalks or snap peas raw. There's real convenience food! And make friends with your crock pot. They're always available at thrift stores and your crock pot is your friend!
Kitty, you can buy from farmer's markets and csa's with food stamps? Do you have the paper ones, or the EBT card? I didn't think I could do that!
I have the EBT card, and the growers at the public market in Rochester accepted food stamps, as did the CSA I had a share in - although, back then, I wasn't on food stamps. But I was aware that they accepted them, and was trying to make this fact a little better known, because people often think of organics as inaccessible. Some farmers market growers accept food stamps, and if you get WIC (or, for older people, are in a Senior Nutrition Program) you get special farm market coupons to spend at any farm market and many private growers. BTW, you can also buy seeds to grow your own organic food with food stamps.
That chart was depressing. I say we do what we can with what we have. I cannot afford to buy 100% organic food right now. Lots of my vegan food is organic by default. I do what I can. Yeah, I heard about Colgate buying out Tom's of Maine. I stopped buying Tom's of Maine for that reason and I hope they lose money unless they buy their company back....I loved Tom's! They seemed to animal friendly and eco-conscious.
I think doing what you can is more important than being 100% perfect. I went organic in a number of small steps, beginning with organic tomatoes. It helps to know which crops are grown with the most pesticides (always buy strawberries, peppers, tomatoes, and potatoes organic) and which are grown with the least (if you can't buy everything organic, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, and onions are generally grown with fewer pesticides.) Many small farms and hobby growers, while not strictly organic, may refrain from using pesticides and/or chemical fertilizers. In Rochester, it was easy to get unsprayed apples, for example. Talk to the growers.
There's so little information available on what you can actually do with foodstamps. Many people on food stamps buy poor quality foods becuase they believe that they can't buy healhty food with food stamps. I wish that groups like Politics of Food in Rochester would do more to let people know what options they do have. If we want to promote organics, we do have to let people know that they are accessible, and that it isn't necessary to rely on processed organics or brand names, either. Local and fresh is always the best and often the cheapest.
I believe in buying from small farms, and I do. I unfortunantly don't qualify for food stamps, but when I got wic I could go to the farmers market. There are lots of people I know in the same boat, while my friends with stamps are buying good healthy food, the working poor like us don't qualify for anything but higher taxes. I have heard so many people tell me "I would buy organic if it was more affordable" So if big companies can make it more affordable it is a good thing. I just made a point that even the small farmer makes a profit, some of them pretty healthy. When I lived in the city, I could go to farmers market, when I lived in the country I could go to the amish stores, or local farmers. Now I live in the suburbs, I am lucky I can even get "grocery store" organic. I had to ask them to stock it. Now I have a choice between large company's organic or non-organic and I refuse to feel guilty for any of it. I will still say that every bit of organic produce produced is better than non-organic. I am hopeful that now that summer is here I can find a roadside stand, but being new the suburb thing I don't know if that will happen. The problem is so much more complex than it seems on the outside, most of us are just trying to do the best we can. I was going to join in a "cow sharing" operation where I knew that my milk would be fresh and organic, unfortunantly Ohio has just started a "sting" and lots of people are now going to jail for trying to drink raw milk WTF, I can't even milk my own cow? I know off topic but it bugged the crap out of me. When will they start insisting that even our home gardens be certified by the fda?
funny thing we try to buy local and organic and have a real hard time,and we live in an agricultural state however there are no farms near us no csa`s and the nearest co-op is over 75 miles away..all the vegatable stands around here pretty much suck just truck shit in from C.A...
Busmama, no one is asking you to feel guilty. Please calm down. No one is attacking you, we are discussing accessible organics, the politics of purchasing, and consumer awareness regarding corporate organic agribuisness. If local, small-farmed organics are not accessible where you are, there is no need to get defensive. When I was first off the food stamps and my ex was earning just over the limit, we only bought organic tomatoes. And carrots, because for some reason they were cheaper at the co-op than the grocery store. Now, I have no choice but to buy organic because I have chemical sensitivities that cause my blood pressure to skyrocket and induce migraines when exposed to even a tiny amount of pesticide (and other chemical products.) Fortunately I'm in an area where there's CSA and family farmers everywhere. Wow that sucks about the milk. That is so wrong! My cousin gets raw milk from her neighbor. I shop the way I do because I can, and because small farmers do not get anywhere near the subsidies that huge corporate-owned agribuisnesses get. Most of them that do make a profit (many hobby growers don't, and it is seldom hefty) use it to support their families. Corporate agribusiness use it to lobby to weaken organic standards to include GMO and sewer sludge and other practices contrary to organic philosophy and long-term environmental well-being. If you are in a position where you can purchase local, purchasing local is usually more important than organic (unless you have chemical sensitivities like me, or other health conditions.) If you are in a position where you can only buy some organics, here is a list of the 12 most and least contaminated crops, to help you decide what to buy organic and commercially grown: 12 Least Contaminated Crops asparagus avocados bananas broccoli cauliflower sweet corn kiwi mangoes onions papaya pineapples peas 12 Most Contaminated - Buy these organic if you can apples bell peppers celery cherries imported grapes nectarines peaches pears potatoes red raspberries spinach (I'd go so far as to say any green) strawberries This information is from a pamphlet I picked up at my co-op and was provided by the Environmental Working Group (http://www.ewg.org) I'd like to add that just because a vegetable is on the "least contaminated" list, doesn't necessarily make it "safe"; I had a horrible experience with some broccoli that had been sprayed with something oil-based that didn't wash off, and actually caused a reaction with my blood pressure medication. After that, my body would no longer tolerate the medication, and I had to switch medicines. It was a nightmarish experience I'd care not to ever repeat. This is another reason why it's good to buy right from the grower, and talk to them. I'd purchased the broccoli from a vendor at the public market, but didn't talk to them. It turned out later that he wasn't even the grower, and actually knew next to nothing about the produce he sold. The larger vendor at the end of the row, however, who my organic-shopping friends often ridiculed and mistrusted because of the way he cried his wares ("Get your peppers folks! One dollar! Dolla dolla dolla!") turned out to be actually very knowledgable about where his produce came from. whether or not it had been sprayed and with what, the best way to wash to remove the pesticides, and sometimes even offered produce from his own family garden. For most everybody, however, it's more important to concentrate on doing what you can do, rather than get defensive or feel guilty about what you're not doing. That guilt and defensiveness actually does more to injure community and make or keep organics inaccessible than the big corporate farms ever could.
lol, I never felt attacked, just expressing a different view. I think it is a GOOD thing that major food companies have gotten into organic. Still think that. I already stated why, so won't do it again. I am glad that organics are becoming more accessible, until they manage to change the labeling laws, I will still be glad!!! Blessings
