My sister has decided to eat organic foods and has gotten me interested. Looking for positives and negatives?

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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle

only the dog....

I can't afford to buy only organic for our family of six. The dog needs it because she is a Great Dane, and it's specially formulated for that breed.

A magazine called Nutrition Action has an excellent article on whether to buy organic or not this month. Some organic items rate higher to buy than others. You could see if your library has a copy of this magazine. These are the people who test and rate things like how bad the butter was on movie popcorn, and the high sodium in Chinese food. It's a great magazine.

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Donna

I drink organic milk. The 2% tastes like whole milk to me. A poster here sent me a bunch of info. and links on healthful eating, and told me that pus and blood are "allowed" in regular type milk (non-organic). I have eaten organic eggs. I generally just try to eat healthy food, watch the carb. count, avoid HFCS(high fructose corn syrup) and "junk" ingredients.

Lots of water, too.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Bulk bins from the health food store and a few other things but not a lot. Also, I buy many organic products from Costco (ie chicken broth, frozen blueberries, green salad mix, carrots, etc).

We also drink only organic milk and generally try to eat ery healthy, but a true organic diet is going to cost you a fortune! Thats the only negative I can see.

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Jill
jatalamo@aol.com
Mom to Joey (8) and Gianna (6)

We are pretty much an organic family when it comes to eating. We feel good doing it. It does cost a lot more than normal groceries but I feel it is worth it. After a while you don't even notice the extra cost. I do have to say the milk is so yummy. I don't think I could ever drink regular milk again. I used to hate milk but that is the first thing I get into when I get home from the grocery store. My kids notice a difference too.

Hey allinaugust that's yucky!!! I will never drink regular milk again!!! Thank you!!!!! DH said he can't do it now either.

I started buying only organic meats. I buy only meats that are antibiotic and hormone FREE. I was having extremely bad bouts with rosacea (a facial akin rash). I am allergic to two main types on antibiotics and live where it is fairly convenient and cost effective to purchase these meats. I have noticed a HUGE difference. My face hasn't broken out since I switched. Plus it tastes better. I think now I'm going to have to try the organic mild now. I had been buying 8th continent soy milk, but I think I prefer milk.

allinaugust - THANKS for SHARING!!!!!!!!! Totally GROSS!!!!!!!!!

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Work like you don't need the money,
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What you state about milk is EXACTLY why I didn't drink milk from the time I was 16 until a couple of years ago when I started buying organic local farm milk. I still can't drink too much of it...I can't get that out of my mind.

We eat as much organically as we can afford: milk and meat 99% of the time. Veggies about 70% of the time. Frozen veggies are always organic but fresh we can't always afford since it's around 30% more money. I also get organic cereral (cascadian farms) but we don't always get organic bread

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I saw a gallon of organic milk yesterday at the store and is was $6.15! Too much for us, but probably a healthy alternative.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

I bought organic valley the other day, it was $2.99 for a half gallon, and I had a $1 cpn, so, only $1.99 for a half gallon, or $3.98 for a gallon, if I use two coupons on 2 half gallons. Horizon is running $3 a half gallon. Regular milk is $4.19 a gallon. Thankfully I am the only one that gives a rip about drinking organic, and I pretty much only do it because of the blood and puss issues. Honestly, tho, I still am dealing with the whole "hair" issue. We used to live near a working dairy farm, and you could see them milk the cows. First they put a betadine wash on the cow's nipples, then hook them up to these suction things......well, you ever seen a cows teets???? They got some HAIRY teets!!!! I keep thinking....some of that has GOT to get sucked off when they get the milk. But, I need my milk

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Funny - the first thing I tried was the milk and I was surprised at how good it was!

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Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle

Can you please stop saying blood and puss.LOL Now the hair issue..... GROSS!!!!

I was already convinced to only drink organic milk but now more so than ever!!!

Seriously, why is organic milk so much better tasting than regular milk?

WoW! That is a lot. I wanted to add that I have noticed that some prices have been going down. The more people buy organic the more the prices will go down.

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"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ----Edmund Burke

They sell it at our Costco... I'll check the price next time I'm there. I'm almost convinced to try it. LOL.

As a general rule I buy organic if it is not a covered item - example - apple (organic) banana (not). Most vegetables - yes. Organic milk , yes. Bread - sometimes. Coffee and chocolate - yes. I also agree with above posters on no corn syrup or no trans fats. Even when listed zero - read ingredients - can still be in there.

ROFLOL.......Ok, fine....if I must

As for organic tasting better...I really don't know, but,I did a taste test, and I think, in my case, it may be psychological??? Also, why does it LAST longer??? Mine is good for a month!!

When I used to buy milk from the dairy farm, it would have a hint of "corn" taste to it, if the cows ate a lot of corn. Sadly, we moved from there, and I heard they sold the farm to make way for another housing development. Anyone in Chesapeake, VA to verify this???? So sad.....

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I don't know for sure, but I do know this. What cows eat will affect the taste of their milk. I would assume that it is what organic cows are allowed to eat that make it taste better.

Blood, Puss and Hair,.....that sounds like the name of a Rock Band!!



Does anyone have a link or info where to get the down low on this stuff being in milk. I am kinda grossed out now and would like to read more.

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

I try to buy as much organic as possible when we can afford it. I don't drink milk but my husband does and we only buy organic milk. Always even if it means going without something else. Yes there is pus and blood in milk as well as the cows being fed antibiotics and growth hormones. YUCK. You would not want a crackhead or heroin user breastfeeding a baby but people feed their children (and themselves) milk from cows that have on drugs since before they were born.

Also things we eat like berries and lettuce that don't have a peel or covering I buy organic. I don't eat my meat again my husband and dogs do I try to buy only humanely raised organic meat but it's not always possible. I do though always buy organic eggs usually from the farmer up the road.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

It was YOU Anna.......now I remember, you were the the one that alerted me to the PUSS and BLOOD, sorry-had to say it . Been drinking organic ever since, thanks!!!!

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Most of the stuff we buy is organic. I think it's healthier for us and the planet.

I have a feeling that milk that is considered organic is also likely to contain trace amounts of blood and pus - or at the very least, is as likely as non-organic to contain them. The presence of those substances would most likely be related to an infection in the teat of the cow, which is certainly not a condition confined to cows that 'do' antibiotics. Unless someone in the organic supply chain tests some milk from every single milking of every single organic cow, there are no guarantees.

I've always found it interesting to consider the things we're willing to eat, and the things we aren't. While I, too, am rather grossed out when I really think about drinking milk with pus in it, I also get a little grossed out by the thought of milk itself. An animal secretes a substance that accumulates inside it's mammary glands and that's 'good' to consume, while some of it's other bodily secretions we won't touch.

Slimy stuff accumulates in the reproductive tract of a chicken, carrying the chicken's DNA and everything necessary to pull of a duplicate bird. Calcification occurs in an orb around the super-slimy, semi-coagulated goo, and it comes out a hole in a neat little package right by the chicken's excrement region....

And we go out and scoop 'em up and eat 'em! lol

I eat eggs and I drink milk from the regular, non-organic store, and I love a good steak as much as the next person, but when I really think about ANY of it, I have to scratch my head and ask why we're thrilled about eating a cow's voluntary muscles, but mostly not so thrilled about the involuntary ones (like tripe). Cultural conditioning, I guess!

That's it, I've just become a vegetarian!!!

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

LOL - sorry!

I just found a couple of interesting things at snopes regarding this issue. It's rather difficult to find much 'discussion' about this topic that isn't biased. Both sides of the issue - the uber-organic eco-minded all-things-ever-treated-by-a-medicine-are-evil types say only nasty things about the mainstream dairy industry, and the mainstream touts the benefits of germ-free, pasturized milk to the consumer, as well as profit benefits that come from hormone-induced, increased milk production. There isn't a lot of straight-up fact devoid of an agenda.

I did think this was interesting: snopes.com: Blood/Pus in Cow's Milk

And this, too:
Urban Legends Reference Pages: Cow Blood in Chocolate Milk

You'tr welcome.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

One of the big considerations is where the milk is coming from. I assure you that hand milked cows are less likely to have something other than milk in there. Machine milked cows it can go either way. On a big corporate dairy farm where hundreds or thousands of cows are being milked I assure you I have ssen it with my own eyes it's no different than making pencils. They keep the lines going because to stop the lines is to lose $$$.

Just as legally chicken nuggets can made with a large percentage of binder (= ***** infected meat and skin) it is legal to have a certain percentage of blood and pus in the milk.

And even if that were a fallacy I guarantee you the cows are being fed drugs: growth hormones and antibiotics are not fed to sick cows but to all cows. Call your nearest factory farm and ask what medications the cows are on. It's a matter of keeping the milk coming no matter what.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I guess I'm just not easily freaked out.

Very interesting article that came out today on MSN:

What does "Organic"™ really mean? - ConsumerMan - MSNBC.com

There are some links to some more articles at the end of this one. I think the two rom Consumer Reports are pretty on target and would offer some good advice to the OP:
ConsumerReports.org - Organic products, when buying organic pays (and doesn't) 2/06
ConsumerReports.org - Organic products, food labels can be misleading 2/06


What I am reading is that the label should say "100% Organic" if you truly want an organic product...