While Whole Foods is certainly overpriced, the study is pure nonsense. It doesn’t address all the poisons that come with your typical veggies/fruit and hormones with milk/beef.
And THAT”S the issue. (For those who care.)
Posted on 08/03/2009 7:19:32 AM PDT by Welcome2thejungle
You can stop wasting your hard earned money at Democrat Party HQ...uh I mean Whole Paychecks...whoops Whole Foods Market.
The following was reported in the Investor's Business Daily:
"Organic food is no healthier than ordinary food, a large U.K. study found. Despite a small number of differences in nutrition between organic and conventionally produce food, no evidence of any extra health health benefit was found, London researchers said. The result was the same for studies of meat, dairy, and eggs."
IBD 7/30/09
Seems that slapping an organic sticker on something these days is a license to steal. Thankfully I never bought into this fad to begin with. I'm sticking with Food For Less where the dollar goes a lot further and no trendy liberals to contend with.
Already been discussed on a few threads here.
While Whole Foods is certainly overpriced, the study is pure nonsense. It doesn’t address all the poisons that come with your typical veggies/fruit and hormones with milk/beef.
And THAT”S the issue. (For those who care.)
I didn’t see a link to the article, but had read it at bbc. The article fails to mention the possible side affects of pesticides and other weird stuff the food industry uses. I don’t go to food for less much because, being a racist, I hate waiting in line behind illegals.
I thought it was rather weak that the study did not address the affect pesticides may have on people.
My wife and I have attempted to convince some friends that they’re wasting their money on “organic” foods to no avail. Like many other things, the desire for organic foods becomes some sort of misbegotten religion. One would think that the price would be a deterrent but it seems that one turn at the “Organic Altar” is enough to win a disciple.
I would be a little careful with this. I eat a lot of organic food but not because I think it is more nutritional. I’m just trying to avoid ingesting pesticides and hormones. I would be interested in what the study had to say about those two factors.
It isn’t just organic foods that they sell — the Whole Foods nearest us has some things that I just haven’t been able to get elsewhere, most notably buffalo steaks and (when in season) Icelandic lamb. And those are certainly different/better than the run of the mill varieties.
Let me preface my comments by saying that I have a farm. I investigated doing organic crops. To be organic, you have to be “CERTIFIED ORGANIC”. Well, that is fine, who certifies you, the State? Ummm, no. The State does not certify organic. There is an “ORGANIC ORGANIZATION” that certifies organic. So, I asked, what is the process? I was told that they would send an “inspector” out and that I would need to fill in these papers, and PAY some really stiff fee for the inspection and for the certification. I asked what the credentials of the inspector were. Did this person have an advanced degree in Agronomy or Horticulture? No. Did they have any industry experience in Grain Crops or Garden Produce? No. So, just what was their expertise that allowed them to “inspect” my farm and “certify” my crop? Well, it seems that they were the geeks that came up with the idea of charging people for this service.
I have concluded that Organic is another sham akin to Global Warming. Follow the money, need I say more?
Oh then you probably avoid other reasonably priced stores as well such as K-Mart, Wal-Mart, and 99 Cent Stores.
I myself strongly oppose illegal immigration but I also like to hang on to my wallet.
I was told if you are going to buy one thing that is organic make it celery. The plant acts like a sponge when all those chemicals are sprayed on it.
Liberalism is a religion. They worship the planet, not the Lord.
I was in the food manufacturing/agriculture sector for 20 years. I don't have a problem with the whole organic thing, but I do believe it's benefits are minimal. What really concerns me are the efforts to mandate a lot of these practices by environmental/animal rights groups. Nobody likes factory farming, pesticides or herbicides. The reality is without these things, food costs would skyrocket, and in some places, people would simply starve to death without our modern advances in production.
Actually I don’t go to any of those stores, but I’m not much of a shopper.
Trader Joe’s is better, better priced and less political than Whole Foods. They stock a lot of gourmet foods, have an excellent produce selection and fine wines. Your dollar will go a lot further there and you don’t have to put up with all the Prius driving libs and their BHO bumperstickers.
Many years ago I wasted money at a Whole Foods store on two occasions. The first time I was disappointed in the quality of the food. The second time was no better and the service was lacking any quality. I see no reason to patronize them.
I don’t eat organic and am not a follower of the movement but... the understanding I took away from people that tried to convince me to eat organic was never that it was about extra health benefits. I don’t recall ever hearing that. Celery is celery as far as they were concerned. For them it was about avoiding pesticides, defoliant chemicals, excessive fertilizers, etc. So the study is good but it doesn’t actually address the claims organic eaters are making. At least the organic eaters I know.
Exactly, it is scam similar to the crap Algore is pushing by selling his carbon offsets. This is akin to the corrupt sale of papal indulgences in the Middle Ages.
. There is an “ORGANIC ORGANIZATION” that certifies organic. So, I asked, what is the process? I was told that they would send an “inspector” out and that I would need to fill in these papers, and PAY some really stiff fee for the inspection and for the certification. I asked what the credentials of the inspector were. Did this person have an advanced degree in Agronomy or Horticulture? No. Did they have any industry experience in Grain Crops or Garden Produce? No.
This is the process in all certifictions. All quasi beauracracies, all controlling and over time have goverment influence.
My wife still occaisionally shops at Whole Paychecks. She’ll buy some organic bananas there. I’ll buy regular bananas at Food For Less. I eat both and cannot tell the difference.
Whole Foods is also the only national chain that regularly stocks AMERICAN fish, including shrimp, as well as locally-produced fruits and vegetables. Enjoy the poisoned farm-raised shrimp at ChinaMart folks!
Clemenza,
Would like to see you in a car with Bristol Palin’s ex boyfriend, Levi Johnston. You knew how to handle errant in laws so well!
You’re right. If you want cheap food, buy Chinese-grown groceries. If you want the best food you can get, but American-grown, American-raised products — the kind they sell at Whole Foods.
Here in Texas, our Whole Foods store carries locally-grown foods — produce from small indy farmers living in this area. These foods are labeled and easy to find. You won’t find such produce at Food-4-Cheep.
Although we buy bulk goods at Costco, I’ll stick with Whole Paycheck for produce, meats, fish, and other fresh items.
Organic or non organic.....consumers have a right to spend their cash on any product they desire.
ROFLOL! I would smack Levi across the head for being such a feminine hygiene product. I can’t stand that guy...
Eating natural foods without chemicals, pesticides, hormones, etc is a "fad"?
Shopping at trendy overpriced grocery stores filled with phony liberals driving Priuses with BHO bumperstickers and pretending to be smarter and more enlightened than the rest of us is a fad.
When I was growing up most people shopped at normal supermarkets. They didn’t force you to bring your own bag and they didn’t stock all the left-wing propaganda, tee shirts and so forth.
In my area, Whole Foods is a big freaking lib hangout instinguishable from Democrat Party HQ or BHO’s campaign HQ.
I never said they didn’t. People will always have the right to waste money.
Wegmans is far superior to Whole Foods.
Having spend a number of years in University Research, I happen to know that a lot of the fad of organic is built on paranoia. Hormones in milk? Hello, the cow produces those hormones,,Bovine Somatotropic Hormone or BSTH that is given to the cows is a hormone produced in the cows system. If you give it to the cow to increase the milk, it will show in the milk. If you do not give it to the cow to increase the milk flow, it will show in the milk because the cow produces it naturally. So if you can get milk that has no BSTH in it, I would like to know how, because it is naturally in all milk.
Hormones in meat? There probably is, the animal naturally produces hormones in the body. Any animals in feedyards that are slated for the food chain have to be withdrawn from all ration additives about 60 days before they can be slaughtered. That gives the body more than enough time to synthesise and excrete any products of digestion. The old feed additives which caused the paranoia are no longer legal to possess in the US, but if you want Mexican or Brazilian beef, you can get it there. Enjoy your big Mac.
Chemicals such as Sevin that are sprayed over vegetable crops to control chewing and sucking insects has a useful life of only a couple days before it naturally disintegrates into its harmless component parts. “Chemicals” is another buzzword to propogate paranoia to sell more “certified organic” products.
As the other poster mentioned, if the farms cannot grow crops that are insect free, and do it at a profit, then you cannot expect to see it in the stores. Unless, that is you want to buy it from Walmart and have it imported from Mexico and China where they fertilize it with human waste and submerge it in things that are illegal to possess here in the US.
Pesticides and herbicides will likely be replaced with farm field robots some day: Rocket Scientists Shoot Down Mosquitoes With Lasers; Humans, Butterflies Remain Unharmed
I do not shop at Whole Foods. However, when I can, I purchase local organically grown fruits and vegetables for my family to eat. I do not have confidence in imported fruits and vegetables. Imported products are not tested and consequently growers in many other countries do not apply rules as to what pesticides are used and safe handling procedures. Ever heard of melamine? For me, buying organic has nothing to do with nutrition. I believe this is a red herring study.
Thanks - I hadn’t seen that article. There are actually a lot of good ideas in the pipeline, it is just a matter of making them work on a cost effective basis. Genetic modification holds a lot of promise - and perils. I believe that may be where we see our next big advance, but we are going to have to be very careful.-—JM
Exactly and precisely. Thank you for injecting a level of reason, logic, and sanity much needed in the debate. The liberals demonize words such as “chemical”, “pesticide”, and “hormone” without even taking into consideration the latest scientic developments and achievements.
As an aside, yesterday we took our five year old to the Science Center and Imax Theater. We saw “Underwater in 3-D” narrated by actor Jim Carrey. Even though the film was interesting, you wouldn’t believe how many times he mentioned “climate change” and “global warming”. And then when you go into the nearby gift store it is packed with liberal books promoting liberal environmental propaganda including Algore’s “Inconvenient Truth”. Never mind the fact that the earth is actually cooling right now. Never mind the fact that activities on the surface of the sun influence our climate here on earth vastly more than any human activities possibly could.
I mention this here because Whole Foods too actively engages in the same type of propaganda and liberal indoctrination.
I’m not a WF fan, but neither am I a fan of
petrochemical herbicides and fertilizers sprayed
over what I intend to eat...
Thank you for a reasoned and sane post.
I find Trader Joe’s to be a much better alternative to Whole Foods. Their prices aren’t nearly as high. All of their produce and vegetables are high quality. They also do stock a wide range of packaged gourmet foods and fine wines. There is value and quality there and none of the in your face left wing environmental indoctrination there.
The *nutrients* may be the same, but there are fewer pesticides and hormones in many organic products. Organic butter, for example, contains fewer bovine growth hormones; my children will be better off without that stuff.
Besides, I prefer the taste of the organic milk that we buy.
I love the free market. I can buy whatever I want, for whatever reasons I want.
Sounds like an ISO audit. ;~))
And don’t forget Two-Buck Chuck!
Seriously: when we lived in L.A., we shopped at Trader Joe’s every week. Unfortunately, Trader Joe’s can’t operate here in Texas because the Baptists who control everything have laws in place that make it a crime for grocery stores to sell liquor.
I know, it doesn’t make sense to me, either, but hey, that’s Baptists for ya...
I am not opposed to the free market at all. I’m not an advocate of shutting down Whole Foods. Phony liberals need a place to shop and Whole Foods is a perfect place for them to waste their money.
BTW, I would like to point out it is the Liberals who are always busy at work trying stop or shut down or force companies like Wal-Mart to conform to their ways.
Except the methods of the modern dairy industry lead to a vast overabundance of such things as estrone sulfate & progesterone in quantities shown to be harmful to humans.
Anabolic steroids & creatine are naturally occurring, too. It doesn't mean it's safe for baseball players to pump their bodies full of them.
Hormones in meat? There probably is, the animal naturally produces hormones in the body.
Again...(plus, cattle can get plenty of artificial hormones).
The entire planet and our bodies are chemical factories. Fear of pesticides is irrational. There are hundreds of things that can take you. Chemicals and pesicides in the food you eat comes in at perhaps 1938th place, many places behind the stress of worrying about imaginary threats like chemicals and pesticides in food..
Apart from that, when you can slap an organic sticker on it and get gullible people to pay twice as much, do you suppose there is just a bit of corruption in the organic food world?
I like Whole Foods although I don’t buy food there often because it’s so expensive. Their prepared foods are fantastic! Yesterday, I bought grilled chicken wrapped in bacon. Also, Curried Chicken Salad. It’s so much easier than having to make it myself.
And not all of their produce is organic although it is top notch in quality.
Also, I like their vitamins and buy bath products from them ... like Pine scented bath from Switzerland.
To all of those who are worried about pesticides etc... on your food. Is your avoidance of these foods based on a feeling, or hard science? In other words how do you know there are any harmful chemicals left on your food after normal exposure to the environment in the fields and after a quick rinse in your kitchen? And then, if there are any traces left, how do you know they are any more harmful than the natural chemical toxins that most plants produce themselves? I am honestly looking for information here.
The one thing I like about Whole Foods is all the free samples there. You can practically have entire free lunch there.
Bingo. Nailed it!
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