Taylyn, I feel like I'm explaining why you shouldn't smoke cigarettes!!! It is the 'Well, I'm gonna die of somethin' attitude that drives me crazy.

Soap box time!

There are so many useful resources... here is one:

Why Buy Organic?

Whatever you call it, studies show that eating it is associated with slow, gradual organ system failure, perforated, bleeding guts, shrunken kidneys, damaged immune systems, increased serious and life threatening diseases like cancer, autoimmune disease, life threatening allergies, irregularities in the blood system, and a host of other dangerous, and deadly conditions.

And here is the dumbest part of all: this dumb and dangerous "food" does not have to be tested for safety before it is released into the food supply. It just has to have a patent on it. And patents do not take safety into account.

So what happens if you eat dumb and dangerous food? Nothing good and perhaps some really, really bad things. The US is the only country which does not require labeling of GMO food. So lots of the foods you eat everyday probably contain dangerous, dumb food including non-organic corn, soy,canola oil and many nutritional supplements

What is GMO foods?

Doesn't the FDA have to declare pretty much all foods safe?

I am not trying to be a pain, I really don't know!

__________________
~Happiness is a large family~

I don't think you are being a pain!

Genetically Modified Organism or GMO food. Sometimes it’s called Genetically Engineered (GE) or Biotechnical Modified (BM) food.

I was under the idea that "organic" foods are not truly regulated for being "organic". Yes they have to meet FDA regulations but that there aren't any "Organic" regulations made yet.

This is Wikipedia's definition.....
Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods produced from (GMO) genetically modified organisms that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering. GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s. The most common modified foods are derived from plants: soybean, corn, canola cotton seed oil and wheat.

__________________

Never mind about the GMO. I read the site.

Do you have any articles that tells of the dangers of non-organics that are not put out by an organic food company? I really am interested in hearing both sides from non-biased accounts. Has anyone seen any actual medical research on the subject?

__________________
~Happiness is a large family~

haha, good luck finding non-biased. I'll look later and see what I can find for you, but to me it seems everyone has an agenda.

__________________
"It's time to move from what we can do, to what we must do, to what we will do." ~Hillary Clinton

Thank you for asking this question. When I have more time, I'll read the linked articles.

My dh grew up in Europe, in a poor area where most people grew their own produce and raised their own livestock. They didn't use pesticides because they didn't have them to use. His community, as he tells the story, was poor enough that no one could afford chemicals to keep away bugs and plant disease.

He has a fairly large vegetable garden and several fruit trees. He doesn't use any chemicals in the garden. He sprays the fruit trees with an over-the-counter pesticide that is available without a license. (His job, however, requires him to have a pesticide license so he could buy the more potent stuff if he wanted to.) The produce he grows is yummy, but it isn't always the most beautiful specimen -- especially the fruits. He has asked at numerous workshops how to get fruit that looks more appealing. The answer from all sources has been to spray the trees often.

Yet we go to grocery stores and see organic produce that may be a little smaller than the other kind, but it's beautiful and blemish-free. I don't understand how something is truly grown without chemicals and not only looks gorgeous but lasts for the trip to the store.

__________________
~Jeweled

I buy organic for everything I can. I do not like consuming pesticides, antibiotics, etc. in fruits, vegetables and meat. I read recently that many water supplies are tainted with drugs, esp. antibiotics. Animals that are fed ABs, as well as humans for that matter, never consume all that they are given. Some amount of ABs stay in a cow's flesh, for example, or are excreted in our urine. That is part of the reason we have seen such AB resistance recently, because we are over-exposing ourselves to them.

The water supplies are being assaulted with excreted ABs. You may have no health problems now, but how about in 20 or 30 years? We are such a fast-paced society now that prepackaged and processed foods are everywhere. When I grew up we made almost everything, sometimes even mayo. Today, everyone eats out, eats fast, and a lot of people don't read labels.

I have developed health problems in the last 20 years. I have gone of BCPs, gone off maintenance ABs, and am eating better than ever. I recently found out I have allergies to gluten and eggs. I have no other allergy symptoms other than chronic bladder infections. Many people do not tie their health problems to how and what they eat, but they are usually a direct result of the quality of food they consume.

Sugar and gluten are in almost everything processed. If it needs to be held together, gluten usually does it. And I don't mean just bread. Gluten is in most ice cream, yogurt, salami, cottage cheese, hard cheese. Gluten is cheap. I think I've over-eaten so many carbs in my life that now I am allergic to them. It's a low-level allergy now, but if I keep overconsuming them, how much worse will it get? I don't know and I don't want to find out.

I think eating organic is a personal choice and I would never try to convince anyone to do it. But I have decided my health is more important than cost, convenience or what I find tastiest.

cdrumm, how did you find out about your allergies? Were thay diagnosed by a dr, or did you diagnos them on your own by trial and error.

Personally, I think I ate more processed, fast food stuff growing up than I do now. How long would it take for health effect to show up? I am almost 44.

__________________
~Happiness is a large family~