wow that was a great article. Thank you taylyn.

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My choices yesterday create my today. My choices today create my tomorrow.

Happymom, I found out about my allergies from an allergist. I have read a lot about bladder infections being tied to hidden food allergies, so I thought I would have the blood tests done, even if just to rule it out. Imagine my surprise when the results came back with me being allergic to tuna, strawberries, clams, gluten and egg whites and yolks.

I still need to meet with him to discuss the levels. Apparently there are levels of allergy. Anyway, I started having chronic bladder problems around the same time I went on the BCP. I have also read that the pill reduces your B vitamin levels, and lowered B vitamin levels are associated with chronic bladder infections.

I have never had what you would consider typical symptoms of a food allergy. I truly believe that all those years on the pill, combined with a terrible diet and hidden food allergies has contributed to my health problems. I don't want to make the situation worse by adding pesticides and ABs to my diet.

Since every person is different, I couldn't tell you how long it would take for health problems to show up, or even if they definitively would. It's just been my experience that organic food tastes better and common sense tells me that pesticides are probably bad or you longterm.

I don't know how much proof someone needs to realize eating hormones, pesticides, GMO, etc..is a bad idea. I'm not pushing organics on anyone, however, I do feel it isn't just your own body you're polluting. The soda, processed junk, pesticides, hormones, etc. all go into the water supply.

I do agree that some foods are labeled organic and are not really. I try to stick to products I trust like Horizon milk. I could get the generic a little cheaper but I don't know if I trust that it has the same standards.

I forgot to mention that since we are such a wheat- and corn-based society, people really don't even know about all the other foods out there. There are tons of grains out there besides wheat (which contains gluten). We all bombard ourselves with meat and potatoes in their different forms, when really our bodies are meant to eat more fruits and veges than meat and potatoes.

I was the same way until I started researchin my medical problems. And sadly, the only help from doctors has been offers of more and more ABs. Instead of finding the problem they only are interested in treating the symtoms. But western medicine versus other forms is a whole other topic!

Why do I buy and grow organic?

In a nutshell. I don't do it for favor. Truthfully, I have never noticed a difference between store organic and non-organic with taste. I don't completely do it for my own health reasons. I do it because it is better for our planet Earth. And I know how lame that sounds. But it is the truth.

The problem with pesticides, or any chemicals, is very similar to the problem we are facing with antibiotics. More antibiotics equals stronger bacteria which in turns requires stronger antibiotics. Pesticides are the exact same way. Weeds, bugs, whatever that is supposed to be killed off from the pesticides are in turn growing a stronger resistance to the chemical that is supposed to distroy. The results of this increased chemical use, in one area, are the loss of bees. In some areas of the country bee colonies are being dying off and while they are not completely positive what the cause is, most will agree that it is due to pesticide use. Without bees our agricultural system would completely be altered. And that is putting it mildly. I've read that Albert Einstein said that without bees mankind would be finished in four years time. I hope he is wrong! The bird population is also strongly affected by chemical use. Conservative estimates put bird deaths, due to pesticides, at 10% of the general population.

I can go on for days on this subject! But in nutshell -- anytime you are buying a product that has been treated with chemicals, I feel that you are taking away from something from this earth that cannot be returned. Rather you believe in creation or evolution or somewhere in between, our ecosystem is a very delicate balance and currently it is really screwed up!

Besides, if it's killing off the birds and the bees, it has to be doing something bad to your body as well.

I am editing to say that pesicide use is just one part of this issue. You can talk about genetically modified plants. You can talk about what they have put into our meat system. It is frightening to read sometimes.

Dr. Kradjian addresses cow's milk

I personally prefer organic whenever possible. Is that milkshake I might get from Wendy's organic? Of course not, but that's once a year, not daily. The things I eat and feed my family on a daily basis I hope to have free of antibiotics, hormones, chemicals, etc.

There have been studies on milk that show it causes girls to start their periods and begin developing sooner than normal. All those growth hormones they are feeding the cows are going right into the milk and right into our bodies. I'm sorry, I can't find that particular study right now, but I'll keep looking.

The NOTMILK Homepage! (MILK is a bad-news substance!)

The above has way more info than any of us will ever need. It is pretty interesting though.

We raise 90% of our own meat. We raise beef, pork, and chicken...we also have our own eggs and our own goat's milk for 6 months of the year. While being organic is one reason we do it, another main reason is the treatment of animals in factory farms. I know our animals have a good, happy life. They are never mistreated, they free-range, and are cared for if they are sick.

Now with that being said...we are ALWAYS sick. Seriously. My oldest DD has had ear infections, tonsil infections, various viruses, a cough that never goes away and colds every 3 weeks or so. My youngest has had a cold almost constantly since October.

My parents (who aren't supportive of organic, health foods at all) say I'm making my girls sick by trying to eat healthy. That's another story though. How would feeding them more processed foods and sugar help them feel better? I just can't see that I'm making them sick.

I hope to keep with our healthy eating even though we are sick a lot right now. I think the chemicals/hormones/antibiotics may cause health issues later in life and I hope to keep that from happening to our kids.

I would never try to push organics on anybody else, it really is just a preference.

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Actually there has been a lot of evidence linking the hormones in milk to early onset of menstruation in young girls. Here in CA our milk is not allowed to have hormones anymore. I still like to use organic milk because it tastes so much better.

Another reason I like to use organic foods is because the farming practices tend to be friendlier on the environment. There are less pesticide residues to affect wildlife. Whether these residues affect us still remains to be seen. I do think we really need to take a hard look at what we are doing to the environment. We have been loosing frogs for quite sometime, we are now loosing bees and bats. Loosing our pollinators is going to put a huge strain on the production of produce. I hope that if people care about how their food is produced and what they consume that it will affect the market and make better farming practices more common.

I'd just like to mention it is AWESOME to have more people viewing Green Living!!!

My husband and I used to milk cows. I remember when Monsanto introduced Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH). They later started calling BST (for its scientific name) because they found consumers were averse to the word "hormone".

We chose not to use it, but some of our neighbors did, and went about giving their cows their daily shots of hormones. Cows produced more heavily, but it caused them to burn-out sooner. So a cow that might be milking for 5 or 6 years would only last 4 before her productivity would drop. These cows also had more incidents of multiple births - very hard on the cow. Another thing (the reason I buy hormone-free milk), is the increase in mastitis. When a cow is discovered to have mastitis, she is given antibiotics, and her milk is dumped out until it clears up. But they are not always noticed - so the infected milk goes into the tank with the rest. YUK!

Most of our neighbors have stopped using hormones. They've decided it is too hard on their cows. Unfortunately, their milk goes into the same tanker truck as other farmers who are still using it.

I think more people are interested than ever before. I stopped by Wal-Mart for pumpkin seeds and they were completely sold out. I asked when they might replenish and was told a few days. Apparently a lot of people are getting on the fiber bandwagon.