Pros and Cons of Organic Greens

[DesertGrandma]

Yesterday I purchased some organic clover sprouts from Whole Foods market, thinking it would be a healthy baby tortoise food. Now I am wondering about the pros vs. cons of organic greens. Has anyone had any negative experience, ie. something unhealthy in the soil? All comments and suggestions welcomed here, please. I always do wash everything, except the spring mix which says it is washed thoroughly. Thanks ahead for your comments, advice, suggestions.

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't ever buy "organic."

 

[Jacqui]

My personal thought is why spend the extra money? A large amount of the produce sold as organic comes from Mexico. No offense to anybody from there, but I don't trust their rules and laws on it being as strict as our own country. Plus, as I recall organic can still use some "natural" items that too me might not be all that safe. I think the term is more of a suck you in term and make you spend more money for what ends up being just about the exact same thing not labeled organic. A "feel good" term I guess.

 

[ewam]

I don't ever buy "organic."

Is there any reason why because the spring mix that I get says organic if that's the same thing your talking about.

 

[Yvonne G]

I guess I should have qualified my statement. I never buy from the "organic" section of the produce department. It costs more. I always wash my produce, and if its good enough for me and others who buy it, it should be good enough for my tortoises.

 

[Jacqui]

I guess I should have qualified my statement. I never buy from the "organic" section of the produce department. It costs more. I always wash my produce, and if its good enough for me and others who buy it, it should be good enough for my tortoises.

Actually around here, the tortoises (even tho not organic) get better food then the humans. Like we get the iceburg lettuce.

 

[AnthonyC]

I live in the black dirt region of the Hudson Valley in NY. Basically what that means is that there are 100s upon 100s of acres of vegetables being grown here. I usually buy my veggies at local farmer's markets & just about all of them say that their produce is organic. It actually costs much less for me to buy it this way, but if I had to buy from the super market (which I will within the next few weeks) I thoroughly agree that I wouldn't spend the extra money.

 

[cherylim]

For the most part, Emrys will just get weeds, but I've been adapting my diet to suit him, without really meaning to.

I've started buying more of the products I know he can eat, convincing myself I need it for MY meal.

I don't specifically look for organic, but I do make sure I wash everything thoroughly and I'm going to try getting to the market a lot more for local produce, so that should be organic as standard.

 

[ascott]

100% organic here....it really is not that much more on the wallet...but I don't eat any veg or fruit that is not certified organic....my tortoise will snub their nose at grocery store produce isle items(I have done comparison with them)....there are too many chemicals used to treat produce ...if you research herbicide/pesticides...any of the "cides" you will find for example in apple s there are studies that show 70+ traces of pesticides in the skin alone ....as well as high numbers of traces found in zucchini, squash and the like skinned vegs....there are many chemicals traced to lettuces and fleshy fruits....now one alone wont do ya in...however over ones lifetime? ???? And my guys/gals eat all if not alot of items in their lifetime...now while the torts I care for graze freely (till grazed out nearing end of august and on) I do supplement for their pleasure during august/sept then stop any additional food from me beginning oct 1 in preparation for their hibernation (CDTs)....this is only what I do and believe...everyone has their own little quirks

 

[pandacakes]

I only buy organic greens. Not because I want to, but that's usually all that the stores around here have. I hate paying so much more for "organic" stuff though. All of the other things that he gets from the grocery store are non organic and I wash them just as I would prepare them for myself. I figure if my non organic stuff that I buy is good enough for me to eat, it's good enough for my tortoise.

 

[dmmj]

I grow most of my own foods for my tortoises. I have heard recently that organic even certified is not always what you think it is. Also the costs of it is usually more. I do buy it on sale when the managers have a produce clearance then I will usually but the organic stuff.

 

[ascott]

Captain...next year I plan to lay the groundwork for a test garden..I have such a healthy population of cotton tail and jack rabbits along with gophers and squirrels....here in the desert when you plant a garden all the critters are like " yea baby....midnight munching is ours"...so I think I am going to have to dig down about a foot and then lay down chicken wire then put the native soil along with organic soil mixed together back onto the bed of chicken wire for a planting area...then will have to build a two foot perimeter fence around all at ground level...then m a y b e I can actually have an area that they can not get to...maybe

 

[jaizei]

The spring mix available at my grocery store is organic so that is what I buy.

Captain...next year I plan to lay the groundwork for a test garden..I have such a healthy population of cotton tail and jack rabbits along with gophers and squirrels....here in the desert when you plant a garden all the critters are like " yea baby....midnight munching is ours"...so I think I am going to have to dig down about a foot and then lay down chicken wire then put the native soil along with organic soil mixed together back onto the bed of chicken wire for a planting area...then will have to build a two foot perimeter fence around all at ground level...then m a y b e I can actually have an area that they can not get to...maybe

Are you familiar with square foot gardening? You could do a raised bed. Much less work if you laid the mesh on the ground and built up.

 

[ascott]

Square foot gardening......sold....I just browsed site some and that sounds like what will be a good thing to try thanks for the 411....

 

[Candy]

It always surprises me when people think that you can wash pesticides off of produce. Have you ever fed your roses food that has pesticides in it? The next day the bugs just fall off dead. That means when it's fed to them via soil and water it then gets into the root system and up through the plant and into the leaves and that's how it's able to kill the bugs when they bite into the plant. You can't wash that off. I only feed organic both to my tortoises and to my family. Ascott is right it's not that much more expensive. If you're buying at Whole Foods then you can trust it to be totally organic if labeled that way.

 

[Tnewton]

I feed only turnip and collard organic greens to all my torts as their base diet. The rest is grasses/weeds, fruits off my trees, and organic chicken/eggs

 

[Tom]

I scavenge or grow most of my own food, except Mazuri. On the occasion that I do buy something at the grocery store, my philosophy is: If its good enough for me and my human family, its good enough for my torts. Sometimes it happens to be labeled "organic" like in the case of the Costco spring mix, but I don't specifically seek it out or refuse to buy it if its not organic.

Question for Angela. Farmers might spray a crop once or twice during a growing season. Its expensive to do so. So how could 70 different pesticides be found on one apple? Don't misunderstand. I'm not saying they didn't find 70 pesticides in the skin of one apple. I'm just saying I don't understand how that's possible.

 

[Candy]

Here is a website that shows the number of pesticides that are used on produce. Apples are #2 with 56 pesticides and the number one fruit not to eat if not organic. Here is some of what they wrote followed by the website.


The Dirty Dozenâ„¢

Of the 12 most contaminated foods, 6 are fruits: apples, strawberries, peaches, domestic nectarines, imported grapes and domestic blueberries. Notable findings:
•Every sample of imported nectarines tested positive for pesticides, followed by apples (97.8 percent) and imported plums (97.2 percent).
•92 percent of apples contained 2 or more pesticide residues‚ followed by imported nectarines (90.8 percent) and peaches (85.6 percent).
•Imported grapes had 14 pesticides detected on a single sample. Strawberries, domestic grapes both had 13 different pesticides detected on a single sample.
•As a category. peaches have been treated with more pesticides than any other produce, registering combinations of up to 57 different chemicals. Apples were next, with 56 pesticides and raspberries with 51.

Celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, lettuce and greens (kale and collards) are the vegetables most likely to retain pesticide contamination:
•Some 96 percent all celery samples tested positive for pesticides, followed by cilantro (92.9 percent) and potatoes (91.4 percent).
•Nearly 90 percent of celery samples contained multiple pesticides, followed by cilantro (70.1 percent) and sweet bell peppers (69.4 percent).
•A single celery sample was contaminated with 13 different chemicals, followed by a single sample of sweet bell peppers (11), and greens (10).
•Hot peppers had been treated with as many as 97 pesticides, followed by cucumbers (68) and greens (66).


http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/methodology/

 

[mikegee]

We shop and Whole Foods and the claim to use all or mostly local farms for item they sell. Dont they?

 

[Jacqui]

It's not just the "'cides", it's also what is used to water, to fertilize, and what is already in the soil. You also could have contamination from water or soil that may erode onto the property during heavy rains or dust storms, or blow in when a neighbor uses something on their fields. Also what they use to collect and ship can come into play.

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We shop and Whole Foods and the claim to use all or mostly local farms for item they sell. Dont they?

Let's say that is true, remember they would only have to have 51% of the produce be from local farms in order to be honest in that statement.