Yes, I Am Willing to Pay for Organic Food

I realize that the cost of grocery shopping has increased in the last few years. That gallon of milk that used to cost $1.50 now costs $2.50 or $3.00... perhaps on sale. That meat that you could get for under a dollar a pound now costs $2 and $3 a pound. People are forced to become creative cooks learning how to make do with what's available. You can't always go to the store and get one or two items for that great meal, so you're left to see what you can create with what you have. I know for me, I've found out some of my best culinary work that way. However, on top of all of this you want me to pay even more if the food is organic? Then the question becomes will I make the sacrifice and go the organic route knowing what it can do to my budget? My answer is yes, and I'll tell you why.

Everyone has standards that they abide by. Everyone also has a budget and a person will spend their money on what they believe to be a priority. For my family, eating organic food whenever possible is a priority. We want our household to put healthy food in our bodies. That doesn't mean we don't eat fast food every once in a while, or even more often than we should. That also doesn't mean that we buy everything organic. We are not in a position to go 100% organic, but we do what we can when we can. For example, we tend to buy most of our dairy items organic... especially milk and yogurt. We prefer to give organic milk to our infant because early on it was said that he could be allergic to dairy. So instead of giving him regular dairy, we wanted to put him on organic dairy. He has been drinking organic milk and eating organic yogurt and has not had an allergic reaction to it. We're not sure if regular dairy would have the same effect, but we just prefer to give him dairy without all the extra "stuff." We want to raise all of our children this way. That's how my wife was raised and it's stuck with her into her adult years. For me, I ate anything and everything so I had to come into the knowledge of organic, and I'll admit, some things I still fight especially if the budget doesn't allow me to get certain items.

We also have a tendency to buy vegetables organic, whether they are frozen or fresh. We buy items such as beans, rice, and some cereals organic... also fruit juices when we can. In total about one-third to one-half of items we purchase we desire to get organic, and we'd like to increase that as we're able. Where we don't get organic we shoot to get all-natural products if we can. If there isn't an all-natural product available, then we just go with our best judgment. Meat, for example, we tend to get ground bison instead of ground beef. It's better for you and only costs about $1 more per pound than sirloin ground beef. We also get turkey and chicken products more so than red meat.

I do realize that it's an extra cost to go organic, but the health benefits make it worthwhile for us. If your body is not functioning right then not too much else will matter anyway. We want to put good things in our body so that we can think right, function right, and be right. I don't believe all non-organic food is bad for you, but there are certain items that are better consumed organic or all-natural than consumed the alternative way. If you do want to go organic, know that your shopping bill will probably increase by at least 25%. What I recommend if you're new to organic is to ease into it. Replace one conventional item at a time with an organic item. Perhaps it's fruit, perhaps it's dairy, perhaps it's a staple like rice or beans... whatever it is, do one thing at a time. There's no need to wipe out your pantry and gutter your freezer overnight.

For some people organic food is desired but money is an issue... for those people I'd recommend researching certain grocery stores to see who has the best prices on organic. Pretty much every grocery store has some part dedicated to organic fare even if it's in a concentrated area of the store. Most grocers have their own organic brand which will be a little cheaper than popular organic brands. Once you find out what store(s) have items you'd like to try incorporate it into your shopping budget.

I believe that organic food is worth the extra expense, but again that's just me. That is what our house has deemed a priority. If organic food is not a priority for you, I understand. I don't think buying organic will necessarily help you lose weight or inches off your waist or anything like that... the biggest benefit of organic to me is that you're eating food the way it was meant to be eaten. I don't know about you, but I don't want a chemicalized, saturated fat infused, artificial product... I want the real deal! And I'm willing to pay extra to get it.