# Foods that are worth buying organic **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 13, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825 "2016-03-13T02:29:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/1 "2016-03-13T02:29:33Z")
I don’t believe a lot of the hype about organic foods. I have found that organic limes tend to have a better flavor than regular ones. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/2 "2016-03-13T05:05:32Z")
Costco organic butter is waaaaaaaaaaay better tasting than regular butter. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/3 "2016-03-13T05:49:02Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > I don’t believe a lot of the hype about organic foods. I have found that organic limes tend to have a better flavor than regular ones. Are you sure they taste better? The majority of people can’t tell the difference between organic and conventional foods in blind taste tests. ---
**Author:** ![Biotop](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biotop/32/321_2.png) [@Biotop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biotop)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/4 "2016-03-13T10:34:45Z")
What’s the hype on organic foods? Less pesticides in the environment and less likely to have pesticide residue seem to be good reasons for choosing organic. But I have never heard that they are supposed to taste any better. Seems to me like the variety of the fruit or vegetable, the growing conditions, and the overall freshness of the product are more important factors in the taste. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/5 "2016-03-13T11:15:30Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > What’s the hype on organic foods? > > Less pesticides in the environment and less likely to have pesticide residue seem to be good reasons for choosing organic. > > But I have never heard that they are supposed to taste any better. Seems to me like the variety of the fruit or vegetable, the growing conditions, and the overall freshness of the product are more important factors in the taste. That’s it really. Take strawberries for example. You can grow them in Texas or Minnesota. Which will taste better? Probably the one from Minnesota because of the growing conditions. You grow them slowly with a lot of sun but very little heat they build up more sugars. Granted You can grow 2-3 times more in Texas so hence more profit. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/6 "2016-03-13T13:59:37Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Are you sure they taste better? The majority of people can’t tell the difference between organic and conventional foods in blind taste tests. Actually, some do because of the particular variety that is planted for organic is different than the ones that get pesticides/herbicides sprayed on them. Bananas are a good example of this. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/7 "2016-03-13T15:11:20Z")
Anything that grows low to the ground, and that you eat the outside of. Strawberries and blueberries, for example. I never buy organic avocados, because they can cost more than twice the regular ones. And I don’t eat the peel. I’ve never encountered an organic butter that I’ve loved. But I always buy European butter, because they fuck with their food less than us Americans. French butter is elegant and usually unsalted and makes your tongue think about fine silver and linen tablecloths and rolls of the finest white flour. Irish butter is farmyards and fragrant nutty whole-grain bread. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/8 "2016-03-13T15:35:01Z")
> [@Biotop](#): > > But I have never heard that they are supposed to taste any better. I see that claim all of the time. Here’s one example: [http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/14/organic-foods-are-tastier-and-healthier-study-finds/](http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/07/14/organic-foods-are-tastier-and-healthier-study-finds/) ---
**Author:** ![purplehearingaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@purplehearingaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehearingaid)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/9 "2016-03-13T15:49:51Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Are you sure they taste better? The majority of people can’t tell the difference between organic and conventional foods in blind taste tests. The OP paid more for the organic better so they could be trying to convince their self that it taste better. I don’t waste money on organic food , the environment and water is so polluted today it’s impossible to buy organic food today. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/10 "2016-03-13T16:08:30Z")
> [@purplehearingaid](#): > > I don’t waste money on organic food , the environment and water is so polluted today it’s impossible to buy organic food today. Uh, no. Your choice on how to spend your money, but don’t say the farmers are trying to cheat you. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Coj1v8FM2Cs/hqdefault.jpg "PETE SEEGER - THE FARMER IS THE MAN - LIVE 1966") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Coj1v8FM2Cs) ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/11 "2016-03-13T16:32:17Z")
I buy the organic bananas because they wrap the top where they come together in plastic which makes them last longer. I know I could do the same thing myself with the normal ones but the cost difference is small enough that I pay the premium. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/12 "2016-03-13T21:19:04Z")
Organic itself almost never makes a difference to flavor. But it’s often correlated with freshness, or heirloom varieties, or other things that do make a difference to flavor. But not always. So if there’s a particular product where you prefer the organic version, that’s probably why. But don’t count on organic always being better. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/13 "2016-03-13T22:14:56Z")
Penn and Teller did a [BS episode](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_IoNQHMFLk) where they got people to do a taste test of organic vs non-organic and people always chose the organic. Of course the test was rigged and the food samples were the exact same but people have it in their heads that organic tastes better. [Full episode link](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKo7PsD6omE) ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/14 "2016-03-13T23:02:59Z")
> [@boffking](#): > > I don’t believe a lot of the hype about organic foods. I have found that organic limes tend to have a better flavor than regular ones. The eggs I get from my co-worker/neighbor would meet the definition of free-range organic and they are WAAAAAY better than battery-hen eggs. But there’s a limit to what my budget can handle - if I had to buy them rather than barter for them I probably couldn’t afford them. But… that might be a case of them being _fresher_ (an hour out from under the hen at times, rather than however long it takes regular eggs to get to the store for me to buy them), just as part of the reason the vegetables in my garden (also organic) taste better - they’re fresher than what’s in the store by at least a couple days. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/15 "2016-03-13T23:09:37Z")
“Fresher” is the key. I would sooner buy locally-grown non-organic fruit and vegetables (within a few hundred miles of NYC) than organic from California monster-size farms. ---
**Author:** ![TexCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/texcat/32/9041_2.png) [@TexCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexCat)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/16 "2016-03-13T23:48:44Z")
I’m certainly willing to pay more for animal products that do not contain hormones or antibiotics. Often that means organic, but not always. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2016, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/17 "2016-03-13T23:57:45Z")
> [@TexCat](#): > > I’m certainly willing to pay more for animal products that do not contain hormones or antibiotics. Often that means organic, but not always. Beef that’s “grass-fed and finished” doesn’t get to be called organic, but it is…ranchers/farmers who accept the lesser income by not fattening on grain sure aren’t the type to spray poison on their grass or fodder, or shoot their animals full of “medicine.” “Organic” beef means the beeves were fed on grain, organically grown. Which eventually sickens them and requires drug use to keep 'em healthy, as ruminant cattle ain’t supposed to eat grain. The four-stomach thing. I apologize for posting so often in this thread, but I spent ten years buying fresh produce, meat, and poultry for a pinko, tree-hugging, Birkenstock-wearing food co-op with 16,000 extremely fussy members, and this stuff just pops out of me automatically. ---
**Author:** ![TexCat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/texcat/32/9041_2.png) [@TexCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TexCat)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/18 "2016-03-14T00:14:49Z")
And what about organic milk or butter? What do those cows eat? And should I care? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/19 "2016-03-14T00:17:34Z")
Sorry, I didn’t handle the milk or the butter. But the roast beef is very good today! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2016, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825/20 "2016-03-14T00:31:25Z")
For eggs, the big difference isn’t from being organic or being fresh (eggs stay fresh for months); it’s what the hens are eating. Chickens are naturally about the most omnivorous creature on the planet, and will eat grains, greens, bugs, mice, and whatever else they can get their beaks on. Most mass-market eggs, though, come from chickens fed on corn and almost nothing else, which makes for bland eggs. What’s really funny is when you see a package of eggs that brags about this: “Our hens eat a 100% vegetarian diet!”. No, that’s _not_ a good thing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-worth-buying-organic/748825.md?page=2)