Free Range or Organic Produce - Do you buy?

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MandaC

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Given the current economic squeeze and given the fact that all and sundry are now getting at least some of their groceries at Lidl/Aldi, can I ask what peoples attitudes are towards, say, organic produce at say, farmers markets and free range eggs/meat/vegetables.

Do you still buy it, or is it just too expensive now. Was watching the RTE program HEAT a couple of weeks back, when Kevin Thornton gave out to the contestant who bought a cheap battery farmed chicken that had a very "poor life" and did not want that type of produce in his restaurant.

I still buy free range meat/eggs(not always organic) from a local farm shop but wonder if other people do so given the costs involved.
 

You can buy some organic produce in Lidl/Aldi
 
Have gotten some of their organic veggies alright. They are very good for all of their vegetables (organic or not) I never buy meat there at all though.
 
Organic eggs in Aldi are good, and the organic smoked salmon too (but I could never understand how you "make" organic smoked salmon !!)
 
I am fortunate enough to be able to afford organic/free range and buy it regularly, either from Lidl/Aldi/farmers markets and so on, but appreciate that price and quantity is the ultimate decision maker where you have a lot of mouths to feed on a limited budget.
 
"Organic" as such is a meaningless term and is easily confused with other terms e.g. free range.

So free range chickens need not be organic.

Generally the term means that few synthetic chemicals have been used in production.

So presumably "organic" salmon means farmed salmon which have not been treated with chemicals.

I only eat organic food myself. I find inorganic food very difficult to digest.

Brendan
 
Yes, I know it can be very hard for producers to get organic certification and that not all free range produce is organic and so on.

I was at "Taste Kildare" festival today at the K Club and it was great speaking to various different local suppliers who were very proud and passionate about their produce/farms/animals. It would be a shame for these people to eventually lose their business to the massive retailers, as there is no way they can compete pricewise on the products. I sometimes see a chicken in any of the big Supermarkets and think, really, how can this product be produced for this price?

The reason I am asking the question is that it like miselemas, I too can afford it(at the minute) but wonder how many other people have this outlook given the current economic climate.
 
I can't afford to purchase the same level of organic food. I still get free range eggs. I prefer to eat less meat rather than poor quality. I'm eating more bean dishes - and no harm.

I try to focus on locally produced, in season fruit/veg - not as concerned about organic or not. Try to grow some of my own with limited space - just herbs/lettuce.

But it's all well and good claiming what one will/won't eat and then having a chicken sandwich out in a deli where they come in vacuum packed. I know I'm guilty of this.
 
Hugh Fernley Whathisface from www.rivercottage.net did a chicken tasting session on one of his T.V. programmes. There was little difference taste wise between free range and the battery chickens from those who sampled both products. Healthwise does anyone know?
 

Its my understanding that its the quality of life of the chicken thats important here. If you buy free range you are buying a chicken thats had a reasonable quality of life. If you buya battery you are buying a chicken that had a nasty life. So as a consumer your choice may dictate the quality of chickens lives.
 
I buy organic/free range on the odd occasion it's cheaper than regular stuff - e.g. sometimes Tesco organic bananas have been cheaper than their non organic ones. I certainly don't go out of my way to buy it and pay the usually hefty price premium.

Brendan said:
I only eat organic food myself. I find inorganic food very difficult to digest.
Click to expand...
Ha ha!
 
The same Hugh Fearnley Whitt. was on some programme the other night when he compared fat content of free-range v farmed v organic. The fat content of farmed chicken was alarming.

I've posted about it before but I havent been able to bring myself to buy farmed chicken since reading 'Two Caravans'- a novel, but it describes the conditions of farmed chickens in a fairly brutal way.

I try to buy free-range or organic. Also locally produced and in-season veg. I bought 'The Kitchen Revolution' which has seasonal recipes ( was recommended by a poster here) so it's nice to be able to cook with seasonal veg and adds a good variety to our meals. Quite a bit more effort than relying on the old favourites but worthwhile.

I bought a chicken from a local farmers market the other day that I thought was organic until I re-read the label which said 'organically fed'. Which presumably means it could be injected with all sorts of anti-biotics, chemicals etc and reared as farmed chicken as long as the feed stuff itself was organic?
 
I base my decisions partly on the taste benefit really.

E.g. organic tomatoes/peppers are usually worth paying the extra for IMO but I wouldn't bother with e.g. potatoes or onions.

Organic garlic seems to be more pungent too - which is OK by me
 
Folks, it is possible to purchase alot of good food at source, not only at the farmers market. If you look at the free range chicken lable you often can identify the grower and contact them directly. While this can be time consuming, you can save up to 50% of the price on what you pay at the butcher and also confirm the source of chicken to your own satisfaction. To make it worthwhile you can stock up on the item if you have room in your freezer.
 
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