We are close relatives of primates that live on leaves, fruits, nuts and a very little meat occasionally.  Doesn’t it make sense to eat in the way that nature intended?  Over the past few years, I’ve been eating more and more like a chimpanzee, with very little meat and few eggs in my diet - not to mention very little sugar and salt.  I eat very few "prepared" foods, gorging on vegetables, fruits, and nuts.  Oatmeal for breakfast with a little milk, fruit and nuts; fruit and yoghurt with maple syrup for lunch; a big salad with olive oil and wine vinegar dressing; whole wheat bread; small amounts of cheese and low-fat "butter;" plus a few small treats to keep me from seeming too eccentric. 

This diet would be inordinately expensive if I only ate "organic" so I buy from the farm market (they use "integrated pest management, minimizing use of pesticides but not eliminating them altogether) in summer and from the supermarket in winter.  

I think the content of my diet is more important than the source.  And I’ve never felt better.

As Polan says, "Eat FOOD, not too much, mostly plants."  And as Sam says, "Eat like a CHIMPANZEE" and feel better than you’ve ever felt before!

It is not easy to come by organic free range beef in the United States, even Niman’s beef comes from feedlot cattle. And Argentine ranchers, who one could count on producing grass fed beef, are now abandoning this practice. I think this is such a shame - profit over what makes a truly tastier and healthier cut of beef.  Growth hormones, cramped, filthy conditions (fecal dust & contaminated water) have become the norm —  Certainly, Mother Nature didn’t intend for it to be this way. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/09/AR2009090903211.html

Pesticides accumulate in animal fats, nitrates in cured meats are harmful; the charred surface of cooked meats contains carcinogens; animal fats are very high in calories; and a high-protein diet "feeds" many types of tumor. 

Cut out meat (or cut way down on it) and your diet suddenly becomes a whole lot healthier - no matter whether you eat organic fruits and veggies or not.

I am not a fanatic vegetarian - I’ve just accumulated enough information over the years to believe that meat is not a necessary part of my diet and that I am much better off without meat in my diet.

I have a Ph.D. in molecular biology so I don’t follow fads.  "Just the facts, Sam, just the fact."

I’ve never bought into the organic thing. I do however buy into the "fresher" the better. When it comes to produce I try to buy local and in season. There’s tons of research that shows that produce loses some of it’s nutrition in transit. So to buy produce shipped across country or continents makes no sense to me.

I love meat. but i try to buy local. If i can’t buy local i do look for meat without nitrates and additives. I never buy or use meat in a can or deli type meat.

Earlier this morning I was watching a food program and the hostess equated organic food with sustainability, and my immediate response was huh? Yes many/most small local farms are organic, but as this article points out you can buy "imported" organic goods - so much for sustainability.

For me organic is about pesticides and hormones. When I was peri-menapausal I bought organic milk. Now I feel less of a need for it, and besides its just gotten way to expensive. Organic also doesn’t always equate to quality. Where I live there is a Sunday farmers market just up the street.The few times I’ve been I’ve found the vegies to be past fresh and priced as though they were top quality. I’m all for supporting local growers organic or not, but like everyone else they have to give me a good product for the price.

"To date, for organic produce to receive the USDA Certified Organic sticker, it must be grown entirely without chemical pesticides, fertilizers, genetic modification and irradiation. By purchasing organic, you are lowering your exposure to pesticides and chemicals, which conventional wisdom tells us are harmful"…The statement above from the article is misleading and irresponsible.  The fact is; organic farmers do use chemical pesticides.  Either the author has been duped by the organic faithful, or she is not being honest about the facts.  Organic is not pesticide free.  In fact many of the organically approved pesticides must be sprayed more frequently than conventional materials because they are often less effective in treating for a specific insect or disease problem. 

Organic farming may bring premium prices to growers, but it does not produce a reliable food supply for a hungry world.  Organic farming is more vulnerable and has higher risk to insects, disease, and other adverse conditions.  While organic farming has lower yields, at the same time, it has much higher waste due to substandard quality. Much of the production never makes it to market.  Organic farmers accept that a much smaller portion of the crops will succeed.  The result is wasted natural resources for less food; a bad bargain for the environment.  

While locally grown is great, one caveat is most small farms do not have the level of food saftey practices in place that the larger farms do; they simply can’t afford it. That local farmer might be a nice lady, but what kind of sanitary proceedures are being followed and documented on her farm?  

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