Comments on: Local, Organic Buying vs. Frugality

By: Raffy

Raffy — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:06:20 +0000

Nice post, I agree. I try to buy and consume in a smart and balanced way – perfection is the enemy of good anyway, right?

Where I live (North of Italy) local is very cheap – farmers’ market is one of the most convenient places for vegetables and fruit.
If I were rich I’d only shop at NaturaSì, the organic supermarket: the products, packaged and fresh as well, are unbeatable. But I’m not rich, so I only shop there every now and then, especially when my fave products are marked down.
On the other hand, some organic brands I find at the regular supermarket (for ex. ScelgoBio) aren’t expensive at all. So I can buy organic eggs, olive oil, some kinds of cheese, chocolate etc at the same price as non-organic.

What I would really like to buy organic is meat (if you have read The Omnivore’s Dilemma you’ll understand me) – but it’s unaffordable.

By: The Frugal Girl » Monday Q&A-Aldi Ethics plus Homeschooling

The Frugal Girl » Monday Q&A-Aldi Ethics plus Homeschooling — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 20:10:32 +0000

[...] wrote about the organic/green versus cheap dilemma a little while ago, and you can read that post here. In a nutshell, I think that if you can manage to afford organic and local food, I think [...]

By: niki

niki — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 02:44:09 +0000

I really enjoyed this post. I am frequently at a crossroads on this topic and you and I are on the same page here.

I like your blog a lot!

By: J N Urbanski

J N Urbanski — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 01:31:39 +0000

Thanks for the sugar info. I get my maple syrup from an elderly gentleman in my village in the Catskills who has been making it since he was in short trousers or thereabouts. He boils it down in a huge vat in his garage and I save all the bottles so I can give them back to him. Now that’s local. Sometimes I get it from Canada when I’m in the city because I more or less drink the stuff. I’m ashamed to say my tea is from China (I drink a lot of that!); does this negate my good deeds with the syrup? Sigh. Can you get local black tea? I get my red wine from Washington/Cali. I just can’t drink Fingerlakes wine. I tried. I’m low maintenance, but not that low maintenance.
I’ll certainly be looking around for the WF & organic coupons that was a great tip. Thanks!

By: Frugal Liz

Frugal Liz — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:10:04 +0000

Maple syrup is my favorite sweetener.

By: EngineerMom

EngineerMom — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:05:12 +0000

Sugar comes from two sources: cane and sugar beets

Sugar from sugar cane is invariably imported – sugar cane is a tropical plant that simply doesn’t grow here.

Sugar beets grow very well all over the Great Plains. The majority of sugar sold in the US is from sugar beets. Extracting sugar from sugar beets is fairly labor-intensive. If you live in ND, SD, MN, NE, etc., you are probably buying “local” sugar. I lived in Grand Forks for 5 years, and there was a sugar beet processing plant in town. They reek.

If you want to buy a sweetener that is “close to the land” (local and minimally processed), your best bet is to buy local honey unless you happen to live in sugar maple country and know of a local maple sugarer who you trust, in which case you can buy syrup and maple sugar.

If we want to move completely away from “industrial production”, the only way to do it is really to form relationships with local farmers. Read “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” by Barbara Kingsolver for more information and ideas.

By: WilliamB

WilliamB — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 17:57:50 +0000

Whole Foods usually has coupon books which, IIRC, don’t need to be used at WF.

The sugar you buy is probably US-made or made by US companies. They’re a very effective lobbying organization and so US tariffs on sugar imports are extremely high. This is why US companies turned to HFCS for candy and pop – the real thing was too expensive.

Maple sugar production is thoroughly mechanized these days, which makes me wonder where the line of “industrial production” lies. I don’t have an answer to propose. Any suggestions?

By: JN Urbanski

JN Urbanski — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:18:51 +0000

Thanks Kiki, I’m going to look for those coupons!

By: Kiki

Kiki — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:26:54 +0000

Have you tried using coupons for some of the organic products you buy? There are tons of them out there, but you have to know where to look. I love the Cascadian Farm organic frozen vegetables and the Muir Glen canned tomatoes, and only stock up on those when there are coupons available. I also make sure to shop the dirty dozen and try to buy in season when it comes to produce. It was more difficult when I first started, but now that I’ve been at it a few years, I can find organic products that are cheaper than their conventional counterparts!

By: JN Urbanski

JN Urbanski — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:10:28 +0000

This is great. At least you’re considering it on a low budget.
Buying locally benefits our community in untold ways, so I sacrifice more of my discretionary income to buy organic or from farmer’s markets and cut down on stuff like clothing and haircuts, magazines etc. This is why all my bras are falling apart and I look like Kate Bush with this wayward hair! I also make sure I buy local delicacies like Maple syrup instead of foreign-made sugar even though it’s expensive. It’s time to move away from industrialized agriculture. If you’re a homemaker, have you considered keeping chickens? They’re cute and their eggs are amazing!