Not wanting to get into "Organic is essential for the future of the planet" and "What a load of profiteering claptrap" type debate...but are there any people like me who buy SOME things are organic for specific reasons?

Mine are

1. Eggs / Chicken - I don't like the conditions or the medication they are given

2. Potatoes / Carrots - The agro-chemicals that are used in the soil for these two crops (nematicides for any that care!) are pretty aggressive and leave significant residues in the veg

3. Milk - same reason as chicken, to avoid the medication and growth hormones

Apart from those, I'm happy to buy conventional.

Does anybody else pick and choose, or are most people "all or nothing"?

I don't pay much attention to this aspect of a label, though a brief survey of my fridge does show that my eggs, milk, and yogurt are "bio".

Generally we check through the bio sections in Coop, though the selection may vary quite a bit from Coop to Coop.

Check these out:

Bio-Stadthofladen
Panoramastrasse 1, 3600 Thun
033 221 16 80

Oekoladen Thun GmbH
Biologische Produkte
Obere Hauptgasse 20
3600 Thun
Phone: 033 223 15 51

http://www.locavores.co/mobile/loc/ch/Fahrni+Bei+Thun

http://www.bioaktuell.ch/

http://www.bio-test-agro.ch/links-1.phtml

Would be interesting to know why......just automatic?

Funny you should mention this.. I've been leaning towards going full on vegan for the past few months really just due to the conditions the animals are kept in. Anyway, as a result I buy only bio animal products. I didn't know that about potatoes and carrots. I can see that I will more than likely be buying more and more bio going forward.

You seem to spend a lot of time in your fridge..

...more

http://www.bernerzeitung.ch/region/t...529268?gId=253

Isn't all food organic?

Hmmmm.....I will complain to the mods if you take my thread off topic!

Anyway, I meant "meeting the standards of animal husbandry and use of crop protection chemicals to qualify for the official label of "organic""

@Meisie: I don't mean to try to prevent you from going vegan, but you really should check out the "Naturafarm" range from Coop:
http://www.coop.ch/pb/site/viva/node...Lde/index.html
As far as I know, they have extremely stiff and high standards for their meat and the way the animals are kept and fed.

I buy nothing with a "BIO" sticker on it. It's a choice I made many years ago, and I am still to find a good reason to change it. Won't put a "conventional" carrot bomb on you because you do though

back in the US I definitely leaned towards buying and promoting orgranic and even leaned vegetarian in my eating habits. Even though I'm not consciously shopping for organic here, it probably is an unconscious decision that I'm making even if I'm not aware of it. I think it's also a reason why I prefer Coop to Migros.


Hush, you!

I buy BIO, nonstandarized milk. Beacuse it tastes better.
Haven't noticed any consistent taste difference on other products though.

I'm not an organic nut and respect anybody's choice....that's why I was interested as most people buy a mixture and I wondered why

(If you care.....my "reason" was that I used to work in a job which involved agriculture and I saw first hand the chemical treatment is and how long the effects stay. Not scaremongering and I'm sure its safe....but if it is affordably avoidable, then I try to)

...just go to Hänni, the shop or the farm, and ask him all your questions. I am sure he or his wife will be happy to help you out.

http://www.haenni-noflen.ch/HANNI_NO...illkommen.html

I just buy supermarket organic milk but that's only because it tastes best in my tea.

I started ordering from the "bio bike", because I was tired of having to carry things home:
http://www.oepfelchasper.ch/

nice, uncomplicated and fresh. from local farmers as far as possible - except the bananas - those must at least come from ticino

Thanks.....good link

Help me out with what though?

I like this attitude on the topic!

Personal I avoid the product due to generally abigious use of the terms and actual benefits. Plus I havn't seen the time-value-money analysis of these. If they are cheaper, I am more likely to use them, but again, this is just a personal opinion I'm throwing into the mix.

In principle, my OH and I would like to buy organic and free-range as often as possible (also local, but that's a bit OT). Funnily enough, we each do it for different reasons. She does it mostly for the personal health benefits. I do it mostly for the ecological benefits.

In practice, however, two things stop us from doing so: affordability and accessibility. As the both of us are living off of one small entry-level income, we don't have as much financial flexibility to choose the typically more expensive bio products. It's a challenge to be too picky when you're "nickel-and-diming" (franc-and-centiming?) at the grocery store.

At the same time, not a large amount of bio products seem to be offered - at least in our part of Switzerland. Having lived in Berlin and the States, it was much, MUCH easier to come across not only bio sections in your supermarkets but entire stores/chains devoted to promoting sustainable food production.

I don't really bother with fruit itself but I always buy Organic fruit juices.