Fast Food Goes Organic

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

ladybug — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 15:56:01 GMT

I didn't even read the article yet.I don't care how organic it was to start with,as soon as it's processed to death,it doesn't matter how it started.It's no better for you than processed organic foods like cereals,and chips.And don't forget,if it's USDA organic,it's most likely got more chemicals in it than non USDA certified.Make sure your organics are certified by someone else besides the USDA.And like the doctor says.its most likely grown and produced by these bigs companies.Did you know that the USDA reduced the amount of time that a chemical field has to sit fallow before it is allowed to be organic.Also that the organic fields can be right next to a nonorganic field.one more sad fact,did you know that non organic chicken bedding can be used on organic fields under the new USDA rules.Dr Mercola,you need to have another article on the Evils of the USDA.If you value your health you won't eat out.Fast food or not ,it's not healthy for you.If you think you are eating healthy when you have a salad at a restaurant,sorry,read the labels on the salad dressing,and look at the greens on your plate,then do the research.There was just an article on AOL about Mcdonalds healthier meals.I just am amazed at how many people thought this was a good thing,and at how many parents try to take their kids to Mcd's at least once a week.And yes grass fed beef is good for you,it's better for you then soy.Our beef is grassfed.My son and I don't eat it because we are sensitive to it,but my husband does,in fact my son is pretty much a vegetarian,not because of any treehugging morals but because that is what makes him feel better.I get my protein from chicken, greens etc.

vegemite,lower cholesterol was a farce started by the drug companies.I would never try to lower my cholesterol .Just remember to eat as much fresh raw food as possible,and everything in moderation

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

itsonlyme — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 01:20:16 GMT

pfft.... organic does not necessarily mean good for you, and if its sanctioned by the FDA or certified by them its more likely paid them some immoral amount of money so it can try to suck in the sheeplike masses, and make more money doing so.... at their expense of health, as well as wealth.. I become more and more disgusted with the ways of this world every day, the greed, the lack of concern, its not just big pharma anymore thats blindsiding the public, but its those that claim to be educating and "healthifying" the human race, all the while greedy-grabbing every dime they can, and inflating beyond belief the health benefits to anything, and everything....where is the conscience...the decency, the real basic milk of human kindness?? where?

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

LHen — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:11:39 GMT

Grow your own vegetables if you have room (fortunately city dwellers often have access to great green/farmers' markets). You can compost. Add iodine to the mix (or if you have a fishpond, to the water, and then use some of that on your garden). It's not hard to do. The nutritional benefits of local produce are enormous as the minute a plant is picked it begins losing nutrient value. It really does take less time to plant a garden than to go to the store, and less money of course. I love buying from our local farmer, too, who can devote more time than I to bringing us fresh honey and milk and a huge variety of vegetables -- but things like collards and tomatoes and basil etc. can be grown very easily right outside the door in a pot or in a little patch of soil. Fun for kids and it's still fun for me, for that matter! The whole healthy fast food debate takes the focus away from the fact that the fastest, cheapest, healthiest food can be a salad you pick and prepare and consume within minutes. Sorry this is so disjointed -- my girls are raising a little heck downstairs -- but I do want to let everyone know that if I can grow a few things, believe me -- anyone can! Best to all, Laura

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

Julieanne — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 04:45:29 GMT

Burt G

There are currently NO GM tomatoes grown in USA or the EU (though they are working on that), so I wonder if sometimes people just make up information!

I used to run an organic growers information service - for a voluntary group - and a lady called asking me where to buy non GM potatoes. I told her anywhere, as we have a ban on all GM crops in my state of Western Australia. She had been told by the fresh produce buyer of her supermarket that most of the potatoes were genetically modified! Seems you have to check your sources very carefully nowadays.

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

Greyshore — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 07:58:17 GMT

Loveriot, No I did not look at their menu and i was NOT talking about that cafe. I was speaking in general, and there will be donuts made with organic wheat and sugar. the point is organic doesn't always means it's healthy. You are rather stiff.

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

Lord William — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 05:07:20 GMT

Speaking of organic . . . I suppose, in these times, the magic word "organic" means you can expect smaller, skimpier products at a much higher price. Not wanting to sound cynical or negative, but if you've seen the typical produce at an organic food store, you might think the stuff was all shrunken, and I can't help but wonder why. I have grown my own food years before the moniker "organic" was ever popularized. My produce (mostly heirloom varieties) typically grown in rich, dark soil (which I nurture along with all manner of natural ingredients) is huge, colorful, plentiful and TASTY! I never consider using pesticides or herbicides or any kind of cides or deadly poisons on my food, and still, I have more food from a small plot than I know what to do with. How can this be?

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

perelmanfan — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:48:04 GMT

Anything that helps organic go mainstream is fine by me

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

Gary J Collins — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 04:27:11 GMT

Now for the question of choice.

In most countries of the world you do not have much choice when it comes to buying food. Labeling can be very suspect and in a lot of cases alternatives are not available. One case that comes to mind is here in the Philippines where I am living. On the island of Mindanao, you cannot buy fresh milk. All that is available is UHT or powdered. Yes there is a dairy farm in Cebu but the consumers are happy with UHT and most of them believe that it is fresh.

I believe that there can be too much choice. Do we really need a two or three page menu for coffee, or one hundred flavors of icecream? I have even heard of a supermarket offering 168 different choices of yogurt.

There has been studies done where an over abundance of choice has lead to a reduction in sales.

My main concern is what happens to all the left over produce that is available and cannot be stored. To my knowledge it is thrown out. This leads to higher costs to the consumers, is wasteful and is a contributing factor in the current world food shortages.

At one time this wasted food was fed to pigs but now that has been banned world wide. It was known as Swill Feeding. I believe an alternative for the disposal of all this waste food would be to convert it into compost (along with all biodegradable household waste) and used as fertilizer. One benefit would be the reduction of the need for landfills. Another benefit is healthier soils. It is possible to regenerate depleted soils using compost. A lesson from history is that the Vikings used sand and seaweed to grow crops on the rocks of the Shetland Islands when they first settled there.

Having said that the idea of a Organic take away is a good choice as long as it is genuinely Organic and not just a brand name.

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

Gary J Collins — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 03:57:02 GMT

During the 1950’s I grew up on a small farm and we grew most of the food we ate. Money was extremely tight and my parents only used natural fertilizers even in the house vegetable garden. In those days the introduction of Super Phosphate was the rage but my parents seldom used it as it was far too expensive for them. The funny thing was they were getting results as good as those who used it Sometimes even better.

For several years I have heard this term organic but have never been totally sure what it meant. All I knew that it was to do with growing food without the use of artificial chemicals. I just did a quick search of the internet using both Yahoo (443 million hits) and Google (144 million hits) and with both was an advertising agency called Organic Inc. So the term seems to be used for everything these days.

As for Organic farming to me that simply means using traditional methods. Crop rotation, natural fertilizers, and all the other methods of pest control used by the farmers of our great grand-parents day. Then the produce is not processed any more than is required for it to be used.

One poster here asked if Organic Farming is as cheap as or cheaper than using GMO seeds. I do believe that in the long term it would be. With far less soil degradation. One thing I do know is that grass fed meat of all types tastes better. When was the last time anyone ate a piece of beef that actually tasted like beef? Or chicken that tasted like chicken?

Please do not confuse fast food with junk food. There is a whole range of good healthy meals that can be cooked quickly and thus can be called fast food. What is served at the Multi National Franchises is junk food. To me anyway. If you look at their advertising you will see that they only sell their products as a side line. What they sell is a lifestyle. The concept that you are not enjoying life or a member of the in crowd if you don’t buy our products.

I will save the question of choice to another post.

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

BreAnna — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 21:39:10 GMT

Wow...the information in the Michael Pollan video is incredible and refreshing! Its soo good to hear that farmers are looking into new and more efficient ways to feed and raise animals as well as nourish the soil and keep the grass coming! It is a win/win/win for plants, animals and humans! Everyone should be informed about this, which Im sure people will know more as time goes on. Pollan has always been a favorite of mine and I think his knowledge, ideas and insights are crucial for the future and survival of nature itself!!

GO MICHAEL!! (and of course Mercola!)

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

TWS500 — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:15:54 GMT

Organic to Go's founder is the same guy who founded Fresh Fields... Fresh Fields was then sold to Whole Foods... Organic to Go has taken over the High Noon cafes in Washington, D.C., and will rename them to the Organic to Go brand.

I enjoyed shopping at Fresh Fields years ago and so I hope that he maintains the spirit of actual organic principles in the Organic to Go brand. He has considerable experience is true organics and so I hope that he applies it... Goodness knows that good, healthy quick food could be a real seller...as well as healthy for us. Good luck to Organic to Go...

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

thefarmersdaughter — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:21:37 GMT

LoriSmi,Thank you for your wise comment. We certainly do not live in a perfect world. And at times some of these comments smack of Elitism! Sounds like someone is trying to "light a candle!" I applaude their efforts.

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

T_rex — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 15:03:05 GMT

Organic MSG ?

Organic Nitratres ?

Organic pesticides ?

Organic vaccines ?

Organic pharmaceutical drugs ?

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

LoriSmi — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:40:35 GMT

What a really great idea! If people actually had a choice in eating organic foods vs the foods available now, then that is super! That is why Capitalism is such a great idea~consumers actually have a choice and vote with their pocket book. I live in Ohio and we do not have any such thing here, but if we did I would be more prone to eat there, as long as the cost was not too staggering high. I rarely eat fast food as it is, and when we do eat out, it is usually at a restaurant where I order healthy (for me) foods.

Too many of you are always so negative on this board and never see the bright side of things. We do not live in a perfect world, so when some good innovation comes along like this, quit knocking it down! What is wrong with having actual alternatives. Do you not think that this organic franchise with their committment to bring good food to the public is not a better alternative than McDonald's? I have two kids who work at McDonald's and I know the kind of traffic that goes in and out of there! Even if this franchise was not up to the standards some of you hold as the "Holy Grail" of organic, it is at least a change in the right direction and a better alternative to other fast food joints available.

I know how difficult it is to open up a restaurant with all the gov't and health dept. red tape and rules. More people would be opening up good food diners and eateries if the cost to do so was not so prohibitive. Many people would be apt to open up healthy foods restaurants if they could. How awesome if some of the local farmer's markets and co-ops could open their own eateries, but the costs, the rules, the licenses, and the restrictions would make it too prohibitive. It is too bad.

I want choice. I live in a republic (USA) where the freedom to eat, drink, live, and purchase is up to me, not my gov't or other do-gooders. I want to retain these freedoms and do not want the diet police or any other "do-good" police restricting my choices. FREEDOM & CHOICES!

re: Fast Food Goes Organic

vegemite — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 14:30:50 GMT

I can appreciate what Organic to Go is trying to do but that locally-produced, free-range, organic hamburger might not be as green as you think. An analysis of the environmental toll of food production concludes that transportation is a mere drop in the carbon bucket. Foods such as beef and dairy make a far deeper impression on a consumer's carbon footprint. Read the full article here: environment.newscientist.com/.../dn13741-food-miles-dont-feed-climate-change--meat-does.html

Also, by reducing or eliminating meat from your diet you are already drastically reducing your intake of cholesterol and carcinogens. after all, plants do not contain cholesterol and it has been shown that those following a plant-based diet have reduced occurrences of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, etc...

The rising costs of commodities is also a strong indicator that places like this will not be able to sustain in the next few years as food costs rise and the cost of meat will skyrocket to the point that it will not longer be a staple of the American diet but an expensive luxury.

The only company who seems to have gotten it right is Zen Burger. They are a 100% meat-free fast food restaurant with mock meats made from natural vegetables, beans, grains, and non-gmo soy. so far they only have one location in New York City but are opening a West Hollywood location soon. Again, while i appreciate the efforts of Organic to Go they cater to a more exclusive market who can afford their prices. Human and Environmental health should be available to all, not just the elite.