To Buy or Not to Buy Organic: What You Need to Know to Choose the Healthiest, Safest, Most Earth-Friendly Food: Burke, Cindy: 9781569242681: Amazon.com: Books

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To Buy or Not to Buy Organic: What You Need to Know to Choose the Healthiest, Safest, Most Earth-Friendly Food Paperback – Illustrated, March 2, 2007

by Cindy Burke (Author)

34 ratings

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Food journalist and former professional chef Cindy Burke writes in the introduction to this book: "Organic food can be so expensive and difficult to find that I always wondered if I was spending my money wisely. I decided to become informed, really informed, about the options — organic, conventional, local, sustainable — so that I could choose the healthiest, safest food available." To Buy or Not to Buy Organic is the result of Burke's investigations. It tells you how to choose the healthiest, safest, most earth-friendly food, as you make your way through the supermarket, your local farmer's market, or your natural foods store. Highlights include: Making sense of the choices presented by organic, local, sustainable, minimally treated, grass-fed and cage-free foods Reducing your exposure to pesticides Save money by knowing the foods you want to eat only if they're organic and the foods that are pesticide-free even when they are nonorganic Protecting your child's health from pesticides An at-a-glance shopper's guide to more than 100 foods

Print length

240 pages
Language

English
Publication date

March 2, 2007
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

1569242682
ISBN-13

978-1569242681
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A slim, handy guide to how our food is produced and how to choose what to buy." -- Culinate.com, 6/8/07

I've been hesitant to question the organic label because it offers such an easy answer, and I've worried that if I begin to tug on that string, pretty soon my whole natural fiber sweater will be unraveled and I won't have a dominant food doctrine to blindly follow...Burke, who is a journalist and former chef, seeks to answer that question by delving into the politics behind the certified organic label and by defining terms, such as organic, local, sustainable and grass-fed. -- Liz Kohman, "The Versatile Vegetarian: Got questions about 'organic'? Book offers answers", The Courier News

About the Author

Cindy Burke is the coauthor, with Kim Severson (now the New York Times's high-profile food reporter), of The Trans-Fat Solution. She writes often about food, organic farming, and nutrition for numerous publications. She studied at the school for American Chefs in Northern California's Napa Valley, before working as a chef and food consultant. She lives with her family in Seattle, Washington.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Da Capo Lifelong Books; Annotated edition (March 2, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1569242682
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1569242681
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,004,826 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,646 in Consumer Guides (Books)
- #2,167 in Organic Cooking
- #14,007 in Nutrition (Books)

Customer Reviews:
34 ratings

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Storm the Penguin

Finally, a book on Organics that tells you WHY

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2009

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Like most books on Organics, the short version of this book is that when at all possible, you should buy Organic. However, unlike most Organics books, this book dives deeper and not only includes items you can (generally) safely buy non-organic versions of, but also reasons why the USDA Organic label may not always be required.

Oddly enough, this book can almost be called anti-Organic, as much of the contained material speaks to how the USDA's lackluster labeling process paved the way for lessened standards compared to many of the self-regulated organics programs. Much of what the author Cindy Burke argues is that while the Organic label is a step in the right direction, it is, in many ways, a step backward.

The book presents several good cases for Farmer's Markets and Co-ops where the consumer gets to know their farmer, rather than relying on a sticker provided by faceless corporate entity. I was also surprised to learn that several farmers voluntarily dropped their USDA-Organic label in protest of the government policies as well as due to the lessened standards on what quantifies an organic product. Some other enlightening facts included things such as the amount of Organic labeled foods that come from China, the USDA Pesticide Data Program as well as the steps needed for a farm to be certified USDA-Organic.

While most people will purchase this book for its list of the "Dirty Dozen," the list of which foods never to buy non-organic, I honestly found the rest of the book more informative. Whereas many books on Organic foods simply tell you to always buy organic from your local farmer and bar no further discussion on the subject, this book is different in that it actually provides examples of why to do so, how we came to where we are today, as well as practical ways to start integrating organics into your life.

5 people found this helpful

To buy or not to buy organic

Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2009

Verified Purchase

This is a great book. It covers information about all the different herbisides, fungisides pestisides & more. It's mindblowing what toxins & poisons are in our food. It covers the effect on adults & the scary but real effect on children & babies. It also touches on government involvement along with FDA, EPA & USDA cross employment. It's not in our best interest for an EPA employee who wants to pass laws for "just a little pesticde" to be sprayed in organic farms to then be employeed by the FDA. The FDA decides what & how much pesticides & such are allowed in our food. The USDA can then turn a blind eye say if he may have been an employee with the EPA or FDA. It's a nasty cycle of I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine with the big boys in D.C. Sad but true this is a very interesting and eye opening read.

3 people found this helpful

answers the question being asked...

Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2008

Verified Purchase

Because I haven't been able to grow a garden of late, I'm forced to shop for most of my groceries. What I wanted to know is what I should buy or not buy. The author answers this perfectly and efficiently with a list in the latter part of the book, stating the produce in question, buy organic or not, and the reasons why.

What surprised me was that she also talks about how FAR food frequently travels and the carbon cost as a result. Is it worth buying organic if it's traveled across the ocean? While I understood this before, her book has made scrutinize this aspect of my food purchases even harder than before.

The book was an easy read but I admit to glossing over some of the talk about why you should eat organic or buy locally. What I wanted was precise information to help make my shopping more effective. I got exactly that.

6 people found this helpful

Putting the Icing on the Organic Gardening Cake

Reviewed in the United States on December 20, 2008

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Being a 15-year organic gardening veteran and seeing more and more organic products in the grocery store had me curious -- where did it come from and is it truly organic. Is it worth it to pay more for organic than non-organic. This book is for every individual who wanted those same questions answered. As an example, garlic is often used as a companion plant (for me it was with roses) to deter aphids. So obviously garlic isn't going to have pests on it, thus, little pesticide use, thus no need to spend the money on organic garlic. The author lists many, many foods that you should or should not buy organic, provides interesting stories from organic farmers, and also goes into exactly what is organic. The part that really sold me is how organic certification has become yet another piece of bureaucratic red-tape and even the big boys are jumping on the band wagon -- at a price to the smaller, local farmers (undercutting their prices). But the USDA organic standards are stretched by agribusiness - so beware when purchasing "organic" from a large company. Not to mention the costs to the environment by agribusiness. Excellent book and highly recommended for the experienced organic grower.

6 people found this helpful

Crystal the Creative Tech Mama

The Best Source!

Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2007

Verified Purchase

What a GREAT book! I learned so much from the author. She really did her homework and knows her stuff. This book inspired me to take the complete jump into organic living w/o fretting the grocery bill cost. She makes sense when she discusses this bill versus the health of your family and health costs. I don't even care anymore about the grocery bill because I know I'm making the most informed and healthy choices for my family. She has also inspired me to be more "green" and not just buy organic, but think about buying sustainable foods and at local farmer's markets. Never really grasped that concept and reasoning until now. Thanks so much!

13 people found this helpful

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2008

Verified Purchase

This is an awesome book and answered just what I wanted answered. I was wanting to buy organic not just for my health, but also for the environment. But I know organic doesn't always equal environmentally friendly. And when do I buy local? If local foods aren't organic, should I get imported organic? This book talks about the environmental as well as health interplay in a really easy to read way. Its a quick read and has a very useful shopper's guide in the back. By far the best "organic buying" guide I've seen so far. Love it!

5 people found this helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Angela caira

To buy or not to buy organic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 21, 2012

Verified Purchase

Fairly good book ,easy listed foods of what's best to buy organic and not. Only problem that it is all based in America so not usefull with regards to where to buy the best foods in the UK.

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