Best place to buy Raw Milk and Organic produce? (Poway: coop, how much)

[sddude00]

Hello,

Does anyone here know a good place to buy raw milk? Whats the price? I saw Sprouts and OB Peoples Coop have it for $16/gal which is freakin expensive.

Also has anyone compared prices of organic produce and found which is cheapest with good quality?

Thank you!

[RosieSD]

Not sure how current their list is, but it should give you some more places to call, depending on how far you're willing to drive:

Local Milk Sources

I grow most of my own vegetables --- can't get fresher or more organic than that. When I need to buy additional produce, I hit up my local farmer's market (if you go regularly you get to know which vendors truly are organic), and also find that Sprout's and Albertson's have pretty good, reasonably priced selections these days.

[sddude00]

Thanks Rosie. Yes, home grown is the best. I have found most vendors at farmers markets arent organic. I think they use chemical fertilizers.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by sddude00

Thanks Rosie. Yes, home grown is the best. I have found most vendors at farmers markets arent organic. I think they use chemical fertilizers.

Yes, I have found the same thing. But, going to the same farmers market on a regular basis, getting to know the vendors, and asking questions helps sort out the ones who are more organic. Sometimes the smaller farmers markets are better than the larger ones for this. Now, I would tell you to get a goat for your raw milk, but I never could bring myself to drink it when we had goats as pets; there just seemed something wrong about drinking milk from my pets. Have a good weekend.

[poloxgirl]

So I've recently just started going to the Poway farmers market and am new to farmers markets in general. Do you directly ask the vendors if they're organic and don't use chemical fertilizers and get an honest answer? What about the vendors that have signs saying they're organic? Is it legal for them to display that if they truly aren't organic? Just trying to get more educated, thanks!

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by poloxgirl

So I've recently just started going to the Poway farmers market and am new to farmers markets in general. Do you directly ask the vendors if they're organic and don't use chemical fertilizers and get an honest answer? What about the vendors that have signs saying they're organic? Is it legal for them to display that if they truly aren't organic? Just trying to get more educated, thanks!

I have a ranch and farm and that's a question that can be hard to answer. My cattle are range cattle but since my neighbors get their crops sprayed by airplane I don't know how much mine are getting hit. I feed them alfalfa bales but my crops are next to ditches that get sprayed for grasshoppers. My wheat ground gets enriched with nitrogen and some people consider that still organic.

Same with our vegetables. If I get runoff from my neighbors land, uphill during a rain it will contaminate my crops to some extent.

All the same things local growers would have to deal with. So even if you get an honest answer from them they really can't be sure.


Economist: Organic Foods Just Marketing - Business Insider

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by poloxgirl

So I've recently just started going to the Poway farmers market and am new to farmers markets in general. Do you directly ask the vendors if they're organic and don't use chemical fertilizers and get an honest answer? What about the vendors that have signs saying they're organic? Is it legal for them to display that if they truly aren't organic? Just trying to get more educated, thanks!

These questions are helpful: How to Find True Organic Food at the Farmer's Market


Some farmer's markets also require all certified vendors to display a copy of their certiication on their selling spot. (You can probably look up the rules for Poway's farmer's market online).

If you want to double check, you can also check if they are certified organic here: https://apps.ams.usda.gov/integrity/

But --- and some may disagree with me on this --- I don't always worry about certification. For instance, we buy produce from people we know have smaller operations in our local area. They basically are "back yard" growers who we have come to know from conversations and trust that they approach growing like we do in our own vegetable garden.

Can there be shifty folks who lie? Of course. But, life is full of risks. To be honest, I eat non-organic vegetables too, and I'm hitting 60 and stlll alive and kicking and healthy. So, while I try to make good choices, I don't worry too much if some veggies slip in that aren't organic. And as AngryTaxpayer notes, even "organic" operations can be contaminated by environmental stuff beyond their control, such as air pollution.

[snpdragr]

Helpful thread. Maybe now my wife can find the raw milk for ostkaka: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostkaka