Organic Day Today At Alfalfa's

Happy Labor Day!  And I just found out it's also Organic Day at Alfalfa's, happening right now.  Here's what they say:

Organic Day at Alfalfa's

September 2, 11:00am to 2:00pm

September is Organic Month, and to celebrate, we're kicking it off with our first annual Organic Day. Stop by to feast on organic fare hot off our Alfresco grill, listen to live music, and hear leaders from the organic food industry talk in detail about organic food production and certification. Kids and adults alike can make eco-crafts and meet calves from Aurora Organic Dairy. All are welcome to participate in this FREE event!

Organic Tasting Fair At Alfalfa's

Alfalfa's will hold an organic tasting fair with live music this Saturday, conveniently coinciding with the Boulder Farmers' Market, which runs from 8 to 2 just a few steps away.  Here's what they say (is the band's name trying to tell us something?):

Organic Month
Tasting Fair

When: Saturday, September 22nd
from 11 AM to 4 PM

Where: Alfalfa's Market

Come taste the organic difference and hear live music by Hang Massive.

No Benefit To Organic?

I don't think so.  I was going to ignore this when I read it yesterday, but since it's all over the news this morning, I guess I'll jump in.  There's a new meta-analysis out from Stanford University that questions the value of buying organic over conventional.  Anyone telling me that because the pesticide residues in the conventional are deemed mostly "safe" means they are equal in value to the organic has got to come up with a different argument to persuade me.  You can read the coverage from the New York Times here.

Value In Organic, Including Dairy

The Huff Post recently tackled the question of what's worth buying organically in the blog post Getting the Most (Organic) Bang for my Buck. While it mostly addresses avoiding the familiar "dirty dozen," it also includes a link to a most interesting chart from a small farm advocacy group that ranks the virtues of many organic dairy brands.

Pesticides In Your Produce

The Environmental Working Group has released its new "dirty dozen" list of pesticides in conventional produce for 2011, and apples have the dubious distinction of being newly at the top. Their report is fee-based, which you can read about here. As I've long maintained, organic is best whenever possible, and imperative in produce where you're eating the skins, such as apples and berries.

Organic At King Soopers

Thanks to my friend, Ms. A. for pointing out a number of organic fruit and veggie deals happening at our local King Soopers through tomorrow. Organic mini carrots look particularly good at $2.50 for a big two pound bag, and organic navel oranges are great at $2.99 for a four pound bag, with card.

Organic Strawberries 99 Cents a Pound

The Sunflower in Boulder has a "Manager's Special" on one pound packages of Driscoll's organic strawberries for just 99 cents each. Sign said through the 11th, but they looked to be going fast. I had to set aside a couple a packages where I could see a few brown spots starting, but this is an amazing price if you have a use for them soon. I so prefer fruit to be organic, but it can be tough to find it at a reasonable price, especially compared to the sales we see on conventional fruit. So these organic strawberries are a steal, even much cheaper than conventional!!

Pesticides in Foods and ADHD Linked?

In the why are we not surprised category, a new study suggesting a possible link between pesticides commonly used on fruits and vegetables and attention-deficit disorder in children is getting lots of media attention this morning. Yet another reminder to go organic whenever possible.