One of the basic questions is whether or not to go organic. I'm going to say no.
I can see being a localvore; it makes sense. A localvore is a person who buys local food only, with "local" defined as within a hundred miles or so. It's better for the environment, keeps the local economy working, and you know the food is fresh. It also tends to be a little cheaper because there are fewer transportation costs. If you can find a supermarket that buys its food locally, definitely go for it.
However, with organic food there are a number of problems they forget to tell you about. The first is that there is no real definition for "organic". As such I don't feel comfortable buying food certified "organic" for an extra cost. The other issue is that the food quality just isn't there; because of the lack of pesticides and fertilizers the food is generally of lower quality than from farms that use pesticides and fertilizers. This also means that the food is not going to last as long as regular food.
It needs to be noted here that this a food blog for bachelors, not foodies. The idea is that the foods used make life easier for someone who doesn't like to cook, and that there are also cost issues to worry about. As such, food needs to be easy to prepare, decent quality, and last as long as possible to avoid science projects in the fridge. It also needs to be as cheap as possible. With that criteria in place it is hard to recommend organic food, as it usually runs contrary to all of that. It just makes little sense for someone who doesn't want to shop to pay extra for lower-quality food that isn't going to last as long. The sole advantage to most organic food is that you're not paying The Man for his processed food, and I'm personally more interested in shopping every two or three days for an extra fee just to act like a teenager.
That said, if you can find a service that takes food from local farms, however randomly, and will deliver it to for a reasonable price, do so. It may have some weird stuff in it, but that can make life interesting. heck, I take advantage of such a service myself. So support local, but not if I have to buy inferior food to do so.
I can see being a localvore; it makes sense. A localvore is a person who buys local food only, with "local" defined as within a hundred miles or so. It's better for the environment, keeps the local economy working, and you know the food is fresh. It also tends to be a little cheaper because there are fewer transportation costs. If you can find a supermarket that buys its food locally, definitely go for it.
However, with organic food there are a number of problems they forget to tell you about. The first is that there is no real definition for "organic". As such I don't feel comfortable buying food certified "organic" for an extra cost. The other issue is that the food quality just isn't there; because of the lack of pesticides and fertilizers the food is generally of lower quality than from farms that use pesticides and fertilizers. This also means that the food is not going to last as long as regular food.
It needs to be noted here that this a food blog for bachelors, not foodies. The idea is that the foods used make life easier for someone who doesn't like to cook, and that there are also cost issues to worry about. As such, food needs to be easy to prepare, decent quality, and last as long as possible to avoid science projects in the fridge. It also needs to be as cheap as possible. With that criteria in place it is hard to recommend organic food, as it usually runs contrary to all of that. It just makes little sense for someone who doesn't want to shop to pay extra for lower-quality food that isn't going to last as long. The sole advantage to most organic food is that you're not paying The Man for his processed food, and I'm personally more interested in shopping every two or three days for an extra fee just to act like a teenager.
That said, if you can find a service that takes food from local farms, however randomly, and will deliver it to for a reasonable price, do so. It may have some weird stuff in it, but that can make life interesting. heck, I take advantage of such a service myself. So support local, but not if I have to buy inferior food to do so.
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