Which store has the best food prices?

[PunaMauka2]

that's a good point, Jim. which brings up a pertinent thought. i've never been much of a germaphobe, but i'm inclined to recommend decontaminating those snot strewn shopping wagon handles. there's a vicious head cold going around these days, as i recently found out.

[Kapohocat]

quote:

---

Originally posted by rainyjim

quote:

---

Originally posted by PunaMauka2

Walmart makes me tired. is it the lighting? the aisle arrangement? something about it has made me rather dread going there ..can't quite put my finger on it. and i don't think it's just bias, probably bad design somehow. feel like cattle.

---

For me it's the filth...no matter which city/state I'm in it's always been filthy. I'm not one of those 'I refuse to shop there snobs', but I do try to touch as little as possible while I'm in there!

---

OMG. Went to the one in Panorama City CA once. SCARY yucky!

[Mindful]

Just so consumers know...there is very little to no local, organic produce at the markets. There are about 3 or 4 vendors that have local produce...You can find them.

Everything gets shipped to Hilo from Oahu, stored in the building behind KTA (on Fernau (sp?). If you walk by there you can see all the Oahu boxes stacked with everything you see at the market.
That's why all the veggies look the same and everyone is selling the same stuff. It's conventional, sprayed veggies not grown locally or organically.

Just so you know.

[ericlp]

Ever notice that Papaya is a rare commodity at the markets and have gone up 10 fold? What the hell happened? Japan buy up all our papaya? When I still remember 10 for 10! Then it was 8 for buck than 7 and 6 were common. Now all of sudden no one seems to have em in stock and all priced at 50 cents a piece. Sheesh... I've gone to Hilo, Keaau, and Pahoa all the same deal. What gives?


-------------------------
To email me click on Link http://is.gd/QMfVEX

[PunaMauka2]

didn't Iselle destroy a huge portion of Puna's papaya crop trees?

---------

Mindful, you referring to produce from super markets or farmers markets?

[Carey]

Iselle, then the wind storm at the beginning of this year have hit many of the Puna papaya growers... and the wind storm also hit the other islands in the state crops..then add the drought we are getting over (even my spoiled papayas in my garden were not overly pleased with my stingy watering...)

Hopefully the crops can get back to a more "normal" growing routine the rest of this year!

OH, if anyone would like bilimbi... our tree is very prolific & we almost always have a few (hundred...thousand?) and only use a few...so many are not utilized...

Add Wiki has this tidbit that Iselle "caused heavy crop damage, estimated at $66 million (2014 USD), including 60% of the state's papaya that was lost." I am not sure if this was total trees, or also fruit & flower lost off of standing trees...

[rainyjim]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mindful
It's conventional, sprayed veggies not grown locally or organically.

---

Just so everyone knows,

Pesticides are sprayed on organic food all the time. Just because its organic doesn't mean it hasn't been sprayed with a pesticide.

Some pertinent tidbits about pesticide use:

• When people are buying organic food, they often make the incorrect assumption that there are no pesticides. It's true that organic production often uses fewer dangerous chemicals, but certain pesticides are allowed.
  
  
• Are naturally derived pesticides less toxic than synthetic ones? The answer depends a lot on the dosage, says Gillman. "To control fire blight on the same acre of land," he explains, "I could use a tiny amount of a potent synthetic that has proved safe over the last 50 years, or a much larger amount of an organic pesticide." He demurs on saying which is better, saying, "I want people to know that there are definitely tradeoffs."
  
  
• In the USDA tests, there was ten times as much spinosad on organic lettuce than was found on conventionally cultivated fruits and vegetables.
  
  
• The USDA maintains an official list of substances that can and can't be used for organic farming:http://tinyurl.com/USDA-List
  

Referenced article:
http://tinyurl.com/See-article-referenced-above

[macuu222]

The highest prices for wine and spirits is KTA. The only reason I mentioned this is that KTA's alcohol prices are so far out from the average that it needed mentioning.

[terracore]

According to USDA rules any operation can use the "organic" label without certification so long as their annual sales are under a specific threshold. I used to know what the exact amount is but I have forgotten. Since most island sales are un-reported income anyway, you can pretty much assume that (with few exceptions) anybody local selling "organic" produce is not "certified" organic. Just like the coffee buyers in Kona don't ask and don't want to know where your coffee was grown. If you sell your cherries in Kona, it's called Kona Coffee on the label.

Other misleading labels: "free range" and "cage free" chickens are neither. They are only referring to cage size and whether or not the chicken ever got outside (even once) in their lifetime. Organic chickens can be fed the same antibiotics and other chemicals as non-organic. The only difference is that the non-organic chickens are probably fed them whether the need them or not. "Organic" chickens are supposedly only fed them if they need them. But when chickens are raised in unnaturally confined populations, they almost always need them.

What do we learn from this? Labeling isn't going to help you. The only way to really know what you are eating is to visit the farm where your food comes from.

Here's a brief introduction on why the government labeling is not helping you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

[mmbvd7]

Thank you for the information.

quote:

---

Originally posted by terracore

According to USDA rules any operation can use the "organic" label without certification so long as their annual sales are under a specific threshold. I used to know what the exact amount is but I have forgotten. Since most island sales are un-reported income anyway, you can pretty much assume that (with few exceptions) anybody local selling "organic" produce is not "certified" organic. Just like the coffee buyers in Kona don't ask and don't want to know where your coffee was grown. If you sell your cherries in Kona, it's called Kona Coffee on the label.

Other misleading labels: "free range" and "cage free" chickens are neither. They are only referring to cage size and whether or not the chicken ever got outside (even once) in their lifetime. Organic chickens can be fed the same antibiotics and other chemicals as non-organic. The only difference is that the non-organic chickens are probably fed them whether the need them or not. "Organic" chickens are supposedly only fed them if they need them. But when chickens are raised in unnaturally confined populations, they almost always need them.

What do we learn from this? Labeling isn't going to help you. The only way to really know what you are eating is to visit the farm where your food comes from.

Here's a brief introduction on why the government labeling is not helping you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regulatory_capture

---

Best wishes