Get The Facts
The appeal of free-range turkeys is that they are raised with access to outdoor space so they can roam — many folks believe that this makes for better tasting meat. Farmers also raise these turkeys in a more human environment (no messy, cooped-up quarters), which wins extra points with food advocates. Add to that list the fact these turkeys get fed higher quality food and farmers don’t use hormones or antibiotics on them.

As for organic turkeys, they are certified as being raised following strict parameters (though they may not be free range) and are only fed organic food. Usually free-range birds are also organic, but make sure you ask your meat provider or read the store packaging carefully.

What About a “Local” And Other Labels?
Local poultry ranches are usually smaller operations and take more care in raising their animals. Many use free-range and organic practices (even if they aren’t certified organic). If you’re interested in keeping your feast local, call up the farmer to ask for details ahead of time.

Poultry also often has other labels such as “natural,” “grass-fed” or “no added hormones” — check out our eco-friendly label decoder to help make sense of these tags.

Ka-Ching!
Yes, these more specialized turkeys cost more — in many cases, A LOT more. We priced out options from various online grocery stores and the costs varied. Some turkeys were more than $10 per pound. Here’s what we found on average:

Regular turkey = $0.89-$2.99 per pound
Organic = $5.50-$6.20 per pound
Free Range = $4.59-$6.93 per pound

If getting a free-range or organic bird is important to you, you can save some money by picking a smaller size. Yes, this does mean fewer leftovers, but most people buy way more turkey than they need anyway. In this case, you’d be splurging on quality, not quantity.

What To Look For
Pay attention to the labels on fresh or frozen birds or ask your butcher or local farmer for more details. Free-range and organic turkeys are often in high demand; so if you choose to get one, you should order it now (if you haven’t already).

TELL US: What kind of turkey are you planning to get this year?

New Study: Organic Food Healthier
The hot debate lately has been whether organic food is really any better for you than conventional. Last month, a U.K. study concluded that there’s no health difference between the two. A new French study says the opposite — that organic foods contain more minerals like iron and magnesium and have higher levels of various antioxidants. Certainly, organic farming practices are better for Mother Nature, but what do you think? Is organic food really any healthier for you personally?

Need More Fiber? Drink Water
Your morning OJ has added calcium, your milk has added vitamin D, and now you’ll find extra fiber in bottled water, juices, and those little Splenda packets. Whenever a nutrient or food becomes a hot trend, it seems like manufacturers start pumping it into packaged foods. Whatever happened to old-fashioned healthy, wholesome eating? I’d rather get my fiber from munching on a sandwich on 100% whole-wheat bread or having some oatmeal for breakfast or just snacking on fruits and veggies.

Drinking from the Tap
Speaking of bottled waters, with so many at the market these days, you can’t help but wonder if tap water is bad for you. I’ve read that New York City water is one of the best in the world (and, as a Brooklyn girl, I stand by it), but I’d like to see it in writing. Several governmental agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency and Centers for Disease Control, claim U.S. drinking water is safe, and folks rarely get sick drinking it. Now, you can check out the latest drinking water safety report on this EPA site. I looked up my municipality and found no safety violations for the past 10 years (yay!).

Chocoholics and Heart Health
I admit it — I’m a chocoholic. But after reading a study in this month’s The Journal of Internal Medicine, I popped another ounce of my favorite dark chocolate in my mouth. The study found that people who ate chocolate two or more times a week had a 66% less chance of dying from a heart attack. Don’t go packing yourself a plate of chocolate for lunch just yet; the study did have some weaknesses. For one, it didn’t specify which type of chocolate subjects ate (could be dark or milk chocolate). Looks like we still need more research. Bottom line: you can enjoy chocolate in a healthy, balanced diet; just don’t use it to replace your usual healthy meals and snacks.

No, Nitrites Still Aren’t Safe
Nitrites, food additives found in lunch meats, bacon and more, get linked to many bad things, but new research has knocked brain cancer off the list. That doesn’t mean nitrites are completely safe, though. In 2003, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationwide survey conducted every 10 years, zeroed in on middle-aged respondents and found that eating 14 or more servings of cured meat products a month ups one’s lung disease risk 93%! For our take on this preservative (a.k.a. sodium nitrites and sodium nitrates), check out this past post.

Why eat organic?
• Organic foods are free of hormones, pesticides and antibiotics – all substances that can be harmful to our health and the planet.
• Organic foods are sustainably harvested, which means they have less of a negative effect on their immediate environment.
• Organic soil tends to be richer in nutrients, which make the foods grown in it also richer in nutrients.

Why buy local?
• Did you know that the average U.S. meal travels thousands of miles to get from the originating farm to your table?
• A fruit or veggie starts losing its nutrients from the moment it’s picked until it reaches your plate. That means something farmed far away has less nutritive value than something farmed closer to home.
• Think of all the wasted gas needed for food to travel the thousands of miles to get to you!
• Summer is prime time for berries so eat them up! They’re more likely to be from nearby sources; whereas berries you find in your grocery store during the winter might come from far away, warmer climates.

4 More Ways to Green Your Cuisine
1. Plant a backyard garden. Start with herbs and lettuce that are easy to grow and can even be kept in pots. You will save money AND have fresh, local produce. Once you’ve mastered the easy stuff, try planting peppers and tomatoes. You will be amazed at how tasty the produce is and at the amount of fruit you get from one plant.

2. Shop at local farmers’ markets and help support small, (preferably) organic farmers. If it doesn’t say organic, ask! It’s expensive to become a certified organic farm, so most small farms follow organic practices without the certified title. Take advantage of the wide selection of ingredients, some of which you might not be able to find at your local grocery store. Interesting ingredients can inspire you to try new recipes and get creative in the kitchen – a perfect combo for impressing your guests!

3. Consider joining a community-supported agriculture (CSA) program; as a member of a small, local, organic farm, I’m provided with organic veggies on a weekly basis (enough to feed a family of four!). Visit www.farmtocity.org for more information about your local CSA.

4. Read the label and find out where the food traveled from. I only buy foods that come from outside the U.S. on special occasions. If you’re on a budget, be mindful of which foods you need to buy organic or conventional. Check out this list of “Organic Shopping Dos & Don’ts.”

Katie Cavuto Boyle, MS, RD, owns HealthyBites, LLC and is a finalist on The Next Food Network Star, which airs Sundays on Food Network.

Food, Inc. Opens Today
Our national and international food supply has been the target of a lot scrutiny lately — many are asking how it affects worker and animal rights, the environment and our personal health. A new documentary, Food, Inc., opens this weekend and has stirred up even more debate in the food space — between big business and public health advocates. The film includes hidden-camera footage from farms (or what the filmmakers call “industrial factories”) that documents some of the dirty secrets behind food’s mass production. One of Dana and my favorite authors, Michal Pollan, who wrote In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto, appears in this film — we’re making a date to see it soon and will let you know what we think. Click here to watch the trailer.

Lunch Trucks with Gourmet Fare
The new craze: gourmet food carts. Yep, food carts, but they’re not dishing out hot dogs and soft pretzels. The chef from New York City’s Le Cirque have dispatched a truck that serves up their scrumptious desserts. There’s also the Green Truck in Los Angeles, where ingredients are all local, organic or sustainably raised — even better, the trucks run on recycled vegetable oil. Check out if any of these trucks are in your area– you can find the regularly scheduled route and preview the menu on this cool slideshow.

Chocolate Milk Is Better Than Sports Drinks?
A new study from the American College of Sports Medicine showed that drinking milk after exercise provides the same or possibly better muscle recover benefits than your average sports drink might. It’s possible that milk’s unique mix of carbs and protein are more beneficial than sports drinks (and you can’t complain about the extra calcium and vitamin D either). Personally, I think chocolate milk is tastier than those sports drinks, but I’ll keep you posted if I find any other newly released studies that confirm this.

Eating Healthy on the Road
Are you one of 27 million Americans taking a road trip this summer? Don’t sabotage your diet by mindlessly chowing down on tons of junk and fast food while riding shotgun. This great HealthNewsDigest.com article has good tips for keeping up healthy habits while you’re on the move.

Organic Supply Depends on Imports
Which is better: organic or locally grown food? Would it make a difference if some of the organic food you buy comes from overseas? Consumer demand for organic products have skyrocketed in recent years and local suppliers can’t keep up; they’re now turning to other, overseas resources. What do you think?

Read Your Email, Lose Some Weight
Okay, okay, that statement is misleading. Just reading your email won’t make you drop the pounds. An interesting study, however, found that e-mail reminders about eating healthier or increasing physical activity can actually make a difference. They work as motivation — or regular nagging — to make sure you follow through. I also found a video clip of those treadmills you walk on while you work buried in the article. Try getting your boss to invest in one of those! (P.S.: If you want a weekly digest of some great healthy ideas, sign up for our newsletter.)

Antibiotic-Free: No antibiotics were used on this animal during its lifetime to prevent or treat disease. According to the National Dairy Council, a sick cow can be treated with antibiotics, but the milk will not be used from that cow until tests show no antibiotics present.

Cage-Free: You’ll see this one on egg cartons especially. It means birds were raised without cages, but it doesn’t guarantee they were able to go outside. The term is lightly regulated, and companies get permission to use it on their packaging labels from the Food Safety Inspection Service of the Agriculture Department, which doesn’t actually inspect these operations. A New York Times article from 2007 has some interesting insights into which chefs and food companies are now using cage-free birds.

Free-Range: This indicates that birds — chicken, turkey, quail and other edible fowl — have free access to the outdoors. However, guidelines are loose on how long animal can be outdoors and the size of the area.

GMO-Free: This means a fruit, vegetable or grain has not been genetically modified — or a packaged food has no GMO foods included. Many companies label their foods GMO-free, and in most cases, organic foods and produce from your local farmer are GMO-free. Learn more from another post we did on the GMO controversy.

Grain-Fed: This label applies to beef products especially and means the cattle was raised on a grain diet (possibly with added supplements) instead of their natural grass diet. Studies have shown that meat from animals raised on grain-fed diets contains less vitamin E, vitamin C, beta-carotene and omega-3 fats. Often GMO grains and soy are included.

Grass-Fed or Pasture-Fed: These animals have grazed on the pasture and eaten grasses with no other supplements. A study published in the Journal of Animal Science concluded that grass-fed animals produce lower-fat and lower-calorie meat, a higher amount of omega-3 fats and higher levels of vitamin E (as much as 4 times that of grain-fed!). Check out this article going more in depth on the differences between grain and grass-fed animal products.

Natural: This one is a real toughie. The term “natural” is open to interpretation by food companies and doesn’t guarantee that the food is healthy or environmentally conscious at all. Usually it means foods that undergo minimal processing and don’t contain artificial colors, flavors and other synthetic ingredients. The term is so loosely used that a soda company labeled a drink with high-fructose corn syrup “natural”; after much controversy and debate, the FDA claimed products containing HFCS couldn’t be labeled “natural.” You’ll often see the word “natural” on personal care products, too — again, it doesn’t always mean it’s safer.

No Added Hormones and Hormone-Free: These animals were raised without receiving growth hormones. If beef is USDA-certified organic, it contains no hormones. Milk-producing cows may be given the growth hormone rBGH, which many worry may be transferred to us when we eat milk, cheese or other dairy products. You can find hormone- or rBGH-free milk on your market shelves.

Organic (or Certified Organic): These foods were grown without conventional pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, hormones or antibiotics. It is expensive to certify a farm as organic; some local farms can’t or don’t want to spend the money to certify themselves but may be following organic practices. Talk to your local farmers to learn more. Organic foods have a higher price tag and organic doesn’t always mean “healthier.” Check out our tips on shopping for organic foods.

Plus, read our own Organic Shopping: Dos & Don’ts.

The demand for organic food rises every year, but everything organic might not be worth it. With organic foods sporting higher price tags, it’s important to weigh their value against your grocery budget. Here are some simple rules.

DON’T: Buy everything labeled organic
DO: Know your labels!
There is an entire language to organic food labeling – read up here before your next shopping trip. One quick tip: when buying fruits and vegetables, look at their numbered produce stickers for any that start with a “9″ — that means they’re organic.

DON’T: Buy organic produce instead of local produce
DO: Buy local produce when in season
Local farms run smaller operations and often don’t use the same chemicals that larger farms need. It’s also very expensive for local farms to purchase the “organic farm” title, so many of them don’t. Talk to your local farmer about their efforts to grow safe fruits and vegetables. Find a market near you at LocalHarvest.org.

DON’T: Waste money buying produce that have thick skins that you don’t eat (bananas, avocados, onions and pineapple)
DO: Choose organic apples, strawberries, bell peppers, lettuce and potatoes
You eat the skins of these foods and they tend to be grown using more harmful pesticides.

DON’T: Assume that everything organic is better for you
DO: Check the nutrition facts — cookies are high in calories whether they are organic or not.

DON’T: Skimp on your milk
DO: Buy organic milk
Someone I trust once told me that if they could only buy one organic thing, it would be milk. Organic dairy cows are treated more humanely, and their milk may contain more nutrients according to recent research –- it’s worth the extra money, especially when you’re giving it to your kids.

DON’T: Think you can’t make a difference
DO: Be more green
When you do choose to buy organic products, you are supporting a system that is more eco-friendly.

DON’T: Throw away foods or skip favorites because of this article
DO: What’s important to you!
Consider your budget, family needs and lifestyle and make choices that are best for you.

Plus, check out the Environmental Working Group’s new “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides,” which has downloadable wallet and cell phone guides listing some of the cleanest and dirtiest produce.