Organic products in Costa Rica

Hi everyone,  we live up in the hills on the Caribbean coast and as a familie we maintain a small organic farm, mostly to improve on the quality of foot we eat.  Besides the many fruits we harvest, we recently have managed to grow more greens we can eat in a green house, using UV-penetrant platic roofing, good earth and high yield organic seeds.  Boy what a difference.  Especially as food in general is quite expensive in Costa Rica.
There is an organic certification process in Costa Rica, although I do not know how reliable it is.  We try to watch what we buy, without being fanatic about it.  In general  I am glad we live up here in nature, yet close enough to the ocean.
greetings
Andreas

Bhavna wrote:

Hello everyone,

As a consumer in Costa Rica, you may seek to maintain a healthy lifestyle by choosing mostly organic products. If you do favour such products, we would like to know more about your consumption habits.

Is it easy to find organic products in Costa Rica (cosmetics, food, etc.)? Where can we find them?

In the bigger towns (such as San Ramon where I go) it is possible to find Certified Organic IMPORTED products but they'll cost 50% - 100% more than the same products in the USA.

But in the U.S. I'm sure if you live "out in the boonies" you may not have a lot of access to organic food either. But as far as comparing the same city size in Costa Rica and the U.S. there will be more organic food availability in the U.S.

As for vegetables and fruits, it's possible to get organically grown ones in Costa Rica,  but they're usually not Certified. And also I happen to know, for example, that organic coffee certification is not always very stringent in Costa Rica and organic coffee is a lot more expensive than in the USA. But at least if it's Certified Organic it's going to be MORE healthy than non-Certified.

The local feria (fresh food market on Fridays and Saturdays here in San Ramon) has organic tomatoes, broccoli and so on. Depending on the season, the vendor and the food, etc, they may be cheaper than the same in the USA. But again most are not Certified so you take your chances to trust the vendor when he or she says they are organic. Some are "certified" but again, how reliable is the certification? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't.

I am able to get organic olive oil and coconut oil but they cost about 50-100% more than in the U.S.. Very strange since this is a big coconut growing country! Same with coffee: it's a coffee growing country yet organic coffee is quite a bit more expensive than the imported organic coffees available in the U.S.

Bhavna wrote:

Are organic products part of Costa Rican culture? Have you ever tried to make your own organic products (candles, toothpaste, gardening, food)?

In your opinion, is the consumption of organic products only a fad or does it have real benefits on ones health?

I try to eat as much organic food as I can (i.e. grown without chemicals). But a lot of stuff simply isn't available or is too expensive.

However even in the U.S. I could not afford a lot of it, like at Whole Foods. I would just laugh at the prices in Whole Foods, often. There were other stores where they had better prices though.

Here I grow some stuff for myself but where I live you have to have a sealed greenhouse to grow all your veges or else bugs and critters will usually eat them before I get to them.

Organically grown food is not really a big thing in Costa Rica yet. May never be. Most Ticos can barely afford non-organic food. And most farmers like in the U.S. do not want the hassle of organic certification and growing methods. Easier to use chemicals for most.
But at least some stuff is available here in San Ramon, especially if you can afford to pay higher prices than the non-organic chemically grown food.

Costa Rica is organic, well besides the Corporate farms. CR does not need Certs. Just a way for Corporates to get more money off you. Buy at your local markets. Supplied by small local farmers, and most are not using the chemicals for they cannot afford it. I also found food to be very cheap if buying the locals products. Seems the America foods can stay on the shelf, overpriced, as usual.  When you bit into local grow, you know what you are getting. Freshness

craigglewis wrote:

Costa Rica is organic, well besides the Corporate farms. CR does not need Certs. Just a way for Corporates to get more money off you. Buy at your local markets. Supplied by small local farmers, and most are not using the chemicals for they cannot afford it. I also found food to be very cheap if buying the locals products. Seems the America foods can stay on the shelf, overpriced, as usual.  When you bit into local grow, you know what you are getting. Freshness

I think you are being a little bit too trusting.
Here in Costa Rica they use a lot of chemicals on and near crops due to insects, and weeds, which are ubiquitous.
Round up is used to keep weeds down (although now it is just beginning to be more difficult to get and use it).

Tomatoes for example are very prone to being sprayed for worms and insects. What they use I don't know but my Tico friend told me that tomatoes are sprayed more than most things.

Try to get certified organic stuff, even if the certification MAY be a little "looser" than in the U.S..

Believe me, it's no different in the USA.
Even local farmers (not corporate farmers) use chemicals in the USA. And here.