Making Organic Easier

I'm big on organic eating for many reasons, but I know a lot of people have a hard time justifying it due to the higher costs and lack of common knowledge about the benefits.

Personally, I think the benefits are: fewer food allergies, less carcinogenic crap in your body, higher amounts of nutrients in your diet (organic produce has a better chance of being grown in better soil). Aside from the benefits to your health, organic farming is so much easier on the environment, whereas commercial farming, or agribusiness, has a long history of being incredibly damaging to the soil, water supply, air and more. This is understandable, given the fact that the focus is on maximum production and profit for minimum cost, not on quality of produce, quantity of nutrients or maximum harmony with the environment, farm workers and affects on consumer health. Oh, in a perfect world...

There are also the reasons we don't know. There are thousands of synthetic (not native to the human body) chemicals used to grow our food, put into our skin care, hair care and other hygiene products; chemicals used in building our houses, laying carpet and more. Sadly, only a very small fraction of these have actually been tested for their effects on humans or animals. Apparently, the FDA can't test a chemical for its effects on health unless there is already evidence that it has detrimental effects. I'm not sure how that's supposed to protect the public, but...I'll stop before ranting. All of this inspires me to educate myself and take matters into my own hands. So how can we live more in the solution than in the problem when organic food can seem so expensive and elitist?

My personal choice has been to grow a garden at home with my husband. Put in a bit of work in the spring, and you're rewarded for months with the tastiest, freshest produce you've ever had - it's heavenly. I'm not a gardening expert, I just started last year and am slowly expanding, but you can turn yourself into a gardener through podcasts and internet tutorials, so go get 'em. Another option is to eat out less and save money for better food that way. Yet another option is to check out a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) farm near you: this can be a very affordable way of eating some amazing, local, organically grown produce while supporting small farmers who care about soil quality and the environment.

Last but not least, the article that inspired this posting, by PBS. It's a list of foods that contain the highest pesticide residues: the ones you really should buy organically grown, as well as the foods that come out fairly clean in tests. Have a read, it's interesting.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/health/the-dirty-dozen-and-clean-15-of-produce/

If you're still unconvinced about the importance of protecting your health and the environment, rest assured that venturing into the world of food grown with a focus on quality rather than quantity will help you to look and feel your best right now, enjoy your food more and reduce your risk of illness for years to come. It also makes a big, positive environmental impact to reduce your animal-based foods and replace them with organically grown produce. I hope you enjoy your new way of thinking about the foods you eat!