Buy Organic, Buy Local, Buyer Beware
Derek Beres
Whenever possible, I buy organic. This is not just confined to food, but extends to any materials, clothing and household products I can purchase. Yet like many consumers, I am often confused by the available choices, as it has become harder and harder not to buy organic. Like many important terms, once the economics of the idea prospered, it became a vague and often meaningless adjective.
This is not to say that there isn't integrity in adopting a lifestyle by which you know that the least possible environmental damage is being done in the manufacturing and growing of your purchase. I've worked and been around enough people and companies in the natural foods and sustainable living world to know that good intentions abound, and ecological promises are oftentimes followed through. There are a lot of people fusing philosophy and economics in creating a sustainable environment. The hard part is deciding which companies are doing so when two dozen choices stare at you from supermarket shelves.
In general, I adhere to one of Michael Pollan's golden rules: buy locally. Just this morning I walked through the Union Square Farmer's Market, which not only informs me of what marketers are gearing up for Spring, but also of what crops are actually available at the moment--not imported internationally or trucked from California. Granted, I too enjoy eating strawberries in March, but knowing the real cost of those berries (including transportation fees, read: gasoline), I often seek out another sweet. When I see "locally produced" signs in Whole Foods, I tend to pick up that product over another, if the product seems of worth.
Perhaps it's because I run a small business, and know the value of supporting local initiatives. While most of my shopping is done at Whole Foods, I try to buy whatever I can at Subia's, a small organic grocer across the street from my Jersey City apartment. Sure, hemp milk is one dollar more than at the competition, and their yogurt is thirty cents more per container. But there's the satisfaction of knowing that the store owners are being supported, and in this age of conglomeration, there is something quaint when every worker knows your name and engages you in conversation.
This practice extends to all my shopping habits. While I occasionally peruse Barnes and Noble, I go out of my way to make it down to Prince St. to support McNally Robinson, a great small chain based in Canada. The booksellers handpick each title and are very open to suggestions. If they don't have what I need, I can wait four days until it is special ordered. Supporting independent businesses is part of my yoga practice--a disciplinary approach to patience and understanding. I have to agree that the greatest vote we have in America is through our dollar, and how and where we spend it. There is little maneuvering around the vices of capitalism, yet by "inconveniencing" ourselves to not just settle for whatever chain is right in front of us, we put our money to good use. And yet--and here is what inspired me to write this piece today--buying organic and locally also means being a discriminate consumer.
Last year I purchased a great hemp knapsack from a company that I love called Livity. I own five of their hats, and their design creativity made me an instant fan. Being that I'm in and out of different Equinox clubs all day as a yoga instructor, a strong and dynamic bag is essential.
Within two weeks of purchasing it, the shoulder stitch ripped. No problem, a quick sew and you could hardly tell. Yet other things kept falling apart, namely the entire front of the bag. The cloth ripped easily from the simple weight of whatever was inside. Within three months it looked as though my cats had shredded the entirety of it. (They hadn't.) Having paid $70 for the bag, I was pretty upset. When I asked others familiar with the company, they told me that their product is not the most reliable. Their hats have held up great, but I was not a fan of this shoddy manufacturing.
While I'm devoted to the companies I support, I'm not a sucker. True, I may have purchased a bunk bag from the beginning, but having heard other reports, I wasn't so sure. While in the Adidas store one day I noticed a bag of equal proportions for exactly half the price-$35. I've had the bag much longer now, and it still looks brand new.
While a fan of the organic and natural industry in every facet, there has to be comparable quality being offered, especially if we're expected to pay premium prices. I've purchased organic soaps that have left my skin dry, organic towels that feel like sandpaper, and organic toilet tissue that felt the same (and that's a lot worse than the towel). I've bought organic juice so full of sugar that it tasted no different than swallowing a mouthful of Tang. The other day, while in the pet store and noticing organic cat treats, I had to draw the line.
The art of discrimination takes many shapes and assumes many forms. One can never be content with what the label says--just because a company tells us it is sustainable, this does not mean their claim is true. Sometimes a bit of research is of primary importance, for we truly get what we pay for. And if we're going to pay more for organic products and produce, we have to be certain the quality equals what we're trading in. Sustainability has to be present in every aspect.
Photo by Scoobymoo, courtesy of Creative Commons license.
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organic organs
Let's not forget organic water, available at the best Australian health food stores.
And yes, organic dog food , and dog healing workshops.
Personally I only eat raw wild fruits and raw wild meat, from game that I slaughter with my own hands in remote, wilderness locations, tested with my geiger meter for radioactive pollution. I take no chances. The animals themselves I capture and I make them wear tinfoil hats for one week prior to slaughter, to avoid interference by mind control beams and hence a spoiling of the meat with fear vibrations. At slaughter time, I hypnotise them and then perform Tibetan Ritual from the Book of the Dead to guide their souls to a higher incarnation.
I only drink ice-cold water directly from mountain springs, and never boil it or let it touch anything other than my lips.
You really can't cut any corners when it comes to natural, clean and fresh food . Wild raw meat is where it's at for an active lifestyle.
Wealthy to eat Healthy
"I make them wear tinfoil hats for one week prior to slaughter, to avoid interference by mind control beams"
Concerning the above comment, I'm assuming you are being sarcastic, because this is really funny. If you aren't being sarcastic, I still admire you, but its still really funny.
...But anyways, its hard to eat healthy if you're not wealthy. I'm a college student buying my groceries from a scraggly financial aid budget. People like me have to settle for the products that are mass produced and cheaper than their organic counter-parts. As much as I would like to, I simpley can't afford to eat all organic foods.
It's a shame that in today's society, it is more expensive to do the right thing. For example, its more expensive to eat locally grown organic foods. The author of this essay mentioned that we vote with our dollars. However, in this sense the voting system is rigged if we can't "vote" the way we want to "vote. "
I remember a previous article on Reality Sandwich that talked about the commercialism of today's grocery stores. It said that food is being produced in order to be showcased and sold for maximum profit. Food is not produced for proper nurishment anymore. And to the extent of our voting tickes (dollars), we are all victims to this commercialism of food. Its sad isn't it?
Cheap, Poor, College student
Personally, I would love to tell people that eating locally and not buying mass produced food is what they should do, but in reality people wont, and can't shed the extra money.
In regards to the better quality, i dont think its gonna get any better, tough luck for us. We're pampered. We're use to eating well, not struggling to get water, this higher standard of living is absolutely NOT sustainable. I think eventually though, we'll be able to sustain a healthy, happy lifestyle.
::Absorb it::
~Aydra Jenson~. . .
Wow, theres some much coming up here. To start with on the first comment, you are totally correct- consuming wild, raw animal proteins, products and organs is the way to go, and your post is hysterical- do you take orders?
. . .
I've been in the natural food industry since I was 18 and have watched it all evolve while experiencing it first hand.Organic, living foods at best saved my life and lifted me out of the haze. I came from no wealth and no education, simply an artist on the path of healing and creation.
. . .
I've been very blessed considering my circumstances and was able to build a sustainable business out of it. Now I support myself as a private chef and chocolateer which yields me both time and resources to choose the life I live.
. . .
Supporting community and sustainability through how we spend our dollar is the bottom line of the triple bottom line, its the only choice we truly have. Personally I feel if you can't afford to have the luxurious version of a healthy lifestyle than have the primitive one or dare I say futurist. Primitive man consumed far less than we post-modern spoiled american brats. They survived just fine, thrived even! When I'm conserving financially I often eat much cleaner and less often.This is the way of the future as well. As we move out of the time of Pieces (marked by the fish- a sign of bounty) and into the Aquarius (water bearer a sign of cleansing) it will become more apparent, gear up for some major colonics!
. . .
People complain about the price of organic foods but lets be honest, the farmers market can supply you with an abundance of fair bargain fruits and veggies, than you just need some basic grains, nuts, seeds, a few eggs and some cheese. Quinoa, an incredible heartly protein grain is very inexpensive; oats, pumpkin seeds raisins ect. You can purchase raw cheeses and milks at numerous locations now for a fair price considering in the long run it can save you from worthless doctor visits and supplements. The problem is weather we like it or not, were programmed to want a multitude of snacks from different packages at different points in our day and expect large portions of food at meals. Its a sickness, and most of us have it.
. . .
A 'Shaman' guy I worked with once called it the White man disease and was using plant medicine (the sacred vine) to cure it. He said anyone that consumes cooked food is an addict. Sadly there is a truth here, cooked food fills a void that seemingly demands to be filled to satisfy and ground us, but it is yet, an illusion. We just need a bunch of raw buffalo meat, milk and honey, truly- we can live on sunlight!
. . .
In response to Livity, its my friends company up here in Topanga and I know them all well. They are great people with a good intent. I think those bags were recalled and your not the first to have that problem. The production is done in China for cost purposes but of course this does mean they took a risk in quality. Since they are still an evolving company there is trial and error, and often times consumers have to absorb some of that. I personally find it worth the gamble- and their accessories hold up really well. It just feels good to know your money is circulating with conscious people, even if you pay double for it, something else will soon come around in your favor, perhaps an unespected gift, this is how the universe operates.
. . .
We have to do what we can to support one-another and vote with our dollar, work to clear the excess that we simply don't need at the root of it and create with whats already here and around us.
. . .
BTW if anyone out there wants to enjoy the best raw, alchemic chocolate truffles around I do ship. . .
Be Well and Look Alive!
http://www.gourmetgirlchocolate.blogspot.com
Wonderful post
Thank you for bringing up affordable ways to eat sustainably and healthy. You are spot-on. Buying veggies at a farmer's mkt is affordable. Heck, even buying organic veggies at Whole Foods can be done on a budget, as long as you avoid adding prepackaged and processed foods to your cart. Veggies and grains are not nearly as expensive as buying processed or packaged foods at the supermarket.
Also, I want to mention the "real" cost of food. What we pay for food in the US in mostly subsidized. When you buy organic food direct from an organic farmer you are paying the real cost of those veggies (or raw milk, for example). Yes, the subsidized food is cheaper, but at a great cost to all of us (or cheap imports as mentioned in Adrya's post). I manage to buy mostly organic, local foods for my family by participating in a CSA farm box (Community Supported Agriculture) and forgoing meat most of the time for healthy whole food options like Quinoa as Adrya mentions above. It's about making a commitment to living and eating sustainably, even if that commitment means making some personal sacrifices. Believing that organic is unaffordable is simply believing the big-corporate & anti-yuppie hype. Grow your own, find a farmer, get creative. It is possible. Start small and see what little changes you can make.
stop buying
--
jill
jill@jillettinger.com
http://www.innercontinental.org
Its not that simple....
You are all right! Money isn't an issue. Who needs money? Who needs food? We just shouldn't eat. And if people do need to eat, then they will be inspired by all of people who eat just a stick of home-grown celery every day so much that they will change their eating habits and "the corporate food market" as we know it will crumble.
Everyone will eat their free-range hen with foil helmets and organic home grown celery and be merry. Everyone will be self-sustaining, global warming will stop, and the second coming of Christ won't even be necessary because the world will be so perfect.
But the last time I checked, people aren't so eager to just "start living and eating sustainabley." More power to you if you CAN and are willing to eat 100% organicly and sustainabley. But I can't. It's 15 dollars more per week for me to eat like that. That's 15 dollars I can't afford. I'm not the only one either. I eat a lot of food. I am an endurance athlete in college. Which means i need to eat a lot of calories. That means lots of fruit and whole grains. I can't eat like a shaman. I would melt away, get sick, and die. Shamans don't do 4 hours of cardiovascular exercise every day.
But thats neither here, nor there.
The overlying matter is that we are not all in situations to have sustainable eating habits. Some of us can't have our own gardens, or purchase locally produced organic foods. What about poor families, barely or making it from paycheck to paycheck, who have to feed several growing children? What about the homeless guy on the street who is exuberated to get some Campbell's chicken noodle soup from a soup from a can at a soup kitchen. Soup kitchens in and of themselves can't afford to use organic foods to feed the hungry.
MONEY IS DEFINITELY AN ISSUE!! It shouldn't be, but it is. Money is an issue for a lot of people, even that small price jump from your average bag of carrots to the organic. Put aside growing your own carrots. Some people can't have gardens either. So the next best option besides starvation is what ordinary grocery store has on sale.
The reality is that, yes it is a lot easier than people are willing to believe that you can be more sustainable with eating habits and life in general. But MOST people aren't "buying that." Call it ignorance, lack of care for themselves, lack of care for the community, lack of care for humanity, or what have you. The big problem is that corporatism of food today.
MOST people shop at corporate grocery stores. MOST people don't know that artificial sweetners are bad for you, despite the lower calories (just to give an example.) MOST people is where the problem is. The problem is not those of you who are sustainable. You are a good example for society and I commend you. But just pointing out that it is only a "little bit more expensive" to be sustainable is not going to solve the grand overlying problem. Everyone should be self sustainable. Yet MOST people aren't. And a lot of people can't. This is problem of society in general and I'm sorry, but I don't have a solution and I haven't hear one from anyone else on this comment board either.
i remember when i was last living in Santa Cruz
::The Commitment::
~Aydra Jenson~
. . .
::I don't think any of us are here to provide definitive solutions and answers, but rather, we are here to communicate and exchange ideas, to inspire through suggestion. The commitment- as gruvkitty mentioned, is where everything comes to the center. This is our avenue to self-sustainability, it all lies in our commitment and what level we apply it at. What you have to put aside is your attitude surrounding the issues at hand. If we focus on the negative aspects of corpratism and fascism than that becomes our perspective 'we are what we eat' both physically and mentally. This can only end in frustration and constipation.
. . .
In Daniel's recent article in whole life times he discusses the pull between 'seeking' the substance of enlightenment and 'feasting' on the meat of conspiracy. Both play roles in our understanding of whats going on and open doors to deeper perspectives in our journey of realization. Through doing this work and arriving at new platforms of understanding, we can literally wake-up to our true power as manifestors. As a manifestor or co-creator with God, anything becomes possible, all programs and patterns in the way of achieving your goals dissolve. You are left with limitless faith- and your ability to sustain it lies in your commitment.
. . .
There IS enough, and you Do deserve it. Even when poor families and homeless can't access this lifestyle, it is not our concern, they may not have the consciousness to adapt this kind of life, many homeless people won't even take a bed over a cardboard box, they literally can not conceive or imagine it and thus can not manifest it. We are all here to perform and play different roles, but something we share in common is our ability to access a 'potential' in mind, body and spirit. Our potential is accessed through our commitment, how badly we want it and how firmly we believe in it. For me its taken years to put aside my attitudes towards money, and the more i practice it, the more it ends up flowing, effortlessly, magically and unexpectedly. Think of money like a language that you can speak in creative ways to manifest things into existence, you may not be able to grow carrots right now, but you can grow money. Take advantage while you still can.
. . .
Wishing you all the best on your journey.
~AYDRA J~
http://www.myspace.com/starsixmusic
Reality Check
Aydra! Thankyou!
I think I have been looking at this whole scenario from a very limited point of view, and you have helped me to break out of my little box. I've come to realize through you and everyone's comments that we don't have to find a solution and fix all of the problems of the world. Some things remain out of our control and we will only make the problem worse by manifesting frustration and negative energy about it.
Putting this into context of this article, I do have the choice to look at this another way. I have the opportunity to live more sustainabley than, lets say, the homeless guy on the street at the very least. I do have a choice to eat and live healthier than most people. I shouldn't limit my view of what I can and cannot do just because I believe that I have a tight budget for food.
But this is about more than just choosing what we buy.
"Our potential is accessed through our commitment."
You said it best.
This is what it comes down to. There is never harm in trying to do the right thing. There is never harm in failing while trying to do the right thing either. However, there is harm in limiting your own commitment. There is harm in limiting your own views of what you think is possible and not possible.
Thank you all for helping me open my mind a little more!
::Gracious::
~Aydra Jenson~
. . ..Keeper of the StarSix. http://www.thebestdayever.com (gotta prop my bro on this one)
Hey Thinker:)
What a beautiful and perfect interpretation and so well said. I am grateful to have gifted you a clearer perspective and thank you for receiving it with an open mind.
. . .
May we all find liberation through our Commitment.
May we all become Divine Beings.
. . .
~AYDRA J~/Time is on our side/
Hunters? Or gatherers?
Great comments girls!
One of the things I like about poster's using an alias is that we get to guess your gender.
Are there any other anthropologists out there who got a kick out of how this thread on the finer points of the gatherer psychology has attracted mostly women?
"If only I could remember the future"
We Need Solutions
The problem is time is not on our side. We need solutions, we cannot lie content in our merits, complacent in our virtuousness.
Sometimes you've got get angry; the go-to-guys of nonviolent direct action were angry. Dr. King was furious and let us know; Ghandi, too, peacefully showed us his bitter disappointment; Thoreau would have none of the government's crap. Given we need a solution, a solution that works only for the rich is not a solution at all. Don't get me wrong, your efforts are terrific, heroic even. You inspire me to do more. But let us not forget that direct deconstructive action is needed, so that we may rebuild for peace.
We have to push ourselves to think of ways to spread the cooperative spirit. An isolated solution is a bounded wave. If we seek to make a real change, we need democracy at all levels of existence: mentally, socially, economically, globally. Democracy's holy feature is it's synergistic resolution of conflict; without a fight for a just means of conflict resolution our efforts will not reach their full potential. We must not let our seeds be trampled as saplings, instead care for them with the just fight, nourish them with indignation.
Support revolutionary democratic financial institutions and give us a fighting chance. Start at www.commongoodbank.com. Consume the information, digest it, make it your own.
"There is no way to peace, peace is the way." A.J. Muste