simple.green.organic.happy.

Category: Conscious Consumerism: Shopping & Reviews

Buying Organic Meats and Produce: Why Bother?
Tell me what you eat and I will tell you what you are.

–Anthelme Brillat-Savarin

I saw this on Twitter last night:

Anything you have to peel— onions, bananas, garlic— is low in pesticides. Organic is a waste! 7 Supermarket Rip-Offs: (not giving the link traffic, sorry)

This is classic “not seeing the forest for the trees.”

It’s true. When you peel away the outer layers of something, you reduce the pesticides YOU ingest.

While the amount of chemicals you consume along with your foods is worth thinking about, this is NOT the reason I buy organic.

Sure, babies are born “pre-polluted,” with studies of cord blood finding nearly 300 different chemicals contaminating it:

Of the 287 chemicals we detected in umbilical cord blood, we know that 180 cause cancer in humans or animals, 217 are toxic to the brain and nervous system, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development in animal tests. (source)

Sure, there are about 80,000 chemicals currently on the market, and only about 200 have been tested for safety.

Sure, we’ve no idea what happens when these chemicals bio-accumulate over time, or what happens when the chemicals in our body burden interact with each other.

Scary as that is— that’s not why I buy organic either.

Because there are always going to be studies and tests that say, this is fine for you, and these levels of pesticides are OK, and whatever, and I just don’t have the time or inclination to stay on top of the latest and greatest and argue with detractors.

This, however, I think is inarguable:

All those chemicals and pesticides are going somewhere for sure, and do you know where that is?

Into our soil, our water and our air.

And into our farmers, and our farmers’ children.

(Not to mention, into you. And your children.)

So when I buy organic produce, I do it to support farms that don’t knowingly pollute. Who don’t force their workers and families to handle dangerous chemicals on a day-to-day basis.

And when I buy organic meats, the principle is the same. The bio-accumulation of chemical-laden feed worries me, but my main concerns are the ethics of the farmers. How do they treat their workers? Are the animals handled humanely? (Aside: it’s a nice bonus that happy cows and pigs tend to taste SO MUCH BETTER than their factory-farmed counterparts.)

Yes, organics are more expensive. It simply costs more to take care of things properly, to oversee a farm rather than “spray and pray.” The price you pay is the true cost of healthy, ethical eating. Of quality.

When your roof is falling, do you go for the cheap fix? When your child’s tooth is hurting, is your first concern “Do I have a coupon for this (regardless of quality of care)?” Why do we accept sub-par quality in favor of unnecessary quantity when it comes to what we feed our families?

Discounts? Cheap beef? That’s corner-cutting, compromises made on morality and health that may save you a few pennies now, but will cost you in doctor’s visits in the long run:
- cancer rates are up 50% since the mid-90s
- allergy rates, 18%
- instances of gout have doubled
- In 1994, about 23% of the population was obese. Today, about 33%. At that rate, by 2030 half of the population will be obese, and health-care costs will be astronomical as millions of people develop type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer due to their diet.
We need to start eating mindfully. We are what we eat.

I know money is tight all over, so try these tips:

–Save on organic produce by buying from farmers’ markets and staying in season; this year I’m going to try canning and freezing.

–Incorporate more grains (rice, quinoa, whole wheat pasta) into your menu plan, so meat portions don’t need to be as big for your meal to be filling.

–Buy organic meat online from a reputable source or from ethical, local farmers in bulk to freeze.

–Designate one day of the week (or more!) as meatless.

Do you buy organic meats and produce?
What are your reasons?

_________________________________________________________

Disclosure: I am participating in a blogger campaign by Bucks2Blog and was compensated for my time. However, all views and opinions are my own.
September 12, 2011
Sneaker Recycling (Nike Reuse-A-Shoe)

Happiness is neither virtue nor pleasure
nor this thing nor that
but simply growth,

We are happy when we are growing.

–William Butler Yeats

My kids continue to do me the disservice of growing older and getting bigger, despite my polite requests for them to cut that the hell out.

This puts me out in a number of ways, but the one I’m dealing with this week is the fact that the sneakers that I bought last spring no longer fit, in spite of the fact that they were not worn ALL SUMMER LONG. I swear, not even once. Price per wear and maximum value mean nothing to these children.

They’re also hard on their clothes and shoes— Cass, in particular, has never met a mud puddle she didn’t like— so I wouldn’t dream of dropping their stinky hand-me-down sneaks off at a thrift shop. Trust me, no one wants to inflict these things on their kids unless as creative punishment.

But, I hate to just throw the things away. I tend to hang on to my own old sneakers until they start to fall apart— they start as regular old sneakers, then become “walking dogs in the dark” shoes, then rain shoes, then gardening shoes, then Jeff takes them as cutting the grass shoes or general “dirty job” shoes. (It’s somewhat handy to wear the same shoe size as other family members.) This isn’t a viable option for the kids, though, since they plain ol’ just don’t fit anymore.

We’ve already talked about how you can recycle your Crocs, and after a little research I’ve found you can recycle crusty kicks too with Nike Reuse-A-Shoe. Bring up to 10 pairs to a collection site (or start your own shoe drive, has to be approved by Nike first) and your stinky sneaks will be ground up along with the company’s manufacturing scrap to make “Nike Grind,” used in track & playground surfaces, gym tiles, outdoor tennis and basketball courts, pads for indoor synthetic & wood courts, and some Nike products.

Collection sites appear to be mainly outlet stores (full list here) and if you don’t have a collection site near you, you can mail in too.

I sort of love when I find out I can recycle things I hadn’t before. Know of any other shoe recycling programs?

September 4, 2011
Electricity Consumption & Conservation (Infographic)

It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.

Eleanor Roosevelt

The air is already turning cooler, meaning more energy being consumed as I cook more and the heat kicks in.

And, here in PA energy costs are set to rise as rate caps expire. (Local peeps can check out PA energy supplier comparisons here if you’re thinking of switching.)

We use tons of energy here in the US, as you can see in the infographic below… no surprise there. But if you make an effort to not waste a single kilowatt, this winter doesn’t have to be a budget-breaker.

I’ve written about all the ways we conserve energy in our drafty farmhouse; the hair-dryer using as much energy as an air conditioner was news to me, though! Here I’d been suffering through heat waves but blithely drying my hair when I wasn’t even planning to leave the house.

Check out the major energy hogs in your house, and tips to conserve energy and money this year.

Are you conscious of your energy use?
How do you conserve?

Source by Power SuperSite
Stock photo from sxc.hu

August 30, 2011