Inspired
I recently stumbled across this blog (and subsequently, this facebook page and website) and have decided that it's something I'd really like to try.
For awhile now I've been making the effort to buy only fresh, whole ingredients, organic when possible - heavily utilizing the Greenwise section in Publix and recently, buying the bulk of my groceries at the local Whole Foods. Throughout my life, I have always considered myself somewhat of an environmentalist - definitely a tree-hugger - but I don't know if I've ever really "walked the walk", so to speak. I'm starting to get better about it - I've gotten really good at remembering to only use my "green bags" when I buy groceries, opting to avoid plastic bags as much as possible, and I generally purchase only eco-friendly cleaning products. I've replaced most of the light bulbs in my house and office with these instead, and I'm very particular about where I buy my gas from. Ultimately, however, in a world that is threatened more and more every day by global warming and climate change, I'd like to be even better about lessening my environmental impact.
I have always been rather particular about where I buy my fruits and vegetables from, trying to buy organic when available so as to avoid ingesting harmful pesticides and to support organic farming in general. This effort has increased seven-fold ever since my transition into eating meat again, as one of my major stipulations in this new meat-eating thing is that any meat I buy will be, when possible, free-range, organic-fed, hormone-free and so forth. This is mostly due to the fact that one of my biggest reasons for going veggie in the first place was the mistreatment of animals in slaughterhouses. Buying organic ensures that the chicken and turkey I consume comes from free-range farms where they are fed quality organic diets and allowed to live full lives, rather than being confined in tiny, dirty quarters and being plumped up on hormone-injected grain diets just so they can be slaughtered sooner.
With the economy being as poor as it is, I also like the idea of eating organic and sustainably to support local famers and the community - with our nation's extreme industrialization of agriculture, not only are workers being given the shaft and being forced to live on minimal wages, but food safety is being tossed by the wayside. Quantity over quality is favored, and as a result, our nation has seen an increase in tainted and contaminated foods - from salmonella to e. coli to Heaven only knows what else. Eating organically ensures that the food I am buying has been produced at ethically-operated, fair-trade farms using organic growing methods. My fruits and vegetables haven't been soaked in dangerous pesticides and the workers who picked them weren't being forced to suffer under near slave-labor conditions.
This article really opened my eyes to the truth of the situation at hand in our nation. If something as awful as this can be going on in my very own backyard, chances are there could be likely hundreds if not thousands of other places throughout this country where this is a growing problem. I cannot, in good conscience, support an industry that allows such terrible human rights violations to exist and flourish as a means of operating.
Therefore, I have decided to take the following list of rules and try to apply them to my daily living as much as possible. Obviously, I will be somewhat limited by my geographic location and the availability of resources (the woman I am borrowing this list from lives in Seattle, WA - home of the nation's largest farmers market) which is why I have removed most of the "local" requirements (even though I will try to buy local when possible), but the end-goal is to simply live as sustainably and environmentally-responsible as possible.
1. Finish eating what we already have in the cupboards, refrigerator, pantry, etc.
2. Newly purchased foods must meet, when possible, the organic, sustainably farmed criteria.
3. Meat must be free-range and pastured, grass-fed, and humanely treated.
4. Fish must be wild and caught in a sustainable manner.
5. Eggs must be cage-free, with an organic diet.
6. Poultry must be free-range and pastured, humanely treated and fed an organic diet.
7. Milk and cream must come from organic dairy farms.
8. Honey must be organic and come locally when possible.
9. Fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains must be organic, from sustainable farms.
10. Cheese must be from organic farms, made from organic milk.
11. Coffee, tea, chocolate and sugar must be fair-trade, and organic when possible.
12. Cleaning products must be environmentally-friendly.
13. Avoid any and all products that have been highly-processed, and contain high-fructose corn syrup (or any derivative thereof) or any of these ingredients.
Obviously, exceptions will have to be made to this list from time to time, and as I have no control over where things come from when I go over to friends or family's houses or go out to dinner, I won't worry about those situations. The idea is for me, personally, and Kevin (since I cook for him) to live as sustainably as possible within the confines of reality (i.e. budget, geographic location and resource availability).
I think it's a great goal, and I'm excited to meet the challenge of living a life that is environmentally and ethically responsible. The prospect of bringing children into this world is quickly approaching, and I want to be able to raise them to respect the world around them - and even more importantly, I want them (and their children and their children's children) to still have a world to respect and enjoy in the future.
8 comments:
I definitely think it's a great goal to live by, one that I've been trying (slightly) lately. My only problem with it is that everything is so much more expensive. So it's hard to balance the want to to good in the world with the want to afford breakfast. Regardless, I'm trying!
Thanks! Yeah I think so too - and that's mainly what it is, a goal. It's cool that you've been trying to also! :D Here's the thing with everything being so much more expensive - truth is, it's really not. Certain things are, yes, but others are actually sometimes cheaper - it's mainly a matter of trying to always hit up sales when you can find them (B1G1 or 2 for $5, that sort of thing) and knowing generally what sells for what and what's been overpriced and so on. For example, at Whole Foods, they have their own "365 Everday" brand that is pretty much always cheaper than everything else, even though it's the same thing and still organic and all. Actually, I recently bought all of the ingredients for a taco night at Whole Foods, and I spent pretty much exactly what I would have spent at Publix had I bought the same stuff, give or take a few dollars. I certainly spent less on some things too - specifically fresh produce and fruit and so forth. Even the organic turkey meat I bought was probably priced the same if not cheaper than if I'd bought it at Publix. So yeah, I mean, it does require a little more leg work and a little more thought, but it's definitely doable to shop organic and stay on a budget. :D
That being said, places like Fresh Market charge an inordinate amount of money for organic and specialty items, and even Publix tends to overcharge on some of their Greenwise products, I feel. So yeah, I guess it's about knowing where to shop and what stuff to buy organic. I've read that the most important things to buy organic, if you're going to, are your fruits and veggies (basically anything grown or made from something that has been grown) because then you avoid all the nasty pesticides and stuff, and your meats, because again, you avoid all the nasty stuff that gets processed into them otherwise.
I'm proud of you for trying though! :D
Dang. The expense of this has already been covered. I was going to say...
"Holy crap, you're gonna spend more on groceries than on rent!" :P
But believe it or not, I prefer free range as well. Asheville has a very large local farming community, including the nationally renowned Hickory Nut Gap Farms(which I used to do landscaping for), and their stuff is super delicious... but it comes with a hefty price tag. Unfortunately, the hefty price tag can quite often put me off from buying it, especially when the tourism season is out and money flow is restricted.
That said, cow is delicious and so is pig. But I'm going on a strict diet and workout regimen to get back in shape. Workout until my ears pop every day, and no food. Just protein shakes for the next week. Unless the hunger becomes crippling. :P
You know C, I'm not entirely sure that's the BEST idea ^_~ I hear crippling hunger is, well, crippling ;p OR something.
Anyway yeah, free-range is much better - I'm kind of surprised it costs more for you to buy directly from the farm than it would be to buy from like, a store that sells it. Weird.
But yeah, definitely won't be spending more on groceries than rent - especially considering how ridiculous our rent is :P
I would LOVE to be able to shop only organic, but like everyone else has said- it is incredibly expensive, especially in Los Angeles where everything is more expensive in general.
I think more people would be able to jump on the organic bandwagon if they didn't have to spend a whole paycheck at Whole Foods :P
Hey! While I obviously can't know what prices and stuff are elsewhere in the country, and while I'm sure prices in LA in particular are exorbitant, as I mentioned in my replies above - so far, I have not experienced any significant price difference in buying organic vs. buying regular. Where I've seen a big difference is actually in processed foods and specialty foods, stuff like frozen foods, pasta, nut butters other than peanut butter (stuff like almond butter, cashew butter, etc), lunch meats and cheeses. These are items I don't tend to eat a lot of anyway (I do eat a lot of pasta but we buy it at Costco for super cheap), so they don't really effect my budget too much - I don't really eat a lot of processed foods and frozen foods, my cheese I still buy at Publix generally (especially when it's on sale), or Costco, lunch meat I definitely get at Costco, and I buy store-brand almond butter for only a buck or two more than the peanut butter I would usually buy (and I like the almond butter a lot more)... I've even found that while organic produce at Publix tends to be more expensive, at Whole Foods, I sometimes find my produce cheaper than even the regular stuff at Publix - so really as I said in previous replies, for me, it's all about just making smart choices, and doing a LOT of comparison shopping. Knowing where to find the best prices, and knowing which items generally get overpriced and which ones don't, etc.
Anyway, obviously this isn't a lifestyle I'm advocating for EVERYONE, it's just something I'd like to do personally.
Colure, this is a great post - welcome to the bandwagon!
It doesn't cost more to eat this way if you are willing to change some eating habits. Eating seasonally saves a ton of money, joining a CSA will save you lots on organic produce and growing your own even on a balcony in the city of sprouting greens in your kitchen mid-winter will help!
Cooking things from scratch on the weekend will save you a ton of money as well. You can order grains in bulk and bake your own bread, pancakes, etc. We make our own pizza every week which I've linked to the recipe for. We eat less meat but use it to "season" dishes instead so bacon and potato soup instead of a large meat dish for instance.
We don't spend any more now then we did before but you have a valid point that we are swimming in farmer's markets here in Seattle.
Good luck to you!
xo,
Sustainable Eats
Thank you so much - I love your blog! :D
My husband and I have been slowly integrating more and more organic food into our diet so that it probably makes up the majority of what we eat now :D The biggest victory for me was simply getting HIM on the bandwagon! It took a bit of convincing, but once I started cooking with organic ingredients, he really noticed a big difference, and since his stomach was won over, so was the rest of him ;) haha
And yeah, I'm so jealous of you Seattle peeps... I keep telling my husband that some day we will live there, and we'll be able to raise our family in an environment where we can take the kids to the local farmers market every weekend and teach them about sustainable living :D Some day!
Post a Comment