Vote with your dollar!

Oh my goodness. Shopping for organic foods at a "normal" grocery store is so difficult! The only grocery store near my work is a Von's, and their organic section is so pitiful. Yes, it's better than the nearby Albertson's, but still not great. Plus everything is super expensive! Organic produce is NOT this expensive at Whole Foods. I know people complain that organic is expensive, but it's because they're going to a store where Organic is not the norm. At whole foods, usually, 90% of the time, if they sell a certain conventional produce they have it also in organic too! I love it. I see mangoes all the time and think, mm...i want one of those, all I have to do at Whole Foods is go one bin over and there it is "grown organically." But unfortunately, when i moved recently, I also moved out of range of a nearby whole foods! I used to go on my way home, or would get in the car, and would love the short drive and shopping trip, it was worth it. But now, it's a hassle. So, I end up going to Vons, or sometimes trader Joe's. But, as much as love the idea of TJs, they don't have as much organic as I would like. I also love to shop local farmer's markets, but I haven't been around enough to go a lot. Needless to say, my daily lunchtime salads have been looking pretty sad lately: organic carrots, organic avocado, organic lettuce, and organic tomatoes. Where's the organic fresh kale? or the organic fresh corn? or maybe a few organic mushrooms? :( Not there. And it's summer! My salad should be as bright as possible!

Hopefully, sometime this week I'll make it to Whole Foods. I just wish organic produce was more common and less trendy. I visited the new Trader Joe's in my city last night (not close either, but I was already near there) and it had more organic produce,  more produce in general, my other TJ's has been pretty barren lately. I guess that means they're doing good business?

Anyway, after all my complaining about grocery stores, I found that a lot of press has been given to the "dirty dozen." AKA the most pesticide-y produce. More info: http://www.foodnews.org/methodology.php Read the article especially where it says "Celery had been treated with as many as 67 pesticides" eww.. you think water is going to wash all that away? No way! Think about it, if rain could just wash away these pesticides, would it be worth it for the growers? Worth the money, time, even deaths (yes pesticide poisoning is a real problem). So the list of the dirty dozen, as said in the article is:

1. Celery

2. Peaches

3. Strawberries

4. Apples

5. Blueberries

6. Nectarines

7. Bell peppers

8. Spinach

9. Kale

10. Cherries

11. Potatoes

12. Grapes

Now, I like to "vote with my dollar' and buy ONLY organic produce. Yes, i still eat non-organic veggies; it's difficult to ask the chef at a nice restaurant or even a friend's house "umm..excuse me, is this organic?" But I definitely purchase organic and seek out organic options. I know about the "clean 15" in which studies have found little to no pesticide residue on some produce, such as avocados and mangoes, but I still like to be extra sure. Plus, a thick skin doesn't necessarily mean that the pesticides don't permeate. Also, if you want organic to be less expensive (like i do!) then we need to show them that we want more. VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLAR!