In Australia!

Sorry I havne't posted much, I haven't had much time!!  I have been in Australia, staying with a friend and she has kept me very busy!!  I have seen some organic restaurants, lots of juice bars and even a few "natural" and organic grocery stores, but unfortunately, haven't been able to go in any of them!  I did get a smoothie from a juice bar yesterday it was delicious.  SO their juice options are more fruits than veggies.  At WF back home you have lots of different veggie options which include fruits like lemon and apple, but rarely berries.  Those are saved for smoothies.  But here, they only have one veggie juice on the menu and heaps of berries and fruits.  Oh yes the australians say heaps instead of "a lot."  So the options are like fresh watermelon with berries, or berries and mango mushed together with ice, so basically a smoothie but still fresh and no dairy or juice! 
So that's what i've learned, and hopefully, i'll be able to check these organic places out more in detail later, but for now, i am just enjoying my vacation!! 

talk soon!

Not much to say

Hey guys so sorry I haven't been updating.  I have a great reason though: I am going to Australia!!  I will still definitely seek out organic foods and I definitely want to find out the difference between organic USA style and Organic Aussie style.  So look for some new, but not as often, posts.

I did go organic cherry picking this past weekend, so once I get some pics, i'll definitely post - it was a blast!  A healthy, delicious blast!

Oh and i'll be starting an Australian blog too.  so check for that!

that's it!  Thanks!!

Shopping adventure

So last night I went to 2 different grocery stores.  One which is smaller and seems to be trying to be a bit like whole foods, but not really.  The other is a big major chain.

Right when I walked up to the market, there's a sign that says "why choose organic?'  Great, I thought, this will be a good shopping experience.  Of course all of the produce that was outside next to said sign were not organic.  hmmm..what?  So then I go around looking at the food.  The frozen food selection is similar but smaller than WF.  Which is fine, it's a smaller store.  The bulk items were a HUGE disappointment, NOTHING organic, even though they had 3 rows of bulk!!  I love bulk, and their selection was huge, but NOTHING said organic on it.  Moving on to fruits and veggies.  They had a fruits and veggies sections.  The veggie section was actually surprisingly good, two types of organic kale, a few organic chards and then the run of the mill veggies in the organic variety.  The fruits were not so great...umm people...it's summer!!  Why are we so limited??
So since I was in the area, I decided to try the major chain store.  They seem like a higher end chain store, but it's all in the marketing.  In every other aisle, there was a vertical sign half way down the row coming out for the shelves that said "natural."   hmmm..so I went to go look at this "natural" section in the chips aisle.  it included all natural tortilla chips, all natural potato chips and even a few small bags of organic!  wow.  does anybody else get bothered by the fact that their eating "unnatural" foods?  It's food, your body is supposed to know what it is!!  They had more variety of organics in salad dressing, but still confined to one little shelving area.  And the organic produce section was dismal.

My cart was empty, although Wedding Crashers was on sale for 10 dollars, so I picked it up.

So now I know what they have and what they don't have.  I don't think the major chain store really cares though, otherwise they would promote organics more.  The smaller one though, they seem to want to be known for carrying organic stuff - but if that's the case they'll have to actually have the product!!

organic farmers forced to spray

It appears that an epidemic has hit the fruit growers of California! read here. The new pest called SWD is native to Japan and Asia but has spread out to the states.  These bugs are dangerous because they attack fruit on the trees and then lay eggs.  The pests don't make it to the top of the trees, but that means 1/2 the crop is dead. So what's a farmer to do?  Well how do they keep other pests away?  I guess whatever organic methods the farmers use don't work on these new pests.  So the article says "wash more thoroughly than ever before."  As we've discussed previously, if washing was really going to get off the pesticides then the farmers would have to re-spray after every rain.  We know that isn't happening.  Unfortunately,  the fruits that are most susceptible are thin-skinned fruits, which are also usually the ones on the dirty dozen, or have the highest pesticide content and require the most pesticides.  So what should we do?  Honestly, I'm sorry, a pesticide is a pesticide.  I know you, the organic farmer, hates to resort to them and wouldn't if you didn't, but that doesn't mean I have to resort to them.
The good news is that they are going to research these pests and see what can be done about them.  In about 10 years the SWD will be immune to the pesticide anyway so organic and conventional farmers will all be in the same boat.

Organic Cotton

So, I read an interesting article in the LA times IMAGE section this past weekend.  Here's a link to it.  The article discusses the exhibit  "Eco Fashion: Going Green," on view at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.  Too bad I can't make it to NY.  This article discusses a few different evolutions in fashion, from mass production so everybody could have fashion to new synthetic dyes.  Of course each has their own ramifications.   The mass production was successful due to poor working environments which led to its own problems, like workers dying in the  Triangle Shirtwaist Factory factory fire, all the women were trapped inside because management locked them in so they couldn't take breaks.  Now the US has stringent labor laws, of course not all our clothing is made in the US.  The other advancement I mentioned, synthetic dyes, also had its share of problems.  One 1800s silk tulle dress was dyed with arsenic attests!  Ew!  arsenic?  
Now how does this relate?  Well, maybe (probably) we're poisoning ourselves, in many ways.  Maybe 100 years from now will people be saying "Eww that shirt was made without organic fibers?"


However, in the same article I learned a few new things that further my challenge with the non-food part of my  mission.  The challenge being: when I go towards organic am I really doing any good for myself or for the planet?  In this article specifically, they discuss cotton nylon seersucker, which was supposed to help save energy by not having to iron, but the production of nylon is  hazardous to the environment because it leaves nitrous oxide gas in the environment for about 120 years!  So should we iron or leave behind a gas for 120 years?  And what about Rayon?  The article mentions that it's biodegradable and better in that regard than cotton, but it's chemically produced.  So if I do some research, will I find that the way it is produced is more harmful than the way cotton is produced?  So which wins? 
Food is a bit more clear cut, although organic is more expensive, it's healthier for everybody.  But beauty, clothes, other products, not so clear cut!  When I decide to use organic sunscreen will it be as effective and ward off skin cancer?  But if I use the cheap stuff am I just opening myself up to thousands of chemicals that will eventually give me a different cancer?


something to think about, and investigate further!

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thanks!!

Organic on the cheap!

Since going organic, I have found cheap ways to buy organic produce.  Like NOT shopping at big name stores where organic is rare.  And when you shop direct (as direct as possible) from the source at the farmer's market, you usually get a better deal.  So I have been making sure to hit one up as often as I can.  But it's always nice to find an article about how to save money.  I have embarked on this mission, why not make it cheaper?

Here's an article from Red Plum that I found via a google search.  Keep it open so you can refer to it.

#1 Farmer's Markets- I already do.

#2 Coupons - I'll have to pay better attention to my sunday paper. I really never expected to see anything for organic foods.
#3 makes sense - quality is better than quantity, 1 cheap organic apple will fill me up better than a junky 100 calorie pack (which really aren't that cheap if you're eating 4 a day to stay full!).  

#4 Spelt - hm, I knew to always look for whole wheat flour, but I'm not too knowledgeable about Spelt.  i'll investigate it and maybe even test it out (check back here for my findings!)

#5 Go Local - How can you be so sure that local foods are automatically organic?  If you live near a big farm that isn't organic, you're still eating locally aren't you?  I think they mean that if you go to a farmer's market and the sign doesn't say the farm is certified organic, it doesn't mean the farm doesn't use organic methods, it just means the farm is too small to pay for certification.  So ask!  I'll try this next time!

#6 Going Veg. - It can be cheaper.. but if you're replacing your chicken with pasta every night, it won't be healthier.  Just make sure you're transferring your money from an expensive organic food to a good-for-you alternative.

#7Nuts- I do love raw nuts.  Especially organic nuts, and when you can buy them in bulk at WF or some other health store, they're usually cheaper.  This also gives you a cheaper, healthier alternative to whatever your current snack is (unless it's an organic apple..then, they both win!)

#8 Bread variety- Not sure how looking at different organic breads will be cheaper, maybe because you'll have more options- so you'll be able to find better deals? Definitely healthier to go whole wheat or better yet, sprouted!

#9 Pasta - Whole wheat pasta is the only pasta I eat, I can't even stand white pasta anymore - so much better for you and usually the same price as the regular!

#10 Au Natural - Raw foodists believe that it is always better to eat something in the raw (hence the name) from fruits to nuts to agave, I believe that when you eat something in its simplist form you are saving money (as long as it isn't some gourmet label) and absorbing the most nutrients.

Some other tips I have read over the past month that I like are: do it yourself!  You have complete control over your garden, you decide what does or doesn't go in it.  And join a CSA!  They give you a bag a week of local and organic fruits and veggies, I plan to do this when I move to San Francisco in the fall.  Can't wait to report back!