Why is Organic Food so Expensive!?

Yeah, why IS organic food so much more expensive than conventional?

Well, Adriana Velez tells us in this helpful post about farming and why the cost is so high in the supermarket.

So, with that being said, yes, eating organic can be expensive. Andrew and I have seen an increase in our food budget. Luckily, Andrew finds it just as important as I do to put more in the food budget and less in other, less important areas in order to feed ourselves the best foods...why? because our bodies are worth it and we have the means. Like I said, we sacrifice in some areas for this but we do it with 100% belief that supporting smaller, organic, clean, local farms is what we should be doing with our money.

Personally, my favorite organic foods are fruits. The taste, colors, and individual uniqueness of every God-given fruit is, well, invigorating! I love how organic fruit tastes compared to conventional. It really is my favorite thing ever. I love grapes, kiwis, eco-friendly organic pineapple, and Andrew and I have had a few cantaloupes this season that have been out of this world!

Finally, now that I've given you my opinions that probably mean little to you, check out this cool video I found about organic foods:

My Husband is AWESOME-and bought me a dehydrator

Hello Again!

This weekend, Andrew and I went to Bed Bath & Beyond to spend the last of our wedding store credit. Last time we went, I got a blender. This time, I got a dehydrator!!! Hooray!!! Andrew couldn't think of anything he wanted more than an iron (which we got) so he was fine with spending even MORE of our wedding money on raw food cooking tools! What a sweety. No beer kegerator for him--he is fine with dehydrators, blenders, food processors, hand mixers, upping the food budget, etc. so that I can do the raw thing. What a sweetie! I love my husband...for more reasons than him letting me buy stuff, but also because he lets me buy stuff! Hooray!

So, the first thing I did was get some flax seeds out and attempted some kind of raw cracker!

I know, it looks like a pizza or something, right? Well, these crackers actually have a pizza taste! I used one cup of flax seeds, about a cup of grape tomatoes, and half a red pepper. I threw in some basil and oregano. Oh, I also did a tiny dab of garlic. They taste awesome! Like pizza, I'm telling you! It took a tad bit longer than I would have liked because I used this clear plastic insert so that the crackers didn't smash through those holes--and the bottom didn't dry! So, I had to flip them over. onto the tray after about 5 hours. 

my first dehydrator experience :*)

On another note, I purchased a biodegradable (you can plant them right in the ground for transplanting!!!) "greenhouse seed starter" from a local co-op here in town. I grabbed some organic habanero seeds and PLANTED. I am SO excited for the salsa and raw hot sauce I will make here in the near future! :) :) :)

More on the organic garden to come!

Organic? But pesticides are soooo tasty! nom nom nom.

So, we fell out of eating raw for the past few days…maybe even a week. Of course, I still sent hubby out the door with a nice raw salad or made sure my lunch wrap was mostly raw, with maybe a little hummus here and there (or on every wrap-that stuff is awesome). Unbeknownst to him, we're about to jump back on the raw wagon. But, I think it is important to know why we haven’t wavered from our convictions on eating organically grown produce. I’m also going to include some things we stay away from, organic or not.

First of all, I know the feeling that organic produce is just too expensive and too small for its worth. I know from experience…after eating conventional all our lives (for the most part), Andrew and I always think the same thing when we go to our local grocer and pick up a cucumber that’s half the size and twice the price of a conventionally grown cucumber. The fact of the matter, though, is that that beautiful, hunter green giant cucumber in the conventionally grown isle or market is a mutant cucumber. The cucumber has been mutated by pesticides, herbicides, hormones, genetic tampering, and nitrates. By the way, have you SEEN those GIANT strawberries?! They are like the size of half my fist. MUTANT. Anyway, the point is this: it isn’t natural. Its …pretty disgusting, actually. And, as I believe, enmeshing yourself in God’s creation, in its most natural state, is the most beautiful and most perfect way to live in this world. You can’t really say you’re eating God’s pure creation, or something God gave us to nourish our bodies and keep us strong to do His will, when it is genetically tampered with by humans...twice the size, dyed, mutated, etc. EW. As for the price, continue reading to my second point.

Second, pesticides are neurotoxins. Check out the book “Rainbow Green Live-Food Cuisine” by Dr. Cousens. Read the first few chapters and you’ll be shocked by a study conducted in South America, where children in neighboring areas were studied. One area used pesticides, the other didn’t. The pesticide-eating children had much lower levels of brain development, and performed much worse on simple tasks than the others. Of course, the areas were screened for economic levels and other variables like that. CHECK IT OUT. It’s freaky…That was a rough overview, but the book explains the study for a long, long time. I'll see if I can find the original study to check out.

Third, a quote from Lifefood recipe book: Living on Life, information from a study conducted at Rutgers University:

 “Organically grown food generally has about twice the amount of vitamins and minerals than commercially grown food…. Not only that, but Organic oranges contain 30%  more Vitamin C than nonorganic, even though they tend to be about half the size. Organic peaches and pears were found to have higher cancer fighting compounds. In fact, a recent review of 41 scientific studies from countries around the world found that organic crops contain on average 27% more Vitamin C, 29.3% more magnesium, 21% more iron, 13.6% more phosphorus, 26% more calcium, 11% more copper, 42% more manganese, 9% more potassium, and 15% lower nitrates." 

The list goes on, but if you’re interested, you can check out the book or other books like it. A lot of live or raw books have information about organic farming and its health benefits (to consumers and to producers!).  Need I say more, though? I mean, really, so the produce is smaller-you eat smaller portions but get much more nutrients and protein. Its really true. I eat a lot less when I eat raw, organic food than I ever have!

Fourth, its SO GOOD. The taste is WAY better in organic produce. Seriously, get one of those fat, giant strawberries and cut it up. Eat it with an organic strawberry, and I PROMISE you will taste a difference. A Copenhagen zoo was shocked when their chimpanzees chose organic bananas over conventionally grown bananas. I mean, its THAT much better, even the chimps can taste the difference.

Fifth, eating and buying organic is better for the earth, and its better for farmers. Organically grown produce creates a flourishing eco-system of bugs, natural pesticides, soil microbes, etc. Soil fertility increases dramatically. Farmers don’t have to inhale pesticides and other harmful chemicals, nor will they be tied down by the giant chains of corporate GMO seed producers.

Ok, so that’s just a basic overview of everything organic. Now, we also have been consciously staying away from processed foods. Everything we eat must be one ingredient (or, in the case of sprouted grain breads/wraps, only organic grains/seeds, etc.). No wheat. No white flour. Nothing enriched. No processed soy or tofu.

Always remind yourself when you’re checking out that the scanner is actually your ballot, and each conventional item that swipes by is a vote that counts you as a “YES!” to pesticides (ie neurotoxins in our foods), herbicides, destroyed health for you and our farmers, destruction of the natural, God-made foods, etc. 

Creepy Food, Inc Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0&feature=related