We'll be the first to admit that along the journey to green-ify our own lives, we slip up. Mostly in the food department (it's pretty easy to remember to use a CFL, recycle our batteries, and ease up on the plastic use); just last night, we ate out and had totally non-organic, fake-cheese smothered enchiladas...and really didn't think twice about it, especially after a long day at work.
We do our best to make conscious choices, but allow ourselves a bit of wiggle room. For instance, that eclair in the photo montage? Not organic. And we didn't think twice about it. But Dr. Alan Greene would have put his foot down, because for three full years, every single bite was organic.
Dr. Greene's experiment, according to this NYT article, was inspired after a dairy farmer explained to him that organically raised cows tended to get sick less. The same has been true with Dr. Greene's self experiment; he says he's healthy as can be. Dr. Greene also cut back on the meat, which is another way to lessen the footprint of our food.
We love the idea of eating as organic as possible, and are definitely on that track. But we don't see ourselves setting any must-follow rules (the book Plenty by Alisa Smith and J.B. MacKinnon comes to mind) or expecting our families to accommodate whenever we're in town.
What about you? Are you currently 100% organic, or would you challenge yourself to be?
Photos: Amber Byfield for Re-Nest.
Pretty organic- we buy almost all organic produce and milk, most meats, and don't really eat much in the way of packaged foods. However, I think that good ol' Dr Greene's experiment is pretty darn unrealistic for those of us living in the real world. If I had a few million bucks and lived in a big city (where frankly a lot more is available than here in Omaha, Nebraska- decent size city, not very "green") then sure I'd like to be all-organic too. The best we can do is be as organic as possible within our budgets and the "reasonable" factor (there is a Whole Foods in town- almost 45 minutes from where I live. There are many many good grocery stores 5-10 minutes from where I live with a pretty good selection of organic food. Why waste a tank of gas driving across town so I can buy just a few more organic items? Tradeoff doesn't work).
view Tiffany95's profile
We eat mostly organic. As students on a budget, sometimes there are trade-offs. We typically make exceptions when there is a local independently owned producer that is not organic, we choose to support them and encourage them to take steps towards becoming organic. Or for certain very expensive items that we use frequently (butter, cheese). We will also buy non-organic produce at the farmers market if there are no organic options at comparable quality.
When I get my first "real job" I will be prioritizing spending my money on organics, but will probably continue to buy some non-organics if it contributes to community businesses.
Oh and eating out? Pho doesn't count...
view ottawa_alison's profile
We try to be organic but I prefer to buy from local vendors with sustainable growing practices regardless of their organic certification.
view http://badhuman.wordpress.com's profile
Ideally, I would like to be all organic.
It is no doubt a challenge. But like everything else, I don't think it's always beneficial to be pigeonholed into anything especially when politics are involved. Certified organic is a step in the right direction but I won't let it prevent me from eating or serving good food which is not certified organic like so much of our local food supply.
view art's profile
shamefully I'm not organic at all. I don't have the extra money. Personally I'd love to buy from farmers markets, but for some odd reason there aren't ANY in my area....trust me I've looked and researched. Produce is rediculously expensive in a supermarket (no such thing as double coupon deals/days) and so organic is out of the question.
But it's always in the back of my mind, and I always make a point to browse past the organics...just incase there is a sale. And I'm always on the look out for locally grown food. You'd think south florida would have plenty to offer.
view nickel525's profile
We (a family of 4) have been eating 100% organic for the almost 9 years. At first it was had to find organic versions of certain foods, so we just didn't eat those foods. Sometimes you just couldn't make a recipe w/out buying a non-organic item. The past 5 years we have been able to find every grocery item imaginable organic, either at our local co-op, farmer's market, or online. Traveling is a little harder. We have to stock a cooler w/ food before we go for times when we pace thru a town that doesn't have an organic restaurant, co-op, or farmer's market.
view heathashli's profile