Organic Produce
When my son was born in October 2005, I promised that I would give Hendrick only organic foods. I worried about pesticides absorbed into fruits and veggies and hormones injected into meats and milk. I feared that genetically modified foods could be harmful to his health - and I just didn't want to take any chances with his development.
The cost of organic foods, however, can sometimes be three times the cost of regular items found in the supermarket - a hardship for middle-class families like mine and out of the question for families who can barely pay the bills.
But how else do we, as consumers and parents, send a message to big business and government that we want healthier foods for our children?
For one, we can lobby our federal and state representatives: The Asbury Park Press ran a series this week about federal farm subsidies. The farm bill is set to expire, and Congress may retool the program to boost organic agriculture and provide more money to New Jersey's small and mid-sized family-owned farms.
Additional government assistance would allow organic farmers to increase production, reduce their costs and, hopefully, offer their products at lower prices.
Secondly, you can purchase a share in a local organic farm. I joined Roosevelt Community Supported Agriculture. I split a single share with my friend Irene. (The cost was $300 for the season; a family share was $500, but who can eat that much Swiss Chard?) We take turns picking up our produce each weekend. If you get there early on a Friday morning you can see Farmer Dave and his girlfriend, Tara, plucking the lettuce, scallions and other greens right out of the ground before his mom sorts the stuff in boxes for us to pick up that evening. (The price comes out to $7.50 for a bag of fruits, veggies and herbs each week for 20 weeks. I consider this a substantial savings from what I would pay at the supermarket.)
The Green Guide, a bimonthly online magazine, summed up why it is so important to feed children cleaner foods in a 2003 article about the links between children and pesticides: The very young are particularly vulnerable to environmental toxins, which can disrupt the development of their rapidly developing nervous, hormonal and respiratory systems, according to Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
The Green Guide produced a list of the Top 10 foods to avoid. Try to buy the organic varieties of these products to reduce your family's exposure to contaminants and pesticides:
Fruits: apples, peaches, pears, nectarines and strawberries.
Vegetables: bell peppers, hot peppers, celery, spinach and potatoes.
The cost of organic foods, however, can sometimes be three times the cost of regular items found in the supermarket - a hardship for middle-class families like mine and out of the question for families who can barely pay the bills.
But how else do we, as consumers and parents, send a message to big business and government that we want healthier foods for our children?
For one, we can lobby our federal and state representatives: The Asbury Park Press ran a series this week about federal farm subsidies. The farm bill is set to expire, and Congress may retool the program to boost organic agriculture and provide more money to New Jersey's small and mid-sized family-owned farms.
Additional government assistance would allow organic farmers to increase production, reduce their costs and, hopefully, offer their products at lower prices.
Secondly, you can purchase a share in a local organic farm. I joined Roosevelt Community Supported Agriculture. I split a single share with my friend Irene. (The cost was $300 for the season; a family share was $500, but who can eat that much Swiss Chard?) We take turns picking up our produce each weekend. If you get there early on a Friday morning you can see Farmer Dave and his girlfriend, Tara, plucking the lettuce, scallions and other greens right out of the ground before his mom sorts the stuff in boxes for us to pick up that evening. (The price comes out to $7.50 for a bag of fruits, veggies and herbs each week for 20 weeks. I consider this a substantial savings from what I would pay at the supermarket.)
The Green Guide, a bimonthly online magazine, summed up why it is so important to feed children cleaner foods in a 2003 article about the links between children and pesticides: The very young are particularly vulnerable to environmental toxins, which can disrupt the development of their rapidly developing nervous, hormonal and respiratory systems, according to Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City.
The Green Guide produced a list of the Top 10 foods to avoid. Try to buy the organic varieties of these products to reduce your family's exposure to contaminants and pesticides:
Fruits: apples, peaches, pears, nectarines and strawberries.
Vegetables: bell peppers, hot peppers, celery, spinach and potatoes.
1 Comments:
Thank you for the info. My family has bought organic food for a long time. Now that Costco has started to carry a lot of items it has been a savings. May I share this article with others?
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