It was an actual sunny and hot day in Halifax yesterday and it finally felt like summer should! I spent my lunch hour at Local Joe Cafe & Market (I seem to becoming a regular there) and I enjoyed another tasty Joe’s fizzy lemonade:
And I sat by the window enjoying the breeze, shade and some bloggin’:
I had the most fun burning almost 300 calories after work jumping on the trampolene. I’m tellin ya you guys, it’s hard work! I had a major sweat going on and I had my heart rate in the high 160’s. My butt and abs are sorrrrrrrrrrrre this morning! (More than from Tuesday's Bootycamp!) So fun!
Supper was soooooooo goood, I had to share it with ya’ll.
It was a salmon salad which consisted of:
- can of wild pacific salmon
- sweet farmer's market carrots
- english cucumber
- cherry tomatoes cut in half
- red pepper
- fresh farmer's market organic spinach
- sliced black olives
- corn off the cob
- avocado
- Hellman’s EVOO mayo
- dijon mustard
on a bed of fresh greens. HOLY YUM! I’m enjoying some for lunch today!
P.S. I love saying "fresh farmer's market" 'cause it makes it sound so much tastier doesn't it?!
On a related noted, today's latest buzz in the health food world is that "there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs." Published today in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition is a systemic review of sources of research and publications including PubMed, Web of Science, and CAB Abstracts for a period of 50 y from 1 January 1958 to 29 February 2008, and which also including contacting subject experts, and hand-searched bibliographies and included peer-reviewed articles.
The review consisted of 52,471 articles and of those, they "identified 162 studies (137 crops and 25 livestock products); 55 were of satisfactory quality. In an analysis that included only satisfactory quality studies, conventionally produced crops had a significantly higher content of nitrogen, and organically produced crops had a significantly higher content of phosphorus and higher titratable acidity. No evidence of a difference was detected for the remaining 8 of 11 crop nutrient categories analyzed. Analysis of the more limited database on livestock products found no evidence of a difference in nutrient content between organically and conventionally produced livestock products."
The analysis concluded, "On the basis of a systematic review of studies of satisfactory quality, there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. The small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods. "
Here's the thing though, maybe this review may sway folks that there may be little nutritional differences between the two, but this analysis has nothing to do with the affect of pesticides both physiologically on humans or environmentally. I hope that folks who get wind of this information do not discount the other benefits of organically grown produce and livestock because there are other important reasons for choosing organic!
In days where many people are pinching pennies, while many people simply cannot afford to buy organic, many people have expressed that they would still not make that sacrifice and pay the higher premium. I wonder now, in light of this new information, will it now sway people to relax their "rules" on choosing to buy organic. I'm thinking maybe not because those people who are "sticking to their guns" and choosing organic in tougher economic times are, in my opinion, likely more informed about the concerns of pesticides and the use of hormones and antibiotics and not just nutrients alone.
I know that it is far more difficult in Canada, or at least in Nova Scotia (compared to the U.S.) to buy organic (especially meats), due to cost and accessibility (even though it is steadily improving and becoming more accessible and slightly more affordable), so it does mean making a financial sacrifice to do so. While I don't buy 100% organic, I am steadily doing it more and more and for me, I sometimes choose buying organic over a new pair of shoes and this information hasn't affected my view.
Opinions:
What do you think? Do you buy organic? Do you buy local? How easy or how difficult is it for you? In light of this information, does it change your mind?
21 comments:
That's so weird ... are there actually people out there who buy organic food because they think it has more nutrients? I mean, has anyone ever even claimed that?
To me it's, as you mentioned, the pesticides and their cost on the environment and my health. I would assume that's why most people buy them! (Although I do think some people mistakenly think that organic also means more ethical / sustainable / humane, which it doesn't always.) Plus I do believe a lot of organic food tastes better! Especially the fruit, it's usually much sweeter! In my experience, anyway.
I saw a blurb about that on the news last night while I was at the gym. The guy was saying that he felt that a lot of organic eaters were no longer eating their full daily servings of fruits & veggies due to cost of organic produce, and that in his opinion we should use "regular" produce to ensure we get all of our servings in order to keep our diets healthy.
I tend to agree with him. I will buy organic if it's reasonably priced, but if it's not then I fill the rest of my basket with regular produce because I'm not going to skip out just because I can't buy organic.
I still refuse to buy organic milk or meat because it's just too expensive.
People who claim that organic foods contain more nutrients than conventional were a real source of frustration for me while I was working on my Nutrition degree. Ugh.
I shoot for local produce, and try to buy "thin skinned" fruits and veggies from the organic section. I'm not going to spend my money on organic bananas when the part that you actually eat remains pretty much untouched by pesticides anyway.
I'm poor so nothing organic lands in my basket.
I'm like Vanessa and I try to buy Canadian first. That's all.
I'm more worried about the smog in TO eventually killing me vs. pesticides on my carrots.
I have started to eat more and more organic foods. And around here at least some of them are the same price as regular. This week organic cherries are the same price so that's what i buy! And no that article won't stop me from buying more organic foods.
I'm with Marie. Although I do love the idea of eating fewer chemicals, I try to do it by eating fewer processed foods. I tell myself, correctly or not, that I can at least try to rid my produce of pesticide residue by washing it, I can't remove the 14 unpronounceable ingredients in a mass produced cookie or cracker. And I just can't afford it. Produce is expensive in Northwestern Ontario as it is and I'm feeding me + a very hungry athlete every day.
What really irks me is when people load up their carts with organic produce from Costa Rica. Um, the carbon footprint that mango has from shipping is a bigger blight on the environment!
I try and eat local and what's in season. I've got a spot in my community garden that will keep me in lettuce, kale, chard, onions, beets, carrots and hopefully tomatoes all summer. What I don't grow, I buy at the farmer's market and I select growers that are within a 100 mile radius.
I think it's more important to forge a relationship with the grower than whether or not they're certified organic. That certification is really expensive to get and really, if the farm next to you isn't organic, how can you be 100% sure that the pesticide they sprayed doesn't affect your crop when the wind blows? But that's just the farmer in me talkin'.
H =)
i try to buy mostly organic and local, but if i can't for some reason (not available or bad selection), then it's outta my control and i don't stress about it too much :)
i would be curious to know who ultimately funded that study/analysis...usually you can follow the money trail to rich and greedy corporations who only care about profits and who lean on or compensate the scientists or researchers to have a favorable outcome for the corporation...or that might just be the paranoid conspiracy-theorist in me :)
Andrea: yes I've actually been told by reliable "gurus" that organic produce are more nutrient dense than non-organic!
Jaime: meats are where I get most worried and it's really hard to go out of your way and pay like DOUBLE for free range/organics. I can't afford it, but that's where I'd want to the most. Friggers.
Vanessa: I agree with you're philosophy
Marie: I'd worry about the smog too :-(
spunkisuzi: I wish more people would pay attention to sales like that. Can't go wrong!
Tamara: good point - no amount of washing will ever rid the processed part out of the cookies! lol
H-woman: i wish we had a community garden that I could get in on! How great would that be! Great points!
Brandi: the footnotes on the title of the article, for what it's worth state: 1 From the Nutrition and Public Health Intervention Research Unit (ADD, SKD, AH, and RU) and the Medical Statistics Unit (EA), Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom, and the Health Services Research Unit, Department of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK (KL).
2 The funding organization had no role in the study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or writing of the report. The review team held 6 progress meetings with the funding organization.
3 Supported by the UK Food Standards Agency (PAU221).
As you know, I alway try to buy oragnic or local, and sometimes when I get that lucky local & oragnic!
The amount of pesticides/chemicals on non-orgnic produce is SCARY. Maybe the nutrients are the same but what are all those chemicals on the non-organic produce actually doing to your body? Have to think of the long term effects too.
For me, it is worth it to pay more for the organic products. On weeks that I'm trying to be strict with my budget I will simply buy a little less.
I also believe in shopping locally to help sustain the "one shop" businesses that work so hard to compete against the ginormous chains.
A question that has been going around lately in the news world is also the standards of organic foods. How do we know that what we are buying is really organic and not just jacked up prices on meat and produce?
While doing a search on this topic, I came across this:
http://www.ota.com/standards/canadian.html
Thanks for the post! I read the article yesterday and thought the same thing about the pesticides and the moral issues rather than the nutritional values.
We were just starting to buy organic more when hubby lost his job. When he finished school & has a new job and my checks are *fun money* again then we will buy organic again. I hate not being able to! Your salad looks wonderful!
I am not %100 either. But I do try to buy organic as much as possible. Have you seen this? http://www.foodnews.org/ ? It is a print out of produce that are either lower or higher in pesticides. I actually laminated mine and I take it to the grocery store with me. It really helps. I blogged about it a couple months ago. :)
Your lunch looked delish!
I buy local organic whenever possible. I like to support my local farmers and build relationships with the people that grow our food. We have farmer's markets every day so it's very easy to access to as much fresh things as possible. I'm very lucky that way. And yes, I do think it tastes better. And yes, I know that organics might not be nutitionally better for you but eating foods without genetic engineering and pestisides has got to be healthier for you.
I have a friend whose dad works for the Dept. of Agriculture in the US. He stated that there is really no difference between "organic" and "regular" produce, in that there are still pesticides used in the growth of what is considered organic produce. You just end up paying a lot more.
So, if you want produce that was grown without all the pesticides large commercial farms use, than it is best to buy from local farmers (which I try and do as much as possible). However, maybe the situation is different in Canada?
I buy my produce from the farmers market, but just because your fruit comes from the farmers market does not mean that it is organic nor does it mean that it is grown locally. (At least mine doesn't) I try to make sure the vendors I used are local ones.
I agree with Tamara about the processed foods bit.
i usually buy everything based on price so sometimes organic sometimes not. i would like to buy all organic but it's not really an option for me as a city dweller on a budget.
Organic is not an options for me. As a student I am no where close to being able to buy all organic... now if it's on sale, then that is a different story
It sounds like they missed the point of organic! I just wish the labeling was clearer of what means what...
Canada has nothing in place to govern what is deemed Organic - while the plant may have been grown without pesticides, it isn't necessarily pesticide free. It may (and likely does) contain pesticides from nearby fields. Until they start to govern the process, I can't justify paying more $$. I do try to by locally grown stuff though - I think it is important to support my community.
I'm with Shawnee -- I try to avoid the "dirty dozen" as per foodnews.org (which generally boils down to what Vanessa said, thin-skinned fruits & veggies, though some items on the list are surprising).
If I wanted to get the healthiest foods in terms of *nutrients* I'd be trying to get them as fresh as possible, i.e. local. The longer they sit on a truck, the fewer nutrients end up in my belly.
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