chow down?

Ugh. I'm disgusted.

And this feeling comes in waves every time I dig in and try to learn more about greener practices and healthier food. I've always joked that I'd really just like to believe that hamburger magically shows up on the shelf in the grocery on a nice styrofoam plate, wrapped in plastic. Because if I knew more, I'd be the quickest vegetarian convert in town! And then it sinks in, and the whole concept embarrasses me. I'm not kidding, my face is red and warm as I type this paragraph. I read a quote last night in a great green book called Gorgeously Green about how in Nazi Germany "the road to hell was paved with indifference." Well, yeah.

The author was using the quote to draw a parallel to how so many of us choose not to get involved with issues of organics, sustainability, global warming, what have you. We all have our reasons for doing what we do, and that's fine. Sophie (the author, you know, like we're friends now) is quick to lay out the theory of her own greening: no judgment, no guilt for the past, no being anything less than gorgeous (which is more of a life concept and less of an appearance thing).

The companion book in my current green education is called To Buy or Not To Buy Organic and I've actually been picking my way through this one for about a year or so now. And I thought I'd give you a little relevant bite of it here, but then I got side tracked into reading about how conventional meat moves through the consumer lifecycle before it ends up on our plates. And I'm back to being horribly embarrassed about my own apathy. Sigh. I have theories about hormones in our foods contributing to larger baby weights and earlier menstruation in our children. Yep, that's an entirely different blog subject that someone much more educated than I should write.

The truth is, food is one of my passions in life. And honestly, women's health issues has become a really big one for me growing up and becoming one myself. You walk 180 miles for Breast Cancer, you start thinking seriously about your role. And yet, between those two things, I can't help but feeling more than just a tiny bit guilty about the decisions I often make about what goes in and on my own body. To Sophie's point, I will just acknowledge that I can do better and line up my values and my actions. That's the whole point of this blog anyway, right? Moving forward?

So for today, I'll focus my attention on dreaming about the coming months' bounty of fruits and vegetables, and on how we can afford all of this luxurious food. Because, let's face it, eating green takes more greenbacks. And today, that requires choices, people. Choices.

In To Buy or Not To Buy, here are the 12 foods that author Cindy Burke calls the "dirty dozen" - meaning, if you eat them, make the effort to buy organic:

• strawberries
• red/green bell peppers
• spinach
• cherries
• peaches
• nectarines
• celery
• apples
• pears
• grapes
• raspberries
• potatoes

And the "clean fifteen" - you can go ahead and buy conventional here:

• asparagus
• avocado
• bananas
• blueberries
• broccoli
• cabbage
• garlic
• kiwi
• mango
• onion
• papaya
• pineapple
• shelling peas
• sweet corn
• domestically grown watermelon

I read a quick piece yesterday about how 3 families cut costs during this economic downturn, and one of them was committed to organic foods. Honestly, I didn't find it all that helpful. The big organic-related revelations: if you can't give up your pricey supermarket, commit to going half the time; if it has a peel, you don't need to buy organic; use your slow cooker. Hmm. Now, I adore my slow cooker but I think we already know that the peel concept doesn't hold. Potatoes anyone? The list above helps me pick and choose better than these lame directives.

So, I'm going to continue to study this and figure out how to make some impactful decisions. I'll let you know what I find out. Right now, I'm going to stick with juicing from my little neighborhood "crash & smash" produce store and visit them often to see what's come in. And I'm going to stick with organic, hormone-free milk or almond milk. And I guess I'm going to figure out where that cow came from.

Here are a couple of interesting things I found poking around the internet today. First is the blog of my favorite cookbook author of all time. He also has a new book out about more conscientious eating called Food Matters; I haven't checked it out yet, but it's on the list. He's a total idol of mine. The other links I just found worth the read. Enjoy!


Mark Bittman: Bitten Blog
5 Ways to Buy Organic on a Budget
Top 10 Reasons to Support Organic in the 21st Century