Credit *clarity* via Flickr

I was recently caught in a discussion over organic food. Our family eats quite a bit of organic food everything from dairy, meat and most of our vegetables. We prefer to eat organic mostly for the health benefits and the reduction in chemicals use that goes into the environment and our bodies. But in a recent discussion the opinion was expressed that organic food was a marketing ploy and that we were being ripped off. I of course defended our choices by stating that organics are supposed to be safer and the certification process is supposed to protect that.

But the discussion did prompt me to think twice about organics, was organic food really worth it? Are we really just suckers of a current trend, like the Atkins diet craze a few years back? What if the organic certification wasn’t really being followed and we were consuming the same apples everyone else was albeit at a higher price?

While you can never be absolutely certain a producer isn’t circumventing the organic certification, there are some facts that have led me to believe my original reasons for going organic were the right choices to make.

Everyone acknowledges that current vegetables and fruits are sprayed with chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This is not a debate, this is a fact. What is debated is whether these chemicals have any effect on our bodies. Some say that these chemicals are benign and without them we could never have the abundant food harvests cultivated in modern farming. In addition using these chemicals are necessary if we are to feed an ever increasing global population.

On the other side of the argument the organic camp states that any amount of chemical ingested is bad for you. Children in particular are most susceptible due to their size and decreased capacity to process these chemicals. And the chemicals also pose an environmental threat as ground water contamination from run off.

So what is the risk from these chemicals?

Studies have show that many chemicals still exist in our bodies long after consumption. PCBs for example can be found in every person on the planet even those with no direct contact from this chemical. PCBs have been found amongst the most remote indigenous tribes to the upper reaches of the arctic circle.

In addition according to a Fast Company article posted earlier, it states that the chemical companies in the US are not regulated by a particular government body. That means the onus to prove that a chemical is safe rests solely on the chemical manufacturer’s shoulders. In the case of Bisphenol A the chemical manufacturers admit it’s bad for you, but again they revert back to the argument that it’s safe so long as it’s in small enough quantities. Studies have show that Bisphenol A can take some time to pass our bodies, during that period we are exposed to more Bisphenol A so it has an accumulating effect. With millions on the line and shareholders holding the executives accountable, how thoroughly are products like Bisphenol A being tested?

We know that chemicals are being sprayed on conventional fruits and vegetables, and we also know that there are some unanswered questions about the chemicals that surround us. While it’s true I can not proove inconclusively that organics practices have been followed, if there is a food option that has a higher likely hood to contain fewer chemicals I’ll take it. And when it comes to my child no price is too steep to reduce exposure to chemicals.

But what about the cost? Critics of organic foods also point out the increased cost of the everyday food items. This is not something I debate either, we definitely see a larger grocery bill than we did previously, but we also buy half if not more of our food as organic, I suspect we eat more organic food than the average consumer so our bill may be larger than the average organic consumer.

According to the USDA in 2006 the average American household spent 9.6% of their income on food. While this may seem like a lot of money consider these facts; India (39.4 percent) and Indonesia (49.9 percent) are among the highest when it comes to the amount of disposable income spent on food according to an article published in the Salem news. In reality most of us have the resources to purchase foods that are less likely to contain pesticides. While others may not want to spend that much, there are options.

For instance certain foods absorb more chemicals than others or are more susceptible to pesticides when sprayed. Start with the foods you eat that have the greatest risk and purchase only those as organic. In essence buy organic strategically, you don’t have to convert your shopping habits overnight. (For a list of the foods with the highest toxicity levels jump to the links below.)

While I realize not everyone can afford to purchase organic, if you can afford it, why not reduce your chemical exposure? I for one am happy to reduce our risk even if it comes at a higher cost, and I think my daughter will thank me for it later.

Let me know what you think in the comments, I’d love to hear about others opinions or experiences.

Click here for a list of which fruits and veggies have the highest pesticide loads.

List of sources:
Percent of us income spend on food
Article providing stats on income spent on food globally

Credit 96dpi via Flickr

Like most Canadians over the years I’ve been told of our abundant freshwater resources, and how we are one of the richest countries when it comes to fresh water resources. Numerous reports have been publishes that put our global fresh water share at varying amounts; 25%, 20% and so on. Either way many people would agree, we have an abundance of fresh water. Or do we?

Upon closer examination it becomes clear that only a fraction of the fresh water we currently have is renewable. Again there are varying stats but I’ve read numbers such as only 7%, 9% etc of our national fresh water supply is renewable. That means most of our fresh water is tied into non renewable resources such as glaciers, icebergs and other resources that are in retreat. Withe the onset of global warming it only speeds up the diminishing nature of these non renewable resources.

Many climate and water experts now believe that water scarcity in many countries will reach a global crisis in the latter part of this century, wich raises the possbility of conflict in certain parts of the world.

The myth of abundant, never ending fresh water seems so tied to our public psyche here in Canada that most of us take it for granted. Perhaps that’s why Canadians are amongst the top consumers of fresh water per capita in the world. In fact Canadians use more than twice the water people in Europe use.

But it doesn’t have to be this way, with simple steps we can reduce our consumption. GoBlue.org is a site created by Unilever canada, it discusses the issues above in detail and gives tips on how you can reduce your water consumption in your home.

Visit GoBlue.org
More stats on Canadian water use in Canada

King Corn

In King Corn Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis are two Ivy league grads who after analyzing their hair samples discover that the carbon in their body is mostly made up of corn. They also discover that they are the first generation to potentially have a shorter life expectancy than the previous generation. Both of these issues are directly related to our diet and what we eat.

Determined to find out how corn has become such a staple of the American diet they move out to Iowa to grow an acre of corn. After convincing a farmer to lend them an acre of land they set out planting a crop. Little did they know planting and growing the crop would be the easy part, once their acre of corn ended up in the commercial grain system it was easier said than done tracking it’s progress as it was processed into other products.

Wanting to find out exactly what happens to all this corn lead them to examine the underbelly of American corn production. They begin by explaining why America in particular produces so much corn, how it’s subsidized and how the corn differs from the corn we eat at the dinner table.

They also discover how corn has seeped into every corner of the food supply, from artificial sweetners, to hamburgers, all of it corn. The fact that just about everything we eat is corn based has drastically altered our health, and not necessarily for the better.

Watch the trailer here

Mark Bittman

New York Times food columnist and author Mark Bittman is interviewed in this NPR radio show. In it he discusses his move to a healthier diet and how it impacts not only his health but also the planet.

Mark Bittman found himself at a cross roads, his health was suffering from extra weight and after consulting with his doctor he was told to shift to a more vegetable based diet. At the same time he also became more aware that our meat and process food centric diet was not only unhealthy but that we needed to change our views of food. After reading the UN report “Livestock’s Long Shadow” Mark discovered that 18% of all greenhouse gases are produced by industrial livestock production, therefore almost a fifth of all greenhouse gases are produced by eating meat, Second only to energy production.

With this knowledge he made positive changes that not only helped him loose weight and become healthier but also help reduce his carbon footprint.

Listen to the interview here
Amazon page for Mark’s Cookbook: Food Matters a Guide to Conscious Eating

Credit: Shrff14 via Flickr

With the amount of money we spend on bottled water we could bring fresh water to all the people in the world who need it. The American people, including most western nations, have been conned into thinking that bottled water is healthier than tap water. In fact the regulations for tap water in the US are much stiffer than for bottled water in most situations. The same is true of most western countries and as regulations pass in other parts of the world the same holds true there as well.

Bottled water costs about a thousand times as much as tap water. We complain about the higher prices of gasoline but we’ll pay even more for water that’s often inferior to what we can get from the tap.

And this doesn’t take into account the environmental impact from bottled water. Oil is used to produce the plastic bottles and even more oil and energy is consumed transporting and distributing a product that we can get from our taps for next to nothing per liter.

Bottled water is one of the easiest items to remove from your carbon footprint. Get a reusable canteen such as a sigg or kleen kanteen and open the tap. If you don’t like the taste of your water get a Brita pitcher and filter your water. While Brita filters have their own environmental issues, such as distribution and adding to landfills, they aren’t as significant as those presented by bottled water.

For more on bottled water and related issues follow the links below:
Treehugger: A world of reasons to ditch bottled water
Earth Policy Institute: Pouring Resources Down the Drain

Credit: Daniel Morrison via Flickr

The Assiniboine Park Conservatory will be holding their “Seedy Saturday” event coming up on March 7th. The event is free to attend, there will be workshops, a speaker series, tool swap and more. A friend who attended last year was able to take part in their seed exchange. Here’s a direct quote on how it works:

You just have to bring couple packets of seeds and drop them on a communal table.  This gives you the right to pick up packets of seeds that others have brought, many of which are quite interesting and new.

Might be a good way to get some rare or hard to find vegetables for your garden! Below is the press release from the Friends of the Assiniboine Park Conservatory:

The majority of Winnipeg residents may not consider March the beginning of
gardening season, but the Assiniboine Park Conservatory is working to change
that through their Seedy Saturday event.  This year the Assiniboine Park
Conservatory is hosting their annual Seedy Saturday on March 7 from 10-3.  Free to the public, this event includes a speaker series, a seed and tool swap,
hands-on workshops and over 15 vendors representing various garden and food based organizations.  Gardeners will not be the only ones interested in this event, assures Bonnie Tulloch from the Assiniboine Park Conservatory, “We try and include all aspects of gardening, incorporating everything from birdwatching to local food.  People can come here for more than just seeds; they can get locally made soaps, dried herbs, teas, honey, botanically inspired clothing, as well as information and resources on various sustainability
issues.”

Seedy Saturdays have been popping up all over the country since the late
1980’s. The Assiniboine Park Conservatory started participating in the Seedy
Saturday movement back in 2001.  Many of the early Seedy Saturdays were
designed to create a space where seed savers could exchange heritage seeds with one another at no cost.  The purpose was to encourage more people to grow and save heritage seed varieties, so as to prevent them from going extinct.  Today, Seedy Saturdays often include a wider agenda that includes related sustainability issues.

The organizers of this year’s Seedy Saturday recommend getting there early if
you are planning on swapping seeds because gardeners are always eager to access new and exciting varieties.   The speaker series begins at 11 am with certified Horticultural Therapist Millie Richard, who will share her experience in this new and exciting field.  Julie Fine from Growing up Organics will discuss how her organization is increasing children’s access to organic food at 12 pm. At 1 pm David Hanson from Sage Garden Herbs and Karen Pearce from Assiniboine Park Conservatory will present on designing small scale ornamental and edible gardens.   The day will end with a hands-on seed starting workshop with the education staff at Assiniboine Park Conservatory.

www.friendsconservatory.com

My bread

Eating something you’ve made yourself just tastes better somehow, maybe it’s the satisfaction knowing that you created the food that’s on your plate. Whatever motivates you, be it eating local, eating organic or just because you like to make your own food; one thing is certain, fresh food you’ve either grown or prepared yourself is much better than anything you could purchase.

Recently I can across a recipe online to make bread, specifically it was called No Knead Bread. Now when I was a kid my dad made bread, it was a long arduous activity of kneading, putting it in a warm spot to rise, kneading again and so on and so forth. But this recipe is different, no kneading is involved so much of the hard work is removed. In fact preparing a loaf or bread took less than an hour of combined work, all you need is a little patience.

Released by a baker name Jim Lahey, in the New York Times the recipe took off with online baking groups. It became so popular you can now find variations of the recipe all over the internet. I’ve tried it myself a few times and I can attest it’s very simple. There are two key items, firs is time, you need to allow the dough to rise for about 18 hours. This eliminates the need for kneading. Second is to cook the bread inside a large (6 quart) casserole dish or pot with the cover on. Professional bakers have ovens that shoot steam at the bread while baking it, that’s what keeps the crust nice and thin. By baking a wet dough inside a pot you keep that high moisture content necessary for a light crackling crust.

The photo above is my first attempt at making the bread. I think I almost at the loaf in one sitting.

Here is the recipe and accompanying video, if you want to try other versions just search google for “no knead bread” and add the ingredient of your choice such as “100% whole wheat no knead bread”.

Happy eating!

Video talking about the process
Original recipe from the NYT

Credit: Simon Sherk via Flickr

Here is a four part BBC documentary that examines in great detail the food distribution system of the western world.  From growing the food, to harvesting and ultimately distribution. The series also examines our dependence on fossil fuels in relation to the food we eat, and how without these fuels our food supply would no longer be sustainable.

With the exception of the last 60 years, no other time in human history has the person consuming the food been so completely separated from the food source. Ask yourself, if the supermarket suddenly disappeared, how would you feed yourself?

(Note: while this may be a BBC production the same issues exist here. When you buy a fruit in winter check the sticker, often it will be shipped from another country such as Chile etc.. )

Click to view part 1
Click to view part 2
Click to view part 3
Click to view part 4

Credit: icelight via flickr

Sylvia Earle is an American oceanographer. She was chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from 1990-1992.

In a recent TED speech she enthusiastically presented the impact humans have had and are having on the oceans. She speaks about what is needed to stop our over cultivation of this vital resource. Sylvia has spent her life tracking, learning and protecting the oceans. Admittedly most of us do not consider what part the oceans play in creating a sustainable environment. But they play a critical role in stabilizing the planet for all creatures, even those not close to a coast.

In her presentation she explains in great detail how we have over cultivated 90% of the large fish stocks in the seas. How we are killing off major oceanic zones and depleting life in the seas, and ultimately how the health of the oceans affects us all, since a vast majority of the air we breath is generated by the oceans, and the ocean is key in creating a stable climate for our planet.

She ends with an impassioned plea for people to create marine protected areas, much like we have with our national parks, to help reverse the loss of biodiversity.

Click here to watch Sylvia Earle’s TED talk.