Comparing Apples with Apples

COMPARING ORGANIC APPLES WITH APPLES

This week, I wanted to share an article that recently caught my eye on the Australian news website, the age.com.au. It related a study by the Journal of Social Psychological & Personality Science, revealing that people exposed to organic food ”judged moral transgressions significantly harsher” than a control group. I’ll admit it, initially the article grabbed my attention because it featured photos of two of my favourite celebrities, Gwyneth Paltrow and Miranda Kerr who for their own reasons have chosen to harness their diets down to a strict organic food regime.
http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/politics/you-are-what-you-eat-and-thats-food-for-judgmental-thought-20120531-1zksw.html

The article got me thinking about the things I now consider when buying food: are my fruit and vegetables locally grown, is my coffee fair trade, were the chickens that laid my eggs cage-free, is the packaging covering my food sustainable, and the list goes on. But is it fair to judge someone that doesn’t consider the latter? I was amused as the lead author of the study then went on to tell US television that “There’s something about being exposed to organic food that made them (celebrities) feel better about themselves. And that made them kind of jerks a little bit, I guess.” Eating ethically these days doesn’t come cheap, it’s almost an esteemed high end brand within itself like the coveted red heeled shoes, and bags branded on the outside that you can fit dogs in. But making a difference can not only be expensive, it’s a guilty business – I worry about the choices I make not because of calories or fat but causes or questions I forgot to consider. At the end of the day the decision we are making is bigger than just quality versus quantity, it’s about eating to make not only make yourself feel better but make the world better too. But has it gone too far? Should eating be a simpler affair – a concern with taste and energy consumption, or should we be asking more questions about the food choices we make? Feel free to leave your comments, and thoughts, I’d love to hear them.