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.

Why Buying Local and Seasonal Matters!

Before converting to my regular Market Runner’s delivery, I shopped at my local supermarket out of convenience, which let’s face it is another word for laziness. Since I’ve reduced my visits to the big boys of shopping, I have noticed a lot of differences in my eating habits; not only do I eat more fruit and vegetables, they taste fresher and have a lot more flavour. My biggest surprise though has been the exposure to new produce and cooking methods – I’ve started roasting beetroot, poaching rhubarb, making pumpkin soup from scratch and I could go on and bore you with my new discoveries. Nonetheless despite being thrilled at my new found cooking skills, the consequence of eating locally and seasonally has far more importance than we can imagine.

A very dear friend of mine works at Sustainable Table, a not-for-profit organisation that empowers people to use their shopping dollar to vote for a fair, humane, healthy food system that is good for the environment. Recently whilst eating together as we often do, she asked me (politely) why I was still eating a particular fruit, and to my genuine surprise she informed me that it was out of season! This made me wonder how much of what we eat shouldn’t be eaten and why. The answers boil down to consumerism and can get quite political, so i’ve asked Riki to boil it down to convey its importance to ourselves and the earth and what we can do about it.

Buying local and seasonal

Changing the way you shop to buy local and seasonal produce will benefit your health and our environment. Your food will not have traveled as far to reach your plate so it will stay fresher for longer and you will be eating seasonally, which tastes better. Locally grown reduces the food miles in your diet, the further the food travels, the more greenhouse gases emitted.

In Australia, the two largest retailers, Coles and Woolworths, control 78-79% of the market! Supermarkets offer convenience and accessibility, but at a large cost. The system of having shelves continuously stocked and produce available year round, regardless of the season, is placing a huge strain on the environment. This centralised approach has also placed huge pressure on the farmers to provide cheap produce, which has seen many farmers turn to factory or intensive farming practices that have led to environmental degradation. Supermarkets only stock certain varieties of fruit and vegetables with a longer shelf life, so we are losing biodiversity and heirloom varieties.

Growing your own food reduces not only your food miles, but your food steps. It reduces your contribution to climate change, enables you to eat fresh, seasonal produce and reduces the money you spend on food and transport. If you have the space, get some chooks. They provide eggs and reduce waste by eating your food scraps.

With 60% of our personal footprint embodied in the food we eat, we can make a positive impact three times a day.

Remember, every dollar you spend is a vote for the type of food system you would like to be a part of.