ecobites.com

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

Eat healthier - and keep mom Earth healthy, too. Ecobiters bite into - organic, chemical free, cruelty free and locally grown. Spending a bit more for organic produce is worth it since it tastes better, provides more nutrients and isn't laced with poisonous pesticides.

The following are practical tips to help get the most out of your organic food dollar. Making 'green' choices when you shop can have far-reaching benefits.

Organic food is neither fad nor fashion – its about quality, family food at prices that don’t cost the earth. Asda UK spokesman

Some people, whilst not minding what they eat or expose themselves to in their busy lives, take a much more cautious approach for their newborns (when they come along!). One of the biggest sectors in the organics industry is natural and organic skincare, clothing and nappies for children. Once the sleepless nights are under control, and life once again becomes manageable  many new parents start to think about the choices they are making for their own health, plus the overall impact their choices will have for the environment they are leaving their children with.

Reports this month published a story on its investigation targeting which organic items you should buy and which are OK to skip. On the buy list: fruits and vegetables including apples, peppers, celery, cherries, spinach and strawberries. Also, meat, poultry, eggs and dairy. See the full report at www.consumerreports.org.

Whether you’re shopping at a supermarket or a farmer’s market, here are the signs of a high-quality, healthy food:

It’s grown without pesticides and chemical fertilizers (organic foods fit this description, but so do some non-organic foods)

It’s not genetically modified

It contains no added growth hormones, antibiotics, or other drugs

It does not contain artificial anything, nor any preservatives

It is fresh (if you have to choose between wilted organic produce or fresh conventional produce, the latter may be the better option)

It did not come from a factory farm

It is grown with the laws of nature in mind (meaning animals are fed their native diets, not a mix of grains and animal byproducts, and have free-range access to the outdoors)

It is grown in a sustainable way (using minimal amounts of water, protecting the soil from burnout, and turning animal wastes into natural fertilizers instead of environmental pollutants)

If the food meets these criteria, it is most likely a good choice, regardless of whether it’s labeled local or organic.

The bottom line remains to look deeper than a label when it comes to your food. Most often, you will find foods that meet these high standards not at your local supermarket but from a sustainable agricultural group in your area.

Local food 'greener than organic' From newsbbc.uk

Local food is usually more "green" than organic food, according to a report published in the journal Food Policy.

The authors say organic farming is also valuable, but people can help the environment even more by buying food from within a 20km (12-mile) radius.

The team calculated a shopping basket's hidden costs, which mount up as produce is transported over big distances. The study found "road miles" account for proportionately more environmental damage than "air miles".

Therefore, the researchers' message to consumers is this: it is not good enough to buy food from within the UK - it is better if it comes from within your area, too. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4312591.stm
 
Organic Buying Tips.... It's not a matter of paying less, but paying better.

Organic fruit, vegetables, dairy foods and meat are part of a growing market that offers consumers foods produced without pesticides. These days, even supermarkets are waking up to the fact that some consumers like to choose products that are produced and marketed in ways they are comfortable with. Most countries have official organic inspection bodies. Look for their labels when buying organic products.

The following are ecobites members supplied tips + author and sustainable living advocate Lisa Kivirist. Her practical tips have been devoled over the last 10 years, after she and her husband chucked it all and moved from Chicago to a rural Green County farm. The couple's income dropped by more than half. But, they sought ways to provide organic food for themselves, their son and guests at their Inn - Inn Serendipity Bed & Breakfast and Organic Farm near Monroe (the Swiss Cheese Capitol of the USA), Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, the artist community of Mineral Point, and historic Galena (in Illinois)http://www.innserendipity.com

Be Creative

Go straight to the organic farm and rescue slightly imperfect food from being thrown away. Bruised apples can be turned into delicious applesauce, and veggies that are past their prime make fine ingredients for a big soup. Check out organic produce at the supermarkets, if reduced.

Food waste is the largest type of waste in our landfills, as well as one of the most harmful to the environment.

By building your meals around lower-cost items, or eating low on the food chain, you can really save. Use more grains and beans and less high-cost foods like meat and cheese.

Eat at home more, at restaurants less.

Plan ...Use a meal plan rather than flying by the seat of your pants daily.

Stock up and buy in bulk when possible.

For must-have commodities that will always cost more - think coffee and chocolate - look for ways to buy in bulk. Check producer Web sites or factory outlets to buy direct in addition to stores to get the best value. Speaking of bulk buying, Kivirist advises buying a year's worth of some things you use often and storing them in air-tight containers. It can keep costs in line with conventional groceries.

Some grocers, like Willy Street, will allow customers to order bulk items, like a 50-pound bag of flour for $26. If a bulk purchase is too much for your family, consider splitting it, and the cost, with someone.

Buying and cooking with the seasons is a cornerstone for frugal, organic living, Kivirist explained. By buying and using produce when it's available, and cheap, you can realize substantial cost savings.

She also recommended growing something, even if it's just herbs and a couple tomato plants in containers. Great seasonal produce also can be had at a variety of farmers' markets and by joining a community supported agriculture farm.

Seasonal buying, or growing, means managing bulk zucchini and tomato harvests, among others. Here's where a chest freezer in your basement can help preserve those cheap, good eats for leaner winter months.

It's all about self sufficiency.

Creating a self sufficient pantry can cut costs, too. It can also create organic options. Make certain foods instead of buying prepared items and use substitutes for higher-priced goods you favor.

Kivirist makes her own pita chips from homemade pita bread, to dip in humus made in her kitchen.

Save your organic dollars for the freshest foods. There are all sorts of ways to prioritize.

"This can't be isolated," she said of organic food choices and frugal living. To stretch their budget, Kivirist's family switched to compact fluorescent bulbs over time. Most recently, they converted a vehicle to run on biodiesel fuel obtained from their local fish fry.

Ask your Grandma - She'll tell you to eat less, plan more, make do, grow a veggie garden.

Until recently home preserving of home-grown and produced food was common and the careful housewife would have a pantry or store-room with a wide variety of goods lined up on the shelves.The positive aspects of keeping food include saving money, self-reliance, security, quality and an antidote to a monotonous diet.

Grandma's day may be gone forever, however we can recapture the goodness and real flavor of the old-time style of cooking, for basic, fresh, unrefined and "non-highly-processed" ingredients.

Some foods, like pumpkins, store well enough naturally.Tender,"short-lived" foods like peas, cucumber and asparagus should be bottled, frozen or pickled. Others are best dried. It's easy enough to see that preserving home-grown fruit and vegetables (or food bought from the local farmers market) makes sense and saves you money.

Here's to a good growing summer, a happy preserving autumn and a well-fed winter!

Although organic and Fairtrade produce are more popular than ever, some consumers are starting to question the honesty of organic produce and worthiness of Fairtrade.

Rumours are rife that organic foods are mislabelled, with some containing the very pesticides organic buyers are trying to avoid. Plus, classification of organic varies from country to country so how can people be sure the food they’re buying in good faith is actually organic?It is true that standards for organic vary from country to country. It is also true that occasionally, in order to keep prices down, supermarkets may buy organic produce from countries where standards are confused or lax. Again it is as much a problem of the system as anything. And also a consequence of the consumer expectation that food should be cheap and available all year round. It’s yet another good reason to buy your organic produce seasonally and locally.

Breaking the Chains: Buy Local, Organic, Fair Made http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.cfm

Organic farming has been shown to provide major benefits for wildlife and the wider environment. The best that can be said about genetically engineered crops is that they will now be monitored to see how much damage they cause. Prince Charles

Many organic practices simply make sense, regardless of what overall agricultural system is used. Far from being a quaint throwback to an earlier time, organic agriculture is proving to be a serious contender in modern farming and a more environmentally sustainable system over the long term. David Suzuki

The green shopper brings their own reusable bag and buys products that use minimal packaging.