i began this project when i traveled to the ithaca farmers market to learn more about farming in new york. there, i was able to connect with justin jordan, owner of jordan farms in southern new york. justin was very kind to teach me about the barriers and difficulties of farming that have stemmed from overwhelming industrial farming. through this project, i learned about some of the ways that small-scale farmers are financially disenfranchised.

this video is intended to be a transparent example of what it takes to transform a living animal into a cooked chicken breast. through this artistic production, we are able to acknowledge at least some of the complexity of chicken processing. although graphic, the scenes are surprisingly beautiful and shocking as we are exposed to the vivid colors and textures of slaughter. there is also an underlying theme of zero-waste, throughout the video we see various ways to use the entire bird. feet and all! 

breckbill is the majority shareholder of humble hands harvest in decorah, a town in the northeast corner of iowa. everything about her and her farm are atypical for the state, which churns out 18% of the u.s.’s soybean and corn crops every year, according to the iowa official register. breckbill, 34, is a first-generation, queer, organic vegetable farmer on a 22 acre worker-owned farm.

when she retires, she said, she’ll sell her shares at the price she bought them, regardless of how much the price of the land increases. so, the only money she’ll be making over her career is from what food she grows and sells. the point of the farm, breckbill said, is to serve the community and protect the land.

“the reason we’re running this business is to grow food for people and to steward the land well,” she said. “the whole wealth-building element of agriculture is not part of our purpose.” 

“but, it happens anyway,” she said. “land accrues in value.”

wide lens globally, 10% of rural populations account for 60 percent of agricultural land value, according to the land equality initiative report.

she’ll be giving up plenty of money by refusing to hike up the price of the shares once she sells, since the price of farm real estate in the corn belt is valued at $6,110 per acre, almost twice the national average, according to a 2020 report from the united states department of agriculture, which records farmland value rising steadily since 1993. 

that’s precisely the problem, breckbill said. the traditional model of land acquisition in farming means that young farmers need to buy or be given land owned by their families, or have enough capital to compete with big businesses. that’s a heavy barrier of entry for first-generation farmers like her. 

“i definitely could not have done it as an individual person,” breckbill said. but humble hands harvest didn’t face the usual start-up costs of a young farm.

wide lens only 1% of farms operate more than 70 percent of the world’s farmland, according to a 2020 report from the land equality initiative, while the large majority, 80%, of farms around the world are less than 5 acres.

“not in my backyard”

when the 22 acres at the end of hidden falls road went up for auction, the neighbors made a mad dash to buy the land at asking price — $5,500 an acre. 

if an industrial farm moved in, “it would definitely ruin the neighborhood as well as the air and water around here,” said steve mccargar, who lives five minutes down the gravelly lane in a solar grid-tied home he built using recycled timber from crumbling farmhouses. 

wide lens agriculture is the main degrader of inland and coastal waters in high-income and emerging economies, according to a 2017 united nations food and agriculture organization report: “farms discharge large quantities of agrochemicals, organic matter, drug residues, sediments and saline drainage into water bodies.”

mccargar and his partner heidi swets moved to decorah in the ’80s from ann arbor, michigan, in search of a place to live environmentally responsibly, a calling stoked by years of environmental activism and observance of the writing of back-to-the-land gurus helen and scott nearing. 

several of the neighbors on hidden falls road made the same pilgrimage, partly from “serendipity and accident,” partly to join the growing community of alternative thinkers. with a robust food co-op, the northeast iowa peace & justice center, luther college, and self-proclaimed “hippies” like mccargar roaming around, this town of 7,500 in the heart of corn country is a stew of progressivism and traditional ag in the heart of corn country.

mccargar spearheaded the local operation to buy what became humble hands harvest land. 

it started with a story that got around about a farm at the other end of the road, said mccargar, gesturing over his shoulder from where he sits in a fold-out chair in his garden. he tells the story like a preface.

“i had just been made aware of an auction that had happened at the end of our road,” he said — not breckbill’s end, but northwest, where the blacktop meets unpaved lane. a hog confinement operator from ossian, iowa, showed up and put in his bid. out of concern that his land would be sold off to a confinement operation, the farmer stopped the sale, mccargar said.

“we were all extremely grateful for his choice to protect the neighborhood,” he said, “even if it cost him the ability to sell the land that he wanted to sell.”

a year later, the plot that became humble hands harvest went up for auction. to avoid what had happened at the other end of the road, mccargar convinced the neighborhood to scramble and scrimp to buy the land outright. fifteen families raised the $122,000 in six weeks, created hidden falls llc, and bought the property.

the land belonged to the neighborhood, and deed restrictions would keep the shares from being sold to confinement operations in the future. the next step, mccargar said: “what are we going to do with this now that we’ve bought it?”

wide lens 31% of farmland on the contiguous 48 states is rented out by non-operators, according to a 2016 study by the united states department of agriculture. less than 1% of that share is owned through estates, cooperatives, municipalities and non-profit organizations. the rest is rented out by individuals, partnerships, corporations or trusts.

starting humble hands harvest

breckbill had landed in decorah in 2010. she was working at another farm at the time, but had her own aspirations for a cooperative vegetable farm. first step — buying a hidden falls llc share. the land’s topsoil had been eroded from 30 years of “corn on corn,” she said, so the llc members agreed to plant hay and stop tilling in order to breathe some life into the spent soil and pick up a certified organic label.

breckbill borrowed some money from an uncle, emptied her savings and crowdfunded to buy up more shares and put in a well and electricity. she now has eight shares; her business partner emily fagan has another five and as a cooperative they intend to buy the remaining nine.

“ideal world is that our farm, as a worker-owned co-op, will make just a seamless transition from one generation to another,” breckbill said. it works like this: one member retires, another farm worker buys their shares, and so “the same business will stick with this land for a long time,” she said.

a replicable model?

breckbill thinks the worker-owned cooperative model can be duplicated outside decorah.
“the only hope of young farmers is figuring out a different way to access land, and having people with wealth, even small amounts of wealth, being able to help that happen,” she said.

as for mccargar, he references wendell berry, who came to speak in decorah in 1994. berry’s idea, said mccargar, is that if the economy is a forest then the tallest trees that eat up the sunshine are the biggest industries. once they fall, smaller plants will have space to grow.

“if we imagine what alternative agriculture practitioners and theorists and gardeners and small-scale farmers and organic producers are all trying to do, it’s to create that vibrant understory,” mccargar said.

but it takes money, he said: “it’s not something you can do on a shoestring. you have to be able to leverage capital for this purpose.”

humble hands harvest is crowdfunding to build a permanent house on the farm, but meanwhile breckbill lives in a yurt by the garden patch, where rows of radishes, turnips and napa cabbages poke their green heads out of the earth.

breckbill talks animatedly about the generational model of farming and her vision for a greener future while her orange cat, apricat, snoozes in a chair to her right. land acquisition is a huge problem, said breckbill, but it’s not insurmountable.

“people caring about what’s happening on the landscape around them — wherever that happens, i think that can be replicated in some way.”

—

about this series: the planet forward-fao summer storytelling fellows work was sponsored by the north america office of the food and agriculture organization of the united nations (fao), and the fellows were mentored by lisa palmer, gw’s national geographic professor of science communication and author of “hot, hungry planet.”

you dodge the groups of frantic shoppers and come to a halt in the colorful produce section. you reach down to grasp a carton of cherries but you notice that the cherries you grabbed are $4.75 and there’s a stack of cartons to your right that are only $3.75. they look the same, they both smell fine, so why should i pay more for my cherries?

organic food assumptions fueled by marketing are that the cherries in my hand are more nutritious, safer, and healthier for me since organic farming is better for the environment.

is this the truth?

foods with the usda organic seal are grown and processed following a set of regulations and there’s no question that keeping farmland free of pesticides is better for the environment.

but herbicides freed farmers from tilling the soil which requires more labor and disrupts the soil’s natural ecosystem – recognized as a cause of the dust bowl.

how does the usda organic labeling work? what is the carbon footprint transporting organic cherries from washington state to washington, d.c.? does it make food taste better?

let’s break it down and debunk 5 myths about organic food to make your grocery store choices easier.

1. organic fruit is always healthier for you.

it turns out, the more expensive cherries that i chose is the healthier choice. conventional fruit that you can eat with peeling off skin including strawberries, raspberries and cherries could possibly contain residues from pesticides and chemicals sprayed on the crops.

but.

fruits like oranges, bananas, pineapple and kiwi among other fruits have a layer of skin or peel that protects the edible inside of the fruit. if they are sprayed with pesticides, only the outside layer will be directly affected.

according to usda statistics, annual spending on organic food and drinks has jumped from about $1 billion to $28 billion in the past 20 years.

in a recent study by pew research center, 76% say of u.s. adults who bought organic food in the past month say they were looking to eat healthier. only 33% say they bought organic food to help the environment and 22% of people say it’s for convenience.

the larger portion of americans believe it is healthier since organic foods have higher levels of antioxidants. but having more antioxidants does not say there is a significant difference between the nutritional boost of organic foods compared to those who eat conventionally grown foods.

it is important to note that the health benefits of organic food can vary by context. for example, in low-income countries, micronutrient differences matter more, whereas in high-income countries, we care more about how many antioxidants and vitamins it contains.

another surprising statistic is that a whopping 72% of adult americans say their choice in buying organic food depends on the price in comparison.

so my advice is to choose wisely. you may not need to spend the extra $1.50 on your organic bananas on top of your morning oatmeal.

2. organic food is better for the environment.

just because food is organic, doesn’t mean its production and distribution are necessarily good for the environment.

consider a can of organic black beans from bolivia or a bag of organic rice from china. transporting such products to your neighborhood grocery store creates a carbon footprint much bigger than transporting locally grown products.

although organic farming requires a much more time consuming, labor inducing process for farmers — contributing to its higher price in your grocery store — the food and agriculture organization of the united nations says there are key environmental benefits to organic agriculture.

3. products labeled “organic” are completely free of all pesticides.

usda certified organic foods are grown and processed according to federal guidelines and relying on natural substances for farming methods. it can be certified as organic if it has been grown on soil that has had no prohibited substances like synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for three years prior to harvest.

according to a blog written by the national organic program deputy administrator, when packaged products are “made with organic,” it means

they contain at least 70% of organic ingredients. these products will not have the usda organic seal, but must identify with a usda certifier.

in addition, only 95% of food must be organic to be labeled as so. so that means, there may still be pesticides and chemicals present in your cereal.

4. organic produce tastes better.

about 59% majority of american adults say that organic and conventionally grown produce taste about the same. the rest of americans who say it tastes better, buy and eat more organic foods.

so does public opinion reflect the science?

according to a study conducted by sciences advances, there is a gray area in which some found a significant difference in nutrient content between organic and conventional crops, but other did not.

these disagreements could be because of differences in food components, whether the nutrient content was measured on dry or wet matter and produce freshness, how it has been transported and inspected for any decay or rottenness.

not only that, one person could have different opinions on how one organic tastes in comparison to conventionally grown apple.

there are too many context-based factors to determine whether organic produce does in fact taste better, which is why we believe it usually tastes about the same.

5. products labeled “organic” are inspected to guarantee their authenticity.

the usda claims that, all organic farming methods must, “integrate cultural, biological and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance and conserve biodiversity. synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation and genetic engineering may not be used.”

farms are held to these methodological guidelines and may be inspected. but realistically, every apple in the grocery store cannot be inspected to make the distinction between conventional or organic, especially if it isn’t labeled with a small, yellow sticker that says, “from an organic farm.”

the history

the idea of sustainable fashion has been around for decades, sprouting from rationing during both world wars. to conserve materials for soldiers, governments asked their citizens to trim dresses short and donate unwanted clothes for the military. 

it landed in the spotlight during the 1980’s when companies like patagonia and espirit gained notoriety for making clothing out of recycled polyesters and organic cotton. 

fast fashion: the enemy of sustainable fashion

fast fashion is considered to be the status quo of how the fashion industry is run, which is exemplified by companies like h&m and zara that sell their clothes for extremely low prices and change styles quickly. traditional clothing companies cut costs and are concerned more about the economic bottom line than the health of the environment. it is important to remember that buying cheap comes at a high cost for the environment and laborers. 

according to unesco, some chinese laborers that are hired by these large clothing companies are paid just 12 cents an hour for their work. in addition to the negative human impacts, the industry also requires toxic dyes and pesticides to produce the products due to the speed of which it runs. zara uses a rapid five-week cycle to design, manufacture and then sell new clothing products. if the products do not sell they often times end up in the landfill. 

the independent reported in november 2017 that workers in istanbul’s bravo tekstil factory, which makes clothes for zara, sewed pleas for help in the clothing that they were making. according to the article, factory laborers were fed up with working conditions but were scared of speaking up because of fears of getting fired.

the notion of consumerism goes hand-in-hand with fast fashion. as fashion trends evolve, so does the public’s appetite for purchasing new clothes. patagonia founder yvon chouinard is famous for an ad campaign that was printed in the new york times that showed an image of a patagonia jacket with the statement “do not buy this jacket” written in bold letters. the message was intended to encourage people to think about what they purchase and only buy clothing when they absolutely need it.

remedies for fast fashion

one of the simplest actions that you can take to limit your carbon footprint is to donate old or worn down clothes to thrift stores or charities. this way, it gives clothes a second life for those individuals that actually need it. you also may want to think about giving clothes that do not fit to friends and family.

another way to function in the sustainable fashion model is to buy clothes from thrift stores. not only are thrift stores much cheaper than buying new clothes from high fashion brands, but you also will be giving clothes a second chance. consequentially many of the clothes that are sold at thrift stores are no longer made in circulation. meaning that the piece that you purchase will be individual and can add a little swagger!

there is a movement in high fashion to create trendy articles of clothing out of recycled or sustainable materials. designer ryan jude novelline designed a ballroom gown made out of old children’s books. lucy tammam is a designer who creates beautiful bridal wear with just silk and organic cotton. 

clothing to look out for while shopping

if you have no appeal to high fashion or are just too strapped for cash, there are other sustainable fashion options on the market.

adidas has partnered with parley, an organization that salvages plastic from the ocean, to make shoes, shirts, and socks. the plastic that otherwise would infiltrate marine life digestive tracts is now being turned into clothing through the initiative. some major european soccer teams that are sponsored by adidas have worn recycled jerseys in competitive matches. 

another option is the shoe brand all-birds, which have become quite popular. their sleek design, relatively inexpensive price, and environmentally friendly materials will show your friends that you are sustainably conscience while also being fashionable. the sneakers are made up of recycled plastics, cardboard, organic wool and castor bean oil (an alternative to harmful oils). 

questions to consider 

how often do you shop for clothing?

would you rather have expensive but durable clothing or cheap but flimsy clothing?

what are your thoughts on using recycled materials to make a fashion statement?

considering the facts about fast fashion, how does your favorite brand of clothing compare to others in terms of their consciousness of the environment?

***

q&a with sustainable shoe designer louis d’arienzo

louis d’arienzo designs sustainable shoes with a company called florent belda in porto, portugal. here is what he had to say about sustainable fashion:

q: what does sustainable fashion mean to you?

a: sustainable is a very broad term that is often misused. for me, my business and my product it is making the lowest environmental impact i possibly can from the materials i use to the partners i work with; how they practice and promote better ways of making for the planet and the people they employ.

q: sustainability also has the long term in mind. what happens when the product’s life is over? are the processes and ingredients using natural resources and at the same time not depleting those resources and maintaining balance?

a: right now i try to use a mix of recycled and biodegradable materials wherever absolutely possible.

q: where did you get your start in sustainable manufacturing?

a: i have always tried to implement the use of less damaging materials and methods for all of the companies i have had the pleasure of working for. when i decided to launch my own collection of footwear i knew it needed to be borne with this ethos.

if you start from the beginning with this mindset and approach, while challenging and at times limiting, you are able to make it a part of your dna. it forces you not to stray.

q: what/who influenced you to start manufacturing sustainable sneakers?

a: the state our planet is in! it made no sense whatsoever to put a new product out on the market that didn’t acknowledge the damage that is being done. it was my obligation.

q: what are your products made out of (and where do the resources come from)?

a: i use vegetable tanned leather and lining for my uppers that use no chromium or heavy metals in the tanning process that can gravely pollute the water table. i found a sole manufacturer in portugal that produces soles made from up to 70% internally recycled waste material. the inner workings and structural parts use cork, cardboard and biodegradable components. we are partly using 100%rpet thread (polyester) from plastic beverage bottles.  all of our adhesives are water-based avoiding volatile solvents that can be hazardous for the people working with them.

q: you mention pursuing the higg index in your business model, can you talk a little bit about what those guidelines mean?

a: the higg index was initiated by the sustainable apparel coalition. it essentially provides the tools for a company to measure its product’s or facility’s sustainability performance. it is designed to promote better practice during the sustainability journey.  it is not designed to fail, but to encourage and guide.

q: why do you think it is so important to pay your laborers a fair, living wage?

a: all humans have inherent dignity and should be treated and compensated fairly. right now i have no employees but this is a conversation i’ve had with my shoe factory who upholds the highest standards of inclusiveness and fairness.

q: why portugal?

a: portugal has always held a respected tradition of shoe and leather goods manufacturing. in the past 15 years they have really come to the forefront of quality, reliable product with an artisanal hand. more and more companies from the luxury sector to start-ups are turning their attention to portugal. portugal is also a very progressive country environmentally and socially.

q: how do you reconcile leaving your post as a designer for high-end fashion markets?

a: i actually still work as a design consultant in the luxury sector for a well known milanese fashion house.

q: what is your goal for the sneaker company?

a: to continue building and nurturing my business expanding into more product category while respecting the environment and being true to my message. i look forward to taking part in more rewarding collaborations supporting and empowering people and communities that need it most.

q: what do you want to see come out of the sustainable fashion model?

a: i believe in sharing our resources, breakthroughs, and successes. the only way forward is to engage and help each other who work in the materials and manufacturing industries. if we are all striving to make every effort to create products that respect the environment our industries will truly become sustainable ones.

q: how do you make the shoes attractive and affordable to middle-class customers?

a: my designs are quite pared down but that doesn’t make the decision making in their design and execution easy. i feel their simplicity makes them accessible yet the detailing and color combinations keep them compelling and rather joyful.

show notes:
follow on the table on soundcloud.

fern, the food and environment reporting network:
thefern.org/

barry yeoman:
barryyeoman.com/

organic sales trends from the organic trade association:
ota.com/resources/organic-industry-survey

music by blue dot sessions:
freemusicarchive.org/music/blue_dot_sessions/

but csa farming is more than just growing food. it’s about the community and connection growers can cultivate with eaters.

csa’s often put on festivals and events for their share members, and even invite them out to the farm. csa’s include recipes, and blogs posts about their staff and happenings on the farm. members feel close to their farmers and overall it’s a mutually beneficial relationship. if people cared more about where they are getting their food, the world could be a much better place.

please watch my videos to learn more about csa, and how being involved could change your life!

for more information visit: https://www.csacoalition.org/

but it turns out organic, grass-fed animals actually contribute more to greenhouse gases and water usage than factory farmed ones. to meet demand, scaling up factory-farmed beef isn’t the answer, either, according to a june 2015 mother jones article. and with those disconcerting facts, consuming large amounts of meat, in general, is getting harder to reconcile.

animal agriculture comprises 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. to give a comparison, transportation exhausts make up only 13% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. that means that meat production contributes more to the destruction of our planet than all of the cars, buses and trains combined.

it also takes about 2,500 gallons of water to produce just one pound of beef.

(photo by scott bauer/usda ars)

the average american consumes more than 70 pounds of meat each year, which is 10 to 12 times more than the meat intake of the average person in other countries, such as mozambique or bangladesh.  

vegetarians and vegans have made the decision to completely cut animals and their byproducts from their lives. while these diets are both accepted and understood in our culture, a lot of people don’t have the time, money, or inclination to completely eliminate meat.

is there an alternative? introducing: reducetarianism.   

what does it mean to become a reducetarian? simply reduce your meat intake. the concept is as simple as it sounds. for a variety of reasons, including environmental impact, health benefits and animal advocacy, reducetarians find the middle ground between passionate carnivore and vegetarian.

choose one day each week designated to limiting your meat consumption. many restaurants have certain meatless meals or specials; and many whole foods market locations participate in meatless mondays, where customers can fill a tray with any mix of fruit, vegetables and other vegetarian food items for $8.

 
(photo by ralph h. daily/wikimedia commons)

following this trend, consider eliminating meat from your diet on specific days of the week, or perhaps pledging to only eat meat on the weekends or when you go out for meals with friends. if meat is a large part of your diet that would be difficult to reduce to once or twice a week, another option is to consume animal meat once a day if you would usually have it with two meals, or limiting to half portions.

another way to reduce meat consumption is to substitute animal meat for other proteins such as tofu, seitan, legumes and whole grains. there are also a variety of fake meats to replace animal meat in common recipes.

(photo by andrea nguyen/creative commons)

besides the health benefits of becoming a reducetarian, which include reducing heart disease and stroke, curbing obesity, helping fight against diabetes, and limiting cancer risk, the environmental impact involves saving resources worldwide.

are you able to cut back?

(image at top by kevin walsh/creative commons)

we’ve all heard it: the vegan diet is the most environmentally friendly and sustainable. here at planet forward, we even tried it. unfortunately, going vegan isn’t the right lifestyle choice for everyone. of course, some people opt out due to budget and others because of taste. personally, i love my meat and as a student, shopping just for myself, i have a relatively small budget.

it’s easy to keep the ears shut when our beloved meat, eggs, cheese and milk might be a casualty of any possible lifestyle change, but there is certainly the thought, “do i have to do that? can’t i still be green?”

the answer is yes. you can grocery shop more sustainably even on a budget by taking a few small steps at a time. the real question is: to what degree can i shop organic on a student budget of roughly $120-$160 per month? (that’s within the range of $35-$45 per week to feed a single person between the ages of 19 and 50.) for the average student, this seems like an impossible task without trying to buy organic.

one blogger already tackled this challenge — but for her family of four. lisa leake documented her experience at 100 days of real food, spending only $125 per week ($31.25/person) and buying organic whenever possible.

on a meager student budget i can see how leake’s pledge, which includes dropping processed foods in favor of real food, might be difficult. also, she obtained much of her organic produce and eggs from the farmer’s market, which takes advantage of seasonal produce. the average student is more likely to walk into a grocery store — probably a national or regional chain. and while farmer’s markets can be cost effective, there are two problems with counting on them in your budgeting: one, they don’t always operate year round and, two, a student might not have access to a farmer’s market nearby.

leake acknowledged in her 100-day-challenge wrap-up post that it was a relief to not be constrained to the budget when her 100 days were over, while college students have to endure four — or more — years of learning to make do. on the plus side, after a while you get really good at planning your meals and stretching your dollars.

so, in lieu of full conversion to either a vegan diet or a diet free of processed and refined food, it’s easiest to start with small substitutions. i started by looking at organic meat. foodbabe.com noted dairy and meat products as the highest priority to buy organic. organic meat and dairy products also happen to have a higher markup in price.

i was able to stay under $35 on my last grocery store trip by buying my organic meat in bulk and eating the same thing every day. i sautéed veggies as a side and served them over some very affordable brown rice. but this strategy doesn’t work for everyone.

popsugar offers some tips for shopping for a single person on a budget. here are the tips i found to be the most practical:

• plan your meals. this will allow you to best use the ingredients you’re purchasing and make use of leftovers in other meals to stretch your dollars the farthest.

• always get the grocery store rewards card. prices for card-carrying shoppers are often much lower than those who don’t join the store’s club. this also makes shopping from the sales flyer easier.

• remember, not all grocery stores have the same deals. the price of organic food varies between major chains, so it’s helpful to take a look inside more than one. read more about saving money at the grocery store.

• get some of your veggies at the salad bar. this is an affordable option, even for organic at a pricey place like whole foods because they charge by weight. you can even do this for a cheap meal on the go. my breakfast of organic eggs scrambled with broccoli was only $4 at whole foods.

• another great suggestion is to freeze leftover meals in single portions if you can’t finish it. if you do this, you can buy in bulk without having to eat the same thing every day. and after a couple of weeks you can rotate fresh food with saved frozen meals.

• know which produce falls on the dirty dozen list because these are the things you should always buy organic. spinach, for example, is one item you should always buy organic — and you can do so at a relatively low cost. plus, it’s a multitasker. it can make the bulk of salads, mix it with eggs for frittata or quiche, garnish sandwiches or serve as a tasty steamed side dish.

• likewise, pay attention to the clean fifteen. these foods are lowest in pesticide use, so it isn’t a tragedy if you can’t afford the organic version. (for more, see the full list of produce from the environmental working group, which includes the gray area between the clean fifteen and the dirty dozen.)

• finally, check for organic options among frozen produce. they will be less expensive, easier to store and sometimes more nutritious as the produce is frozen at the peak of freshness.

recently, i treated myself to a much overdue trip to safeway. standing in the produce section, i was faced with the dilemma of whether to purchase more expensive organic apples that were $2.99/lb. or cheaper non-organic apples that were $.99/lb. i chose the pricier apples because they were organic.

as people are more interested in where their foods come, the demand for organic has increased. in 2013, 81% of u.s. families were buying organic. but what really makes food organic?

recently, i interviewed dr. kathleen merrigan, former deputy secretary of the usda, to learn more about organic food. she was instrumental in helping write the official definition of organic for the united states.

honestly, before talking to dr. merrigan, i would’ve picked the cheaper non-organic apples. but since talking to her, i have changed my purchasing patterns. as a college student, i’m always looking for ways to save money but i decided for a few extra dollars that buying organic apples was worth it because i knew that those apples hadn’t been treated with any dangerous pesticides, thus they were better for me and the environment.

while $2.00/lb more is not a huge difference, i think one of the stigmas surrounding organic food is high cost. thankfully, buying organically will no longer “break the bank.” in an effort to encourage people to eat more organically, companies such as walmart have started introducing affordable organic food in their stores. another method to make eating organically affordable is to understand when it’s worth it to splurge on some organic food and save on others. buying organically matters most when it comes to produce, dairy, meat, and poultry.

when i shop at stores such as whole foods or trader joe’s, i gulp at how expensive some organic food can be. but when i shop at safeway i embrace the purchasing power to buy organic food at more affordable prices.

devouring my grandmother’s meatballs and my grandfather’s gnocchi at the dinner table on sunday night lies at the heart of some of my favorite memories growing up. food brings my family together. i can always buy premade meatballs or pasta, but my family’s passion and connection would be replaced with generic processed products and an arguably less enjoyable meal. food is more than essential, so why not make the best possible choice with yours?

organic foods, foods grown without using synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, are one good choice you can make. they can be easily identified by those tiny green usda certified organic labels. since 2010, sales of organic foods have increased by about 10% annually, which is an incredible amount of growth by industry standards. this can only mean good things for people who buy food – every family in the u.s.

i can tell from the endless checkout lines in my local whole foods that despite the slightly more expensive cost of organic foods, organic food and drink sales are on the rise. sales of organic products in the united states jumped to $35.1 billion in 2013, up 11.5% from the previous year’s $31.5 billion and was the fastest growth rate in five years.

eating healthy or organic doesn’t mean i never grab my favorite ben & jerry’s ice cream carton, or spend a night at the mcdonald’s down the street with friends eating big macs. the key is to do everything in moderation. while these foods provide “empty calories,” lots of calories with little nutritional benefits, organic foods provide more effective antioxidants that aid in preventing cancer, vision problems and cognitive malfunctions as well as improving heart health. pesticide-free produce may not look as appetizing, but if you want fewer harmful chemicals such as cadmium that have been linked to kidney damage and cancer in your body and in the bodies of your family, make the organic choice.

the impact isn’t just on your health – your favorite organic cauliflower or ginger root has far more positive environmental effects than conventional food. organic agriculture mitigates the greenhouse effect and global warming by sequestering carbon in the soil.  furthermore, replacing pesticides with natural fertilizers such as compost prevents groundwater pollution and enhances soil structure and water infiltration. organic farming even produces more biodiversity than other farming systems.

regardless of what aisle i venture through, organic foods are becoming more prominent. about three fourths of american grocery stores carry organic foods and the number continues to rise. you can vote with your dollars every time you buy food if you want to see more on the shelves. compared to conventional farms, organic farms are just as productive, the soil is healthier and energy is used more efficiently. the next time you see two seemingly different broccoli crowns in your local grocery store’s produce section remember you’re not just paying fifty more cents for organic foods, you’re paying for fifty more years for the planet.

references:

• nestle, marion. what to eat. north point press. 2006
• willett, walter. eat, drink, and be healthy. free press. 2001

top photo courtesy of ncalternativecropsandorganics.com