As health care investment, organic food advocates offer ideas to stay bountiful on a budget
Filed under Environmental News
Examiner
Heidi Fuller
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Lean economic times may tempt some consumers to steer their shopping carts past organic food choices and opt for lower-priced groceries even if it means increasing their exposure to toxic pesticides. But Bay Area organic food advocates urge shoppers to stay the course, offering a bounty of smart ideas to stretch their organic grocery dollar along with advice not to be misled by straight price comparisons.
“The cost of organic food averages about 20 percent more than non-organic, but the average household throws away about 20 percent of its food budget in the form of spoiled or unused food,” said Helge Hellberg, executive director of Marin Organic, an association of organic food producers in Marin County, California. “Financially, you can live organically on about a dollar a day – especially if you do a good job with resource management – just as you can with a non-organic diet. It requires that people calculate the health value of organic food and not just the straight cost of the item on the shelf,” he said.
According to Jessica Prentice, author of Full Moon Feast, Bay Area professional chef, and blogger, cooking with organic food does not have to be a luxury. But even if purchasing pesticide-free foods adds to the cost of the food bill, she wants consumers to think about it as an investment in improved wellbeing that will save on health care expenses in the long run.
Organic foods aren’t just a grocery list item, according to Prentice, who coined the term “locavore” (someone who goes out of her way to shop from local sources), which the Oxford University Press voted 2007’s “Word of the Year.” “They are a health care choice, the basis of wellbeing,” she said. “So it’s not where we should skimp.”
Hellberg agrees, explaining that one major difference between organic and non-organic food is in the amount of nourishment per serving. Because non-organic foods are grown more aggressively with synthetic fertilizers to create high-yields faster, they tend to absorb more water in the process.
Organic foods also are grown in nutrient rich soil, Helge explained. “Organic farmers add nutrients to the soil with nitrogen rich cover crops and natural fertilizers, whereas in non-organic farming, the synthetic fertilizer are added directly to the crop; the soil is neglected and therefore can’t contribute nutrients to the food.
“You end up paying for more water and less nutrition in non-organic foods,” Helge said, adding that Americans could eat less and spend less on an organic diet and still end up healthier with leaner and more highly nourished bodies.
For practical cost-cutting choices, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), suggests consumers on tighter budgets can reduce their pesticide exposure by 80% simply by avoiding the most contaminated fruits and vegetables and purchasing non-organic foods on their cleanest list. The group’s “Dirty Dozen” includes produce with thin skins that allow pesticides to penetrate, such as apples, grapes, strawberries, celery, and coffee beans. It recommends consumers pinching pennies can avoid pesticides on non-organic items like avocados, onions, pineapple, corn and mango whose thicker skin protects edible portions of the food from chemical exposure.
Prentice’s advices the easiest way to cut organic food bills is to incorporate into meals low cost staples, such as organic rice and beans, which costs just pennies a serving, and adding one higher-priced fresh organic item on top of that.
Resource Management Number One
Hellberg, who also hosts a radio show called a Organic Conversation and writes a blog with the same name, recommends resource management as the number one way to maximize a shrinking organic grocery budget.
“We only use a fraction of the foods we buy,” he said. Hellberg advocates buying whole foods, which are less expensive than packaged products anyway, and instead of throwing away the chopped off parts, make use of them in creative ways. Not only do we pay extra for the labor it takes to peel, chop, and package vegetables prepared before getting to the grocery store shelves, he explained, we are missing some remarkable and satisfying nutritional options.
Hellberg offers his favorite tips for resource management to reduce waste and stretch the organic food dollar:
* Broccoli stems often are discarded, but they can be thinly sliced and roasted with olive oil and salt for a snack.
* Beet and carrot tops can be prepared the same way or simply added to soups for a boost of superior nutrition.Revive limp vegetables with an overnight water bath. Better yet, make a soup.
* To avoid spoilage in the refrigerator, cook foods for more than one meal, store and reheat.
* Like peas from the farmers’ market? A willing farmer might sell you the shoots if you ask for them, and she might give you a great price.
“These are simply news ways of relating to your vegetables and adding to your diet things you’ve never experience before,” Hellberg said.
Meats and Proteins
The Environmental Protection Agency reports that meat contains less pesticide residue than plant foods. However, the EWG lists it as number one on its “Dirty Dozen” group for the hormones and antibiotics it contains in addition to the pesticides used in the grains fed to animals.
Soups and stews are common in meat-eating parts of the world where people economize by using the whole animal product. “They don’t get boneless, skinless chicken breasts or a single cut of steak on the plate in these places.” Prentice said.
For cost conscious organic meat eaters, Prentice suggests braising cheaper cuts of meat, such as bottom round and brisket, then making a broth with the left over bones.
“The gelatin in a bone broth maximizes protein and can be used for cooking rice or soups for a boost of nutrition,” she said. “Boil the stripped bones in water and a splash of vinegar, which takes more calcium out of the bone.
For serious organic meat buyers, Hellberg recommends forming a coop to purchase a quarter or half cow directly from the meat farmer, who will offer significantly lower prices than the same amount of meat sold at a market.
For low-cost protein powerhouse meals, Prentice advices eating eggs more often. “If you splurge on anything, eat pastured eggs. They cost about 75 cents each, but pastured organic eggs are still the best value when a two-egg breakfast cost only $1.50.”
Healthy Fats
Fat has made its way back into favor with nutritionists in the form of heart healthy Omega 3s and 6s that show up in olive oil and fish for example. Prentice considers herself a “believer in fat” and recommends eating most protein alongside a fat item.Good fats are not only healthy, Prentice explains, but they offer a clever strategy for reducing food bills. “Fat is a much more sustaining food than sugars and carbohydrates for energy,” she said. “They burn more slowly, so the body doesn’t require as much food to stay satisfied and energized.”
Rethink Nourishment
As a Buddhist teacher, Hellberg suggest participating in Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) to gain nourishment as much from the connection to the source of the food as the nutrients in it.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, CSAs consists of a community of individuals who pledge support to a farm operation and share with the farmer the risks and benefits of food production. Typically, CSA members pledge in advance to cover the anticipated costs of the farm operation and farmer’s salary. In return, they receive shares in the farm’s bounty throughout the growing season, as well as satisfaction gained from reconnecting to the land and participating directly in food production.”
“Nourishment comes from your relationship with food on many different levels,” explains Hellberg. “It’s knowing the farmer who produces your food. It’s about feeling safe because you know what went into it. It’s from enjoying more taste. And, above all, it’s about building a better future for children and animals. All that for one price.”
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