Being Green: Part Two, Food

Green: relating to or being an environmentalist political movement b: concerned with or supporting environmentalism c: tending to preserve environmental quality (as by being recyclable, biodegradable, or nonpolluting)

Environment: 1: the circumstances, objects, or conditions by which one is surrounded. 2 a: the complex of physical, chemical, and biotic factors (as climate, soil, and living things) that act upon an organism or an ecological community and ultimately determine its form and survival b: the aggregate of social and cultural conditions that influence the life of an individual or community

When one thinks about what it means to be "green" in terms of diet, I suppose most people jump to words like organic, natural, vegetarian, and even the dreaded *GASP* vegan. While these are all components of "being green" - they do not comprise the whole. Why? Because these concepts are fundamentally individualistic. Someone who is truly green is thinking of both the part (individual) and the whole (community/world). Now, thinking about the world may be a survivalist act (i.e. I want everyone to have food so they don't come beating down my door). It's still results in a globalist approach.


So, as we contemplate how we can change our diets to be more "green" - we need to seriously consider what will benefit society as a whole, as well as what might benefit our own body.

Consider: Eating locally.

Probably the easiest thing you can do to be green is check and see where the food that you eat comes from. There are precious few items grown from outside of the country that I will eat. Most of those items are cultural or locational anomalies. For example, I will buy some Japanese candies on occasion, as those are inherent to them. I will not, however, buy the apples from Chile (which are labelled as organic, by the way). Nor will I the grapes. Why?

Lets think, for a minute, about what I am supporting if I do buy them: another country's economy (instead of my own), possible mistreatment of individuals working on the farm, farming of produce that is harder for the US to regulate, and of course the fossil fuels needed to ship the items to me.

Decidedly NOT GREEN.

Nor is it particularly green to buy apples from Washington when I live in Florida. Alas, tell that to my apple-loving children. So what to do? Buy your items as local as humanly possible. If you can grow it in your back yard - that is best. If not that, buy from a farmer's market - that produce is close enough for a farmer to drive in on a Saturday morning. Next best would be a supermarket that ships in local produce, like Publix. Preference would always be to the US over international. How do you know? Your grocer knows where they get everything from - and should tell you. At our grocery store it's on all of the labels. Now, the down side is that you end up eating produce in season rather than whenever you want. However, that produce is not only better for the Earth -- but it TASTES better too!

Consider: Avoiding packaged foods.

Okay, so you're buying local produce and want to take the "next step." Now comes the toughie: I'm going to ask you to avoid the center isles.

I know, I know, how could I?!? I mean, that's where the OREOS live!

Now, don't get me wrong. I buy the processed foods too. I have a 2 and a 3 year old. How could I possibly NOT buy goldfish? I am not a purist, but I do make a concerted effort to shop on the outside isles to get the whole-foods MOST of the time. Why? Well, packaged foods have a lot of junk in them. Look at the ingredients. How many words can you not pronounce on that package of cheese doodles? Is it even real cheese? And really, how could it be GOOD for you?

The answer is that it's not, and it's not good for the environment either. Why not the environment? Well, you're mass producing foods, pumping out whatever in pollution, instead of making the cookies in the privacy of your own home with a relatively low-output oven. Moreover, by avoiding packaged foods - you know you're safe from inadvertently supporting whatever corporate agenda the company supports. AND, you're using reusable resources, instead of finishing that bag of chips and tossing it. I mean, think about how much trash - as a community - we throw out EVERY DAY from packaging. While we are not in a place to be able to completely eliminate it, we are in a place to reduce, reduce, reduce.

Consider: Buying Naturally or Wild

If you can't give up the packaged food completely (this is me), do what I do and read the labels. I check to see if there are words I can't pronounce. I also check to see if the ingredients are what I would put into the product myself. So, for bread I expect to see words like "flour, sugar, yeast, milk, vegetable oil, and salt." If I see anything like monohydorlexicanmiosississisisisis, I know to stay away. Every time I turn around, one of these chemicals turns out to be used for rat poison or the US military's bombs, or SOMETHING equally as adverse to the human body.

One BIG turn off for me is high-fructose corn syrup. Now, I could write a whole dissertation on why we avoid it, so instead Ill stick with the fact that it's processed sugar. Anything processed is farther from the Earth, and thus something I try to avoid.

In the case of seafood, and meats where applicable, something else you can consider is wild. These animals and fish live the way God intended - and the are consumed through the natural process of the food chain. Our reasons for vegetarianism are partially ethical, but not in the sense that we believe it is unfavorable to eat animals. If we were to eat meat, this would likely be the primary method of consumption for us. Secondary would be organic.

Consider: Buying Organic

Now, where anything living is concerned - this is the grandaddy of the green.

I know people who buy everything organic. If it's made organically, they will buy it. If it's not, then they won't. Simple.

It's not so much for me.

You see, I have a finite amount of resources coming in. While I want to keep my family happy and healthy, and I want to do the Earth well, I also want some disposable income for experiences. I mean, what good is the Earth if I can't enjoy it? If I purchased all of our items organically, then I wouldn't have any money for anything else. As it is, our grocery, health care, and cleaning items run us $1000/mo. Some months I have a tough time keeping it at that. With that in mind, the questions about what I need to buy organically - and what I don't - really become important.

To answer this question, we need to know what it means to be labeled "organic." There is a quick answer to this: to be labeled you have to undergo an extensive process with the USDA in which you prove that you meet the standards. What are the standards? Well, it depends what kind of food you are producing.

Meat and animal products: Organic meat comes from animals that have been treated in a certain manner prior to slaughter. Issues of feed, living conditions, pest control, health care, and origin, are all defined in the by-laws for receiving and maintaining the label. Handling is also considered under the organic label. Since animal products come from the animal (presumably before slaughter) all of these also apply to things like milk, eggs, and milk products.

Seafood: Is not currently regulated. Anything labeled "organic" or "natural" is not done so by any official party. Buy wild, see above.

Produce: Organic produce is regulated in how land is managed, soil is conditioned, as well as how crops are rotated, managed, and harvested.

Packaged: Packaged foods are created from the above. To be considered an organic product, 95% of all ingredients must come from the above (unless it's labeled at 100%). If you see the label "made with organic ingredients" it comes down to 70%.

The similarity in organic products seems to be a limitation on the number of pesticides, hormones, and the amount of UN-natural stuff the product is exposed to. This, this limits the amount of UN-natural stuff that you - the consumer - is exposed to.

In our home, I subscribe closely to the dirty dozen, which are the 12 most contaminated fruits and vegetables. The easy way that I remember what is "okay" and what is "not" is the type of skin. Items with thin/non existent/edible skins are best purchased organically. Those with thick, inedible skins or husks are okay to purchase inorganically.

As far as grains are concerned, I have read in the past that it is not as important to purchase these types of foods organically, at least in terms of pesticide limitations. I cannot find a source to cite right now, but I believe that it was in Consumer Reports. It's because of this that I look for natural grain products, but I don't stress over the organic label. Now, for reasons regarding general treatment for the earth, organic is always better than inorganic. Remember that individual vs. the whole argument I was making earlier?

So, what does this mean to the "regular family"?

Unfortunately, in our area - it is difficult to eat the way we want to. Partly due to my husband's health concerns, and partly because we cannot afford to eat meat the way we want to, we are vegetarians instead. I've been enjoying inorganic berries because the organic ones just aren't good. I'm sure if I can get them farm fresh, they'd be great - but I can't. I also have trouble with "organic" apples that come from Chile. How green are they if I have to ship them from miles and miles away? Especially when there are ones available from the US. At least then you are supporting the local economy.

What I'm trying to point out is that it's not important to be perfect about your eating green. It's one of those "constantly evolving" things - acting in such a way that betters yourself, your family, and the world that we live in. In the end, being "green" where your food is concerned is more about being aware. Being aware of what you are putting into your body, where it comes from, and the process it which it gets to you.

Of course, there is one more component to being green with your food, and it deals with consumption and waste. Which, my green friends, will lead me into Part III.