Somebody asked me to write a “How to eat organic and not feel like a Buddhist monk” guide. Firstly, I must admit that my knowledge of Buddhist lifestyles is almost non-existent — apart from the fact that some live under extreme religious and political suppression, wear bright colours and have shiny bald heads! There is much more to this deep and rich cultural and religious group, but that is not the discussion here and I will leave the Buddhists alone for now.
But to the thing I know a bit about, eating organic — eating organic is not for extreme tree-huggers! It’s for those people who are not happy with the idea of eating produce that is laced with potentially harmful pesticides and chemicals — that may or may not cause strange deformities in our offspring — but I’m not taking any chances.
There are different grades of organic, and depending where in the world you are, different standards that are enforced, but generally you want to be looking for non-chemically treated, fresh or minimally processed food. Organic foods have been proven to contain a higher percentage of nutrients, taste better and have positive benefits on the environment and the people who farm them.
Now, while some sceptics may see organic food as the stuff that uber-cool-too-bored-to-do-anything-better-people from Sandton buy at Woolies, it’s not! Depending where you live, there are small farmers close by that sell fresh produce — that’s the kind of organic that I support. Small-scale farmers are increasingly being supported by sustainable development initiatives, and buying their produce is both good for our health as well as the broader well-being of our communities.
Growing your own food is also a good idea. While it’s possible to perhaps even totally live off your own produce, my humble little garden is only the size on an old tyre. Currently growing spinach, basil and kale (a type of cabbage), all I do is water it with collected rain water daily and harvest as I need to. Once the weather improves, I hope to get another tyre set up next to it and get the carrots, coriander and chilli growing.
Baking your own bread is healthier, tastier, cheaper and much more fun that buying the boring sliced loaf from the supermarket. I will soon share some recipes and tips on bread baking and will also explain a simple way of making your own delicious and cheap yoghurt. I don’t know if the bread or yoghurt we get from the supermarket is organic or not — our home made variety is just better!
Back to the swanky boutique store organic produce — perhaps the biggest issue is weighing the pros and cons of, for example, an organic apple grown miles away and transported to me and the local apple that is not totally organic! The organic apple is perhaps healthier, but it causes more damage to the environment because it travels so far. The easy answer is to check first where the organic food you buy is actually produced and, unless your life depends on it, don’t buy it. The world is suffering because of our desires to eat apples during orange season and we need to be more aware of the unintended consequences of our actions.
Which brings me to our consumption habits in general — we consume too much, in terms of food as well as all the packaging that comes with it and ends up in rubbish dumps. The amount of kitchen waste that can be added to a compost heap is amazing and these days it takes little effort to recycle glass, paper, cardboard and cans.
A Recycle Week campaign is running from Monday, June 22, to Sunday, June 28.
“Organic foods have been proven to contain a higher percentage of nutrients, taste better and have positive benefits on the environment and the people who farm them.” These are unsubstantiated claims that give organic food eaters a ‘feel good’ feeling about food, but the first three had to be removed from labels in the UK when they were debunked by the advertising standards board. All food is organic. All food production impacts on the environment. Even organic food growers use ‘approved’ pesticides and fertilizers (only 14 of which passed safety standards this year in the EU). Organic is feel good hype – if you can afford it, enjoy the ride.
Will be looking out for more information – I make jam from our own lemons and honey, and we have an organic garden
Looking forward to this, especially bread baking and yoghurt making.
You start off by “admit(ting) that your knowledge of Buddhist lifestyles is almost non-existent” and then throw out a couple of glib cliches to prove the point… and then you go on to say: “There is much more to this deep and rich cultural and religious group, but that is not the discussion here”.
Then you propose that an organically grown apple ceases to be organic because it has travelled a larger distance than an apple from a local farmer (or tree). What shite. It may not be environmentally friendly, or some other phrase, but it is certainly organic.
etc etc
Looking forward to reading your pieces again after a couple of years of study, and practice, and practice (but not on this forum hopefully)
@Muffy – while I agree that not all organic produce is necessarily of significantly higher quality than ‘conventionally’ grown produce, the reduced impacts on soil health, biodiversity and the water table are well-established. Even if you’re not concerned about the state of our environment (and how could you not be? It is yours too, after all), the harmful effects of agrochemicals on the health of consumer and farm worker alike are clear – I suggest you research the incidence of birth defects among laborers in Colombia’s cut-flower industry, Parkinson’s disease in California’s vegetable industry, or the alarming abnormalities reported in Limpopo’s tomato-growing industry
Ultimately, organic produce does not have to be a costly luxury – this is a consumer perception reinforced by greedy wholesalers who know that those of us who can pay more generally will.
Demand safe and ethical food – it is your right. And, as Bilal notes, you can easily produce a bit of your own, and you don’t have to be a bare-foot hemp-clad hippie to see the good sense in that.
On the other hand, if you ENJOY the taste of paraquat on your vegetables, I’m sure Uncle Raymond will gladly keep his supermarket shelves well-stocked with the kind of pseudo-food we’ve come to accept.
@david nissim:
Bilal wrote “…weighing the pros and cons of…an organic apple grown miles away and transported to me and the local apple that is not totally organic! The organic apple is perhaps healthier, but it causes more damage to the environment because it travels so far…”
Perhaps you misread that portion of the article – the distinction between ‘organic’ and ‘environmentally friendly’ is clearly demonstrated.
I look forward to reading your replies after a couple of years of practice, on this forum or any other.
roland hunter: there are numerous reasons this piece gets a 1.5 star rating.
As you are such a strong supporter of it, perhaps you could explain what the heading has to do with the content.
While you’re at it, perhaps you identify even 1 engaging or thought-provoking take-out that isn’t trite, cliched or otherwise well short of the typically high standard of writing and argument I have come to enjoy on Thought Leader forums.
Pity about some of the chaff that makes its way in through the Comment door though! (Don’t you agree Roland?)