Organic budgetary considerations

[Guest guest]

Yes, Cassandra, thanks for your reply. I do understand.

 

Sometimes, when we transition gradually, we don't feel it as much. For

example, suppose you now buy these foods organic and those foods

conventional. Perhaps each month or so, you can shift one item ... making

the change gradual. This allows you to be creative in finding ways to

sustain the transition.

 

To me, the keys are awareness, intention, and commitment. Many hold some

degree of awareness and intention, but all too often I notice people making

excuses in lieu of commitment. Commitment ... genuine commitment ... is a

stranger to " can't " and " try " .

 

Anyway, perhaps the gradual approach works for you?

 

Elchanan

_____

 

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf Of

winterpromise31

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 1:46 PM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Re: Organic budgetary considerations

 

 

Elchanan,

 

I don't think it's quite as simple as this. It may be true that our

spending habits project a message, but some people are limited on what they

can spend.

 

My husband and I spend a lot of money on food every month as it is. We

cannot afford the additional expense of buying everything organic. Someday,

when we have the car and the student loans paid off, this will be an option.

But right now, we just don't have the money to buy everything organic. And

we are very tight on spending - no eating out, no movies... I haven't

bought new clothes in months.

 

For now, it's nice to know that there are certain conventional produce items

I can buy that will have less pesticides than others and I choose to be

selective. Some day, we will be able to afford having a lessor paying job

that we love and buying all organic fruits and veggies. Until then, we

just do the best we can.

 

Cassandra

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Yes,

they tend too

or used to in our case-

NOW

they are doing a really great job with it

Good quality and separate from the conventional

as far as this goes years ago I bought 100% organic

As our family grew we make different choices

This is an elitist argument anyway

some people have to decide whether to pay the rent or eat.

and in the long run there are expenses to the earth etc and evento

ones health but some are in survival mode

We spend 200-300 on food for a family of 6 I have a friend that brags

that for her family 0f 6 she spends 60 for the entire week!!!

But her kids get sick-her oldest daughter has menstrual cramps and one

of hers sons had an injury that took a very long time to heal.

They are the same age as us but have high bp and other illnesses are

creeping up on them-they figure it's part of getting older

Anyway i am happy that the regular stores are doing a good job

Fortunately I live in an affluent town so the store has to cater to

them and I benefit from it

There is also a sore for us commoners and though :-)

they sell meat for cheap(which i don't buy) and other SAD stuff

AND they actually sell local farmer's produce !!and so I shop there too

 

So I guess I'm lucky that the conventional store is doing a better job

and I like to think that my buying there and my demand have helped

that to occur-yes it was frustrating at first but it's gotten better

over the years

and yes some people do have budgetary constrainst

We don't eat out

we don't go to drive thrus for anything

we buy our clothes from a second hand store

we borrow books from the library

we make our food from scratch.......

AND I save gas if I shop locally rather than go to Whole wallet-a

place that sells conventional food too & meat etc.....

Em

> Also, I've noticed that conventional grocery stores that offer organic

> tend to offer organic produce that is WAY too green, overly packaged,

> or next to rotting. I think they are giving lip-service to organic.

> They even mix it in with conventional produce to confuse the customer.

> It disconcerts me.

>

> Janet - already dreaming of next year's garden.

>

> rawfood , " Elchanan " <Elchanan@> wrote:

>

>

> The problem with this way of thinking, in my opinion, is that it

> captures and expresses short-sighted self-interest and nothing else.

>

> Whenever we spend funds on anything at all, we send a clear message

> out into the world, saying, " We approve of this, please provide more

> of this. "

>

> Is this really what we wish to say? Is this the intention we wish to

> project outward? I surely hope not!!!

>

> The organic standard, now federalized in the U.S., comes as a package.

> Economic justifications are often prepared using nothing but aggregate

> numbers, as X% of the avocado production is organic, an increase of Y%

> over the past N years. " Either we support this standard

> wholeheartedly, at every available opportunity, or we weaken it.

> There are no " neutral " acts in this regard.

>

> Best, Elchanan _____ rawfood

> [rawfood ] On Behalf Of Erin Wednesday,

> July 18, 2007 10:57 AM rawfood [Raw Food]

> organic budgetary considerations It has previously been discussed in

> this group, the high cost of organic produce. At that time, I

> suggested using one of the various " dirty dozen " lists out there and

> pointed to an old blog post with a few references. I have just

> revisited the topic more directly with my latest post and thought you

> all might find it of interest:

>

[Guest guest]

I think that there are so many things that have to be

considered when you really stop and think about what

you will buy, and where, and if it will be organic.

 

I don't buy everything organic. I know that certain

changes could be made with our budget, but they aren't

things that will be changed right now. The main

reason is that my hubby and I just bought our first

home in April. There are a TON of renovations we want

to do- including installing a whole house water

filter, a rain water/grey water system, replacing the

fiberglass insulation (which needs replaced anyway)

with the chemical free cellulose stuff, buying live

plants for each room to serve as an air filtration

system, using only low voc products and sustainable

products for everything..... we are choosing to

invest in a healthier living environment along with

eating more organic foods. When we don't have a big

renovation purchase coming up, we do buy more organic.

For the most part, however, we try to just buy

locally grown produce.

 

I think just as important as whether or not you buy

organic is where you buy....in our city there are

several stores (almost all of them) that sell at least

a small amount of organic items...then there are

several stores that sell large amounts of it.

Sometimes the prices are lower at the nationally owned

chain stores, but we choose to support the locally

owned stores instead.

 

I dunno, just some other things to think about!

 

~Kerri

 

 

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