Green Options

Would you like to know the direct benefit of buying organic versus conventional?  Do you ever wonder what the cumulative impact of purchasing organic versus conventional products is over the course of a year?  There’s a website out there that allows you to calculate the number of pounds of synthetic nitrogen, pesticides, and herbicides that are eliminated by choosing organic products.

The website is for Organic Valley Family Farmers.  Organic Valley is a co-operative of farmers that produce dairy products, juice, eggs, meat, soy, fruit, and vegetables.  It claims to be the largest organic farmer owned co-operative in North America, and you can review on their website their array of various products.

The popularity of organic foods in the last few years has been as well documented as it was explosive. As the growth and popularity of organic and natural foods increased, large agri-business and giant food producers became extremely interested in increasing their market share by acquiring smaller organic food companies.

With all the acquisitions that have taken place over the last few years, do you know who owns your favorite organic foods company? I sure don’t.  Between large companies engulfing smaller organic food producers, and large agri-business developing “strategic alliances” with once independent companies, it’s hard to know if the little local tofu producer is still just that, or part of a behemoth entity that you thought you were avoiding.

Confused by all the information regarding natural eating?  You’re not alone!

When you are out at the Farmer’s Market, get to know your farmer.  Ask pointed questions, find out if they have an open door policy (can you tour anytime), are they certified organic or do they go beyond organic (beyond organic is a philosophy that USDA organic isn’t enough).   If you are a meat eater, find local farmers and arrange direct meat purchase (our plan is every 3 months because we have decent storage space).  Some meats we find locally: tuna (which we can ourselves), bison, chicken, beef.  Prices average $3.00-$4.00/lb, so this also encourages us to use less meat.  For our family of 7 + 3 daycare kiddos, we have meat packaged in 1 lb sizes to ensure we don’t get meat crazy. :)  You can probably find local eggs at the farmers market, this usually saves you money and supports small, local farms.

Here are some tips to help you navigate healthier, local eating.

The sales of organic foods have slowed in the last year, after almost ten years of at least 20% growth.  The economy has cooled even some of the hottest markets, including organics, but with 6% growth in 2008, the organic industry remains strong and resilient.  A terrific ecopreneurial opportunity exists for people interested in helping others set up, maintain and harvest organic gardens.  And the industry is about to get a big shot in the arm from the Obama Administration. 

Or at least, we hope it is.  Michael Pollan, sustainable food activist and author of several books, advocated for turning part of the White House lawn into an organic garden.  If you google “Obama Organic Garden”, you’ll see the overwhelmingly positive response from the blogosphere.  While the Obamas have not commented on the possibilities, I’d wager they’re considering it.  Their daughters attend a private school which uses organic ingredients in their food, unbleached napkins made from

Once upon a time, a not very long time time ago, Melissa Chmelar tried to bring a little bit of country to New York City. The Cordon Bleu Trained chef decided that New Yorkers deserved a sampling of the freshest organic produce that hands could pick.

Spoon Catering was born. After experiencing overwhelming success, Melissa developed Spoon storefront and TableSpoon. Since I’m not part of the super swanky New York set all of this has limited interest to me (my narcissism is well established).

What comes next is truly delightful. (big payoff after the jump!) —>