Healthy Parenting

Eating: Organics

We've been eating organic foods for quite some time now. It was a gradual process over a period of years but now we're at a point where about 90-95% of our diet is organic.

We started implementing organic foods into our lives before we had children but it is our children that strengthened the resolve we had, even in the face of the criticism we received from those who believe differently.

The evidence is overwhelming from a variety or sources, including our own government that pesticides can be very hazardous for our growing children's bodies. Aside from their little bodies being bombarded from all directions by toxins; food, lawns, air, water, furniture, clothing, personal care products, cleaning products - they are also eating large quantities of pesticides.

The EPA states that;

Children may be exposed to pesticides and other contaminants in their food and through day-to-day activities around the home. EPA regulates the amounts of pesticides in food, termed “residues,” through standards called “food tolerances.” A tolerance is a legal limit on the amount of pesticide residue in a particular food. Children’s exposures to pesticides may be higher than the exposures of most adults. Pound for pound, children generally eat more than adults, and they may be exposed more heavily to certain pesticides because they consume a diet different from that of adults.87 Among the agricultural commodities that are consumed by children in large amounts are apples, corn, oranges, rice, and wheat.

Organophosphate pesticides frequently are applied to many of the foods important in children’s diets, and certain organophosphate pesticide residues can be detected in small quantities. When exposure to organophosphate pesticides is sufficiently high, they interfere with the proper functioning of the nervous system.88 There are approximately 40 organophosphates, and as a group they account for approximately half of the insecticide use in the United States. The majority of organophosphate use is on food crops—including corn, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. In addition, organophosphate pesticides often have been used in and around the home. Examples of organophosphate pesticides include chlorpyrifos, azinphos methyl, methyl parathion, and phosmet.
SOURCE: http://www.epa.gov/envirohealth/children/contaminants/e8.htm

According to the Enivronmental Working Group (EWG), first, most safety tests done for regulatory agencies are not designed to discover whether the low dose exposures to pesticide and chemical mixtures that we all experience are safe, particularly during critical periods of development. In general, the government demands, and companies conduct, high dose studies designed to find gross, obvious toxic effects. In the absence of the appropriate tests at lower doses, pesticide and chemical manufacturers claim safety because no harm at low doses has been conclusively demonstrated (or even studied).


If choosing organic is a strain on your finances, it's easy to find solutions.

Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA)
CSAs were introduced to the US by Europe in the 80's. Since then they have increased in number and are growing steadily. A CSA farm is one in which a community pledges their financial commitment to the farm, in return for partaking in the harvest. These farms operate in a variety of different ways. One I belonged to received the farm delivery at a member's house. Each member committed to 3 hours of work for the season (to weigh and bag the produce). The CSA we've done the past few years has it's pick up AT the farm itself. We weigh and bag our own shares and even have many pick your own crops. This particular farm also has "delivery" shares where they deliver throughout the state. Shares vary greatly in price but the end result is usually about $20 per week for tons of fresh organic produce. See links below.

If you can't find a CSA farm online, you can try calling your state Agriculture Department for information. An HP member's mother discovered an entire book printed out by the Colorado Agriculture Dept. with listings of CSAs, beef/dairy farms, etc. It is also listed online at:
http://www.coloradoagriculture.com

Once you find a CSA, you can ask if they have a "work for food" option. Some farms will allow you to work once or twice a week for a few hours on the farm in exchange for a full share in the CSA or a discount. And with many of these farms now shipping to drop off points throughout their state, hosting a drop off point can also get you a huge discount.

Local Co-ops
There are strength in numbers! If you are lucky enough to have a Co-op established nearby, you can find better prices than you would in the health food store.
http://www.coopdirectory.org/
http://sqlblue2.cul.columbia.edu/jim/food.coop.html
http://www.cooperativegrocer.coop/coops/
http://www.coop.org/ica/sectors/secconsfood.html

Start your Own Buying Club
Most Natural Food Distributors will deliver to a Buying Group or Buying Club. All this is basically is a group of families who get together to place an order. The order must usually be paid at once and minimums are around $300 per order. Call the Natural Food Distributors that deliver to your area and ask for their Buying Club guidelines. Some require a list of your members before sending a catalog out. Be sure to go over the catalog closely as I personally found that there were some products that were higher prices than the health food store, especially if you have a Whole Foods nearby. BUT there were a great many products that were discounted, especially if you buy in larger quantities and share among the members. This link is for in and outside the US.
http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com

Order Online
These days you can purchase natural food products online and have them shipped directly to your door. If you shop around you can usually find some good deals on shipping, some even offer free shipping. Here are a few links to places in various states that were recommended by HP list members as well as a few others found online.

• Azure Standard - Bulk food and organic produce delivered to areas of Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Utah, Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota.
  http://azurestandard.com/



• Shop Natural - An online division of ShopNatural Cooperative, a 29 year old Co-op in Tuscon, AZ.
  http://www.shopnatural.com


Organic Kingdom
• http://www.organickingdom.com/

Please drop me a line if you know of a good online store to purchase natural goods.

Articles

Why Go Organic?
http://www.checnet.org

Ten Healing Foods: To Buy Organic
http://www.elsonhaas.com/articles/article_02.html

Organic Food and Health: The Evidence
http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Organic%20and%20Vegetarian/heaton75_p.htm

EPA Won't Restrict Toxic Herbicide Atrazine, Despite Health Threat
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/natrazine.asp

TEN REASONS NOT TO USE PESTICIDES
http://www.ebfarm.com/PDFs/TenReasons.pdf

Organic Foods Have Elevated Levels of Antioxidants!
http://www.organic.org/?section=articles&page=showarticle&article=16

Recommended Reading

• Books to come very soon!

Resources

CSAs Defined
http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/csa/

This site has a great listing of organic associations (US only I think), so on the off chance that the CSA directory doesn't list a farm near you maybe you'll find it through one of these links (click on Resources, Referrals and Links). Also explains CSA's.
http://www.csacenter.org/

Canadian CSA Database and Information
http://www.foodshare.net

A fabulous site with a directory of organic farmer's markets, CSAs, family farms. food co-ops, restaurants, and online stores.
http://www.localharvest.org/

Another site to find organic produce and animal products, as well as restaurants, online stores, etc; This is the link at the end of the mini movie; The Meatrix ( http://www.themeatrix.com )
http://www.eatwellguide.org/search.cfm

Another link I found for finding local farms that sell pasture fed beef, poultry, dairy and eggs. I don't believe this listing is certified organic but the criteria to be on this list is pretty extensive; no hormones, no antibiotics, no animal by products in feed, etc.
http://www.eatwild.com/products/index.html

The Organic Consumers Association...a fabulous site for information on organics. GREAT on site search engine that you can search via region, by CSA, etc.
http://www.organicconsumers.org

Another site to find organic produce and animal products, as well as restaurants, online stores, etc; This is the link at the end of the mini movie; The Meatrix ( http://www.themeatrix.com )
http://www.eatwellguide.org/search.cfm

Northeast Organic Farming Assoc's list of certified organic farms in NJ and PA.
http://www.nofanj.org/farmlist.htm#njtop

The Don't Panic/Eat Organic site below has more organic links than one could possibly explore in a year. It's hard to sift through but it's worth checking out....
http://www.rain.org/~sals/my.html

The Center for Food Safety site. A great place to take action for those too busy...all you do is click some buttons and send an action letter to those that count. Covers info on Organics, Food Irradiation, Mad Cow, and GM foods. Be sure to click on Facts & Issues.
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/

The EWG's (Environmental Working Group's) report of Government data showing the dangers of pesticides. Article in chapters and entitled, A Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce.
http://www.ewg.org/pub/home/reports/shoppers/shoppers.html

A fabulous site (belonging to EWG) that will help spell out specifically which pesticides you and your family are eating. Find out what is in your supermarket foods, what pesticides are in your kids' food, etc.. You can even select a meal and the site will tell you what pesticides you just ate. There is also a wonderful little wallet card you can print out that shows conventional produce with the lowest and highest volume of pestides. So if you have to buy conventional, at least you can pick the right produce to buy.
http://www.foodnews.org/

An organic trade Association site. GREAT articles on everything organic.
http://www.theorganicreport.com/index.cfm

The Northwest Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides works to protect people and the environment by advancing healthy solutions to pest problems.
http://www.pesticide.org/default.htm

Mothers of Organic is an online community by Organic Valley about parenting the organic way.
http://organicvalley.coop/culture/moomom/index.html

Planet Friendlyis an amazing resource for those interested in "going organic".
http://www.planetfriendly.net/organic.html

Shopping

College Farm Organic Candy
Candies contain only natural flavors and colors - nothing artificial. They contain NO artificial preservatives, NO dyes, NO trans fats, NO gluten, NO nuts, NO cholesterol, and NO or very minimal sodium.. All 5 flavors plus our lollipops are suitable for vegetarians. With the exception of Vanilla Caramel and Strawberry & Cream, which contain dairy products, all flavors can also be considered vegan.
http://www.collegefarmorganic.com

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