In modern society we are spoiled for choice where food is concerned. We can walk into a supermarket and choose between fresh and convenience, buy from the source at a farmers market or put in the work and grow at least some food for ourselves.
To that end we are pretty damn lucky.
To me the question of whether to buy organic/biodynamic/ethical/sustainable/additive free/etc is overwhelmed and something of a first world problem. There are plenty of places where these choices don’t exist, simply having enough food to eat is enough.
As much as I would love to have all my food be organic, ethical, sustainable and additive free we just can’t afford the extra money it would cost each week, and I doubt that the average Australian family can afford it either.
It is important to note that there is no evidence to suggest that organically grown foods have improved nutrient value over non organic.
I posed the a question about organic fruit and veg yesterday on the Eat.Move.Explore facebook page and one of our community kindly shared this article which clearly sums up why we shouldn't be getting our knickers in a twist about organic/non organic fruit and vegetables where nutrient value is concerned.
A second article, interestingly, presents findings from a Stanford University study showing that organic produce is (surprsingly to me, only) 30% less likely to be contaminated with pesticides than conventional fruits and vegetables with an RMIT researcher stating that:
“Our research shows organic consumers are more interested in what’s not in their food – such as pesticides and antibiotics – than what is”
That is absolutely the thing I am more concerned with, I don't want to be ingesting more chemicals that I need to, nor do I want to be feeding extra hormones and antibiotics to the kids. However, I don’t get too bogged down in it, reminding myself that I am choosing fresh and wholefoods over convenient processed alternatives. At it's crux I think that is what's most important.
Eating a balanced diet shouldn't be over complicated by this particular question of chemicals and additives, it shouldn't make it all seem to hard to eat 'clean' and send you running back to the frozen food aisle.
I do my best to maintain a simple approach to things, here is some insight in to the way I choose what comes home to my kitchen.
Shopping at local produce markets is a great way to ensure that you are primarily supporting local growers. This is an obvious positive in terms of both supporting the local community and also reducing transport.
Buying my fruit and vegetables from a produce markets lets me consider what organic options I have accessible to me each week and buy what is affordable.
The dirty and clean dozen provides a simple guide as to which fruit and veg you should try and buy organic in preference to others.
If you are so inclined why not grow your own fruit and veg, that is what we are working toward in our family. Better still organise yourself with a few family and friends, and share the love between your gardens.
I buy what is in season, by choosing fruit and veg in season you will be getting them at their best in terms of nutrient quality and price. When you buy fruit and veg out of season they have often been sprayed with preserving agents and left to sit in cold rooms for extended periods. Some produce, like avocados for example, may have even been frozen.
Buy in bulk for freezing and preserving (think tomatoes, capsicum, stone fruit, apples and pears for easy starters)
Buy local produce, I always try and buy fruit and vegetables grown in my local region, this cuts down on transport costs (both in terms of $ and environment). I aim to no longer buy fruit and veg imported from overseas fresh, frozen or canned. If something has been grown in Australia then you know that it is expected to adhere to Australian standards rather than the food standards in a country you can't quickly place on a world map. There are some countries where it is still okay to use DDT on crops.
Always remember to wash your fruit and vegetables before eating, if you are still concerned then peeling them is a good idea. Likewise, ensuring that you and your family are eating a wide variety of fruit and vegetables each week will help prevent a build up of a single contaminant within your system.
Consider which foods you eat as staples and buy the best. If there is something you eat everyday that contains some sort of contaminant there is a risk of that contaminant building up inside your body and causing health issues.
For example, I eat oats in my muesli everyday and the kids eat them as porridge most days. I buy bulk Australian grown bio dynamic, non heat treated (unstabilised) oats. The difference in cost/kg is negligible by comparison with recognised brands because I buy them from a bulk wholefoods store and the superior quality to generic brands is more than worth the extra spend.
Stabilised oats have been heat treated with steam to prolong their shelf life. This destroys some of their nutrient value and makes it harder to digest them. If you find that your stomach and digestive system react badly to oats try switching to an unstabilised variety.
I also buy all my legumes, grains and pulses from the same bulk wholefoods store. I avoid imported varieties and choose organic if they are Non Australian. It only takes 100g dry pulses to give the equivalent of a 400g can so cooking them yourself means a significant saving for better quality and much less sodium!
Rice is grown in water so what's in the finished product is very susceptible to water quality. To be fair we eat very little rice in our house because my belly doesn't like it but I choose a rain fed bio dynamic brown variety that is available at my wholefoods store for little more than a name brand bag of brown rice off the supermarket shelf.
Rice farming by traditional method is not a sustainable practice in Australia so I am not entirely comfortable with Australian rice and haven't been since I learned where Australian rice farms are located, back when I was at uni.
I choose organic flours. I bake my own bread. Baking my own organic spelt or rye based bread is much cheaper than buying it, and with my Kenwood it takes less time than going to the shops to buy a loaf and I know that there are no numbers in my bread. I recognise that baking your own bread isn't for everyone but I'll talk more about the how and why another day.
I would like to say that I buy all organic dairy products. We have an amazing organic dairy, Paris Creek, right here in the Adelaide Hills and their products are first class. This is, unfortunately, one area where Steven and I do not see eye to eye so we compromise by alternating between organic and supermarket brand milk. For me it is as much about supporting the local dairy farmers as their organic status. It is definitely an area that I want to learn more about with my family so they understand too. Milk is something we consume are fair amount of so I am keen to switch to a brand that I am comfortable with both what's in it and where it came from. I am also interested in making my own almond milk.
Paris Creek yoghurt is also fabulous and the price is on par with other non organic natural varieties so it makes regular appearances in our fridge. I buy a brand of greek yoghurt that is Australian with no gelatin, no additives and plenty of good bacteria. Butter and cheese are typically Australian with the exception of the fancy cheeses I buy from time to time from specialty cheese shops.
Where meat is concerned I subscribe to the eat less of better quality philosophy. I also avoid buying meat from the supermarket and get it from the Central Market. Chicken is the meat we consume most. I buy free range and hormone free. We eat a lot of eggs, they are free range too.
Salmon and other fish is probably the next most common animal protein on our menu. I only buy Australian fish and I choose sustainable varieties.
Canned fish is a bit of a minefield of contaminants, sustainability and ethical practices. I won't even attempt to address it here other than to say eating too much canned fish, or deep sea fish for that matter, can have some pretty serious health ramifications. So don't. Don't eat other meats that have been shoved in a can either. That is just nasty.
I like my red meat to be locally sourced, and again choose the best I can afford. There are plenty of great butchers to choose from in the central market that more than meet my needs :)
If you are concerned about a build up of contaminants in red meat then make sure you trim the fat from it because that is where they get stored.
My bacon comes from a family business where they make their own bacon and still do their butchering on the shop floor. My kids want me to cook tongue after seeing some on the butcher block one day :/
I think it is important that children do understand about farming and place value on the quality of the food we eat. Our boy has voiced a few concerns about the fact we are eating animals and animals are nature, if he ends up deciding that he is not comfortable with it then I'm happy to support him in that.
What do you think? Where do you stand on it and what guidelines do you work to yourself? What would you like to learn more about?
Tatum xx
