I do my best to eat organic foods, especially produce, when I can. Besides the supposed health benefits, I believe that it's what's best for the planet as well.
Some friends and family are interested in doing the same, but say that it's expensive.
That's not true. You can easily make the switch to eating more organic foods and not break your budget or totally change your lifestyle.
Here are some easy ways:
Join your local CSA.
CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. To sum it up quickly, you pay to become a member and get a weekly "share" of fresh produce, meats and cheeses (depending on your CSA) from a local farm.
The benefit of this is that you have a better connection with your food and community. You can find how the farmer grows the food and treats his cattle. It also cuts down on the travel distance of the food as well. All good for you and the planet.
The upfront cost of the CSA might seem like a lot. If you average it out week by week, it's totally worth it. Plus ask if you can work out a payment plan. Most CSAs are flexible.
To find a CSA close to you, check out LocalHarvest.org.
Grow your own produce.
This might seem radical, but it's not as difficult as it sounds. I did it myself and am doing some urban gardening.
I have no experience in gardening and read about a half a book on it. I just decided to do it to help reduce my food bills. It's worked so far. About a month into planting, I've been able to get about 3-4 salads and most of my plants haven't begun to produce.
Space shouldn't dictate your decision to grow. I'm growing vegetables on the fire escape of my Manhattan apartment and in my Grandmother's backyard in Brooklyn. You can grow anywhere. It's just a matter of how much.
TreeHugger recently spotlighted some interesting container gardening options for small spaces as well.
What's the worst that can happen?
Join your local food co-op.
This is something that I've considered doing for a while, but haven't yet. I know of people that have and simply rave about it.
Again, these usually have deals with local farmers to keep thing local.
At a food co-op, you pay a small annual fee to become a member. As part of your membership, you get a discount on your purchases.
The amount of the discount usually depends on how many shifts you work at the co-op. If you don't work any, you get a smaller discount. The more you work, the larger the discount.
At my local co-op, if you work 2 hours a week, you get a 20% discount on your purchases. If you are a member and don't work any shifts, you get an 8% discount. There are other levels in between. Point being that you get a discount.
To find a food co-op close to you, check out the co-op directory.
There are definitely other ways to help you incorporate more organic foods into your daily life, but these are a good starting point. They also won't cause a drastic change in your current daily routine.
11 Responses
1
Angie
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:53 am
GREAT tips! Will put on my FB!!!
2
Alex Davis
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Thats what I am doing, a garden thats pretty large and hopefully will yield some good food
Great List
3
iip
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:41 pm
the idea of community supported agriculture is cool.
in my country, farmers usually joining groups for several reasons. But people live in urban areas are getting organics from supermarket and there is no such association to connect with farmer groups.
thanks alot
4
storybeader
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:30 am
growing your own food is definitely the cheapest way! And you can share, and be a good neighbor, no matter where you live! {:-D
5
Poroka
July 23rd, 2009 at 9:30 am
In many EU countries its common to have gardens almost in the center of cities. In Ljubljana, Slovenia they recently removed large number of those, because of visual impact on the surroundings. One can't argue bad impact in that sense, but it's still a shame...
6
Mike Lieberman
July 23rd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
@Angie - Thanks!
@Alex - Good luck growing. It's been fun for me so far.
@iip - Living in this concrete jungle of NYC. Most of us are very disconnected from the Earth. Is it possible for you to start a CSA where you are or something similar to it?
@storybreader - Absolutely. If you want it to happen, it can.
@Poroka - There are also community gardens here in NYC. They've wanted to get their hands on them to build apartment buildings on, but the neighborhood revolted. Been thinking about joining one of them as well.
Thanks for all of the comments!
7
tarsiers
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Indeed! I have been moving around too much and in some too urban areas so I have not been able to get into the long-term ones mentioned although I am dying to. I don't see why co-ops are not yet replacing the terrible supermarkets. I've been to one I see in the directory list for SF, that reminds me to go again. thanks!
8
hotels nicaragua
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:47 pm
I love to garden! You will never find good tomatoes in a grocery store, it tastes 100% better off the vine!
9
Mike Lieberman
July 24th, 2009 at 8:56 am
@tarsiers - CSAs likely aren't mainstream because they don't carry the big national brands who have a lot of pull.
@hotels nicaragua I can't wait to harvest my first cherry tomatoes. Soon enough.
10
Wilson Pon
July 27th, 2009 at 1:51 am
Mike, I'm living in an apartment and only have a very small balcony. In your opinion, what types of vegetables/fruits are suitable to be planted in the space-limited balcony like yours in the picture?
11
Mike Lieberman
July 27th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Wilson Pon said:
Wilson -
On my fire escape garden I am growing lettuces, peppers and cherry tomatoes.
I would definitely recommend the lettuces and other greens (collards, swiss chard, kale) because they don't grow to be too large and can be used with ease.
I'd stay away from the cherry tomatoes because even though the tomatoes are small, the plant grows to be kind of large.
The peppers are finally starting to bear fruit, so I'm not sure on that one yet.
I would also recommend the self-watering containers. They were easy to make, low maintenance (thus far) and easily fit into small spaces.
If you have any other questions, feel free to hit me up.
Thanks for your message.