Best Fruit Now

I think everyone has to develop their own set of priorities, values, and beliefs on the subject. That said, my position is to prioritize my expenditures based on my personal values and expected chemical exposure.

Take a moment and read “Monsanto, Harvest of Fear” from the May 2008 issue of Vanity Fair. After reading, I am much more concerned about the grains we consume , eating the animals that feed on those grains, and the animals supplemented with growth hormones, than pesticide exposure on produce. Please read this article. VF reports that the vast majority of seeds used to grow Soy, Corn, Canola, and Cotton, are Genetically Modified, and patent protected from Monsanto. You might think that seeds would be genetically modified to resist pests, thus limiting the use of pesticides. But if the seed company is also a pesticide company, as is Monsanto, the motives are profit serving, and possibly environment and health sacrificing. Monsanto, the same company that brought us, PCB’s, DIOXIN and AGENT ORANGE, has genetically modified the seeds to resist ROUNDUP. This way, farmers can spray roundup generously (more sales for Monsanto) and keep the weeds down without killing the crop.

So, the first dollar I spend to avoid chemical exposure is for organic soy bean products, corn products, and canola products.

The next dollar I’ll spend will be to avoid white breads, rather than processed grains I try to buy whole grain breads, organic when possible. Look at ingredient list, simple basic ingredients you know as food are best.

The next dollar I’ll spend will be for organic cage free eggs, they taste better to me and are free of hormones and mother hen’s meals where not chemically treated.

The next dollar I’ll spend to avoid chemical exposure is on Hormone Free Dairy and Meat products. The idea of factory farms injecting animals with hormones, to make them grow faster, so they can be harvested sooner is repulsive to me. Check out the video below in regards to Monsanto and a squashed Fox News story. Look for grass fed, free range meats. Animals eating poor quality grains produce poor quality meat.

The next dollar I’ll spend to avoid chemical exposure is to avoid sodas and drinks that contain artificial sweeteners of any kind. Organic, 100% juice, just seems to be such a better choice than drinks with chemicals of questionable side effects. Pasteurized local cider is a favorite.

The next dollar I’ll spend to avoid chemical exposure is to avoid plastic water bottles, good filtered water in glass or stainless steel tastes better too.

The next dollar I spend to avoid chemicals is on WHOLE FOODS including fresh produce. Fast food is inexpensive, processed garbage, that does not belong in our bodies. That is my opinion. I advocate SLOW FOOD. You can learn more about the SLOW FOOD movement here.

The next dollar I’ll spend to avoid chemical exposure is for a quality organic produce wash, used to remove soil, wax and chemical residues from fruit and vegetables. These products are important, as washing with water alone will not remove waxes applied to produce. These waxes can contain chemical residues. My opinion is that that by using these washes any resulting residue would be negligible. There is an organization that disagrees, but I am not convinced of their argument. You can learn more about this opposing position at Environmental Working Group.

Looking for more information on eating organic and local? My suggestion is to learn about the "Slow Food" movement and it's American founder, Alice Waters. 60 minutes ran a story on Alice Waters on March 15th 2009. Click here to view the story.

So, as you can see, I will have spent an awful lot of dollars avoiding chemicals I deem to be more of a risk than conventional, washable produce. However I do choose organic when I know the quality is excellent, and I'll always choose local when available. There is nothing better than fruit picked so ripe it is practically leaking it's essence.

Invest in your health by purchasing top quality REAL foods, that is unprocessed food that you can understand the ingredients. Europeans live that way, food and family first. Perhaps that is why they are so much skinnier than us, quality ingredients eaten with patience.

Tommy K