Nowadays the “mom and pop” shops
have no chance surviving against giant, chain supermarkets. Supermarkets have customers as they offer
unbeatable prices and deals. They offer a variety with which unfortunately the
local shop cannot compete. The aisles are filled with different fruit and
vegetables ranging in size, shape and origin. You do not have to wait till
summer to buy strawberries or watermelon. Everything is available throughout
the year.
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*picture taken from nutrition.doctissimo.com/ ©
Thinkstock
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The
customer can pick as he/she wishes. To add to the confusion, most shops carry
organic and own-brand products. Indeed, the organic items are more expensive,
but offer a healthy solution. Eating organic means avoiding pesticide residue
left on food, preventing future health problems, supporting local farms, and
its employees. Accordingly to the newest statistics compiled by Dan Shapley for
Daily Green, the individual can significally lower his/ her exposure to chemicals
through eating organic products. The
organic fruit and veggies are grown using natural fertilizers and allowed to
reach its maturity before being harvested. No chemicals are sprayed on them to
speed the growth process to reach the supermarket as early as possible.
Unfortunately,
not everyone can afford to eat eco-friendly. That's what makes the Environmental
Working Group list of dirty dozen so useful. The list ranks food based on the
amount of residue they have using information provided by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
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*picture
taken from fearlessmen.com
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Moreover, the list serves as an aid to help people
make healthy food choices and at the same time lower the exposure to chemicals.
As reported by Forbes. com, the following products made the latest list:
1. Apples
2. Celery
3. Sweet bell peppers
4. Peaches
5. Strawberries
6. Imported nectarines
7. Grapes
8. Spinach
9. Lettuce
10. Cucumbers
11. Domestic blueberries
12. Potatoes
Looking at the list it is
apparent that the products that you can eat directly are people's biggest
enemy. Realistically an apple a day keeps a doctor away can do us more harm
than good. According to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there are 350 types of pesticides used
on food crops which in some degree can affect human beings. It all depends on
the type of exposure as well as the amount. Even though, there is not any
specific data on the illnesses, the long- term exposure has been link to
various types of cancer. Also, the chemicals can be very dangerous to babies
due to their undeveloped immune system making them very vulnerable to their developing brain and
nervous system. Hence,
it is very important to wash fruit and vegetables, peel off the skin, and if
possible grow own.
As life
shows, there are always two sides of the story. The new research from the
University of Stanford challenged the meaning of “organic and its value”.
Surprisingly to everyone, there was not much difference in the nutritious and
healthier value between organic and conventional food. The only difference was
the level of pesticide residue on the food, yet, the level was within the
allowable safety limits. Furthermore, the study conducted on children did not
show any significant health difference either. The researchers concluded that
they did not find any strong evidence that organic food was indeed better for
human health.
The
research was not done to condemn buying organic food, but to present a valid
case and educate consumers.
As
an individual, everyone needs to follow his own
beliefs and do what feels right for him/ her. It is important to be educated
and think twice before making a purchase. It is essential to lead a healthy
lifestyle, eat well and exercise to live a long and happy life.
Questions:
1. What is your personal
experience on eco-friendly and organic products?
2. Have you heard about dirty
dozen list and do you follow it when shopping?
Resources:
In my opinion, choosing between organic and regular products available at the typical product of a shop is like choosing your meals. On the one hand we want to be healthy and eat to our mood was good, on the other hand, most of us we have their own tastes in the kitchen. The decision whether to eat something that comes from natural crops, or eat something that will make our palate will fly. Growing costs, natural fertilizers are expensive, do not apply accelerators or enhancers so chemical and yields are lower. To sum up we pay more for everything eco and organic. I have friends for whom eco shops like church for believers. Sometimes I visit these places and I have the impression that the customer who walks into this store, instead of feeling closeness to nature and the benefits of selecting one, it is in the threshold of the shop that reminds me of a modern luxury boutique where you see the clarity of labels and medical packaging. I was not convinced because I know that eco few years ago it was an international conspiracy for business. Take care of health may not be as much as eating eco and organic but according to the needs of our body. It is still at such as sports and attitude but that's another story
ReplyDeleteIn many stores you can come across organic products. Find the fashion stores including t-shirts made from organic cotton, produced in drugstores cosmetics based on organic ingredients, organic food and food products.
ReplyDeleteCertainly safer for our health is to eat products that have been grown in a natural way, in accordance with the laws of nature, without chemical enhancements and other measures that are used today by manufacturers on a massive scale. Therefore, people with food allergies, tolerant of chemicals or preservatives often reach for organic food, which is the better.
Organic food is usually quite expensive. Lower production, slower growth, more expensive breeding and cultivation are the main reasons that the organic products we have to pay quite dearly. It is hardly surprising - the quality is going price, but there's no beating around the bush - not everyone can afford it. Moreover, not every village there is a shop with such products. However, there is no way out. - We can always look around the local market to find someone who grows chicken and sells eggs or perhaps a friend has a garden and is eager to share with us their crops. Although it will not be marked with a food "organic food", but certainly it will be a better, healthier and tastier than supermarket products.
I personally try to buy fruits and vegetables in the market not in supermarkets, for example, do not buy the strawberries in winter. Eat seasonal fruits and vegetables. I also buy eggs rural, and if I do not have that option just to buy organic eggs at the supermarket.
Despite the fact I think healthy food is better for us, I don't buy it. Simply it's because I can't tell which one is really natural. I heard a lot about controversies related to the "natural food" marks.
ReplyDeleteOne company granting "natural food" designation has not conducted any tests of food they labeled. In other words-you only had to pay to receive the right to place a mark on the label.
Another scandal was related to the brand "Krakowski Kredens". Its manufacturer wrote that the sausage (or ham, I don't remember) was produced according to the old, traditional recipe. It turned out, of course, that the "traditional" Sausage contains dyes and preservatives.
Unfortunately, such situations cause that I'm not going to overpay for food that often is just a scam.
Despite this, I try to think about what I eat-I do not buy processed foods, eat fruits and vegetables of the season and I never buy them in supermarket. I am also careful with eggs- I always buy "0" or "1", but not because of my health, but because of the chickens.
In my opinion a healthy food is a bit overrated eco because, as is well known eco food prices are much more expensive than the one that we consume every day. I have an uncle in the family who has been the economy, and he told me the difference between them food. Recipe for expensive goods is such that buying eco food we eat just less chemistry, everything ok but price should not be so different from each other in a way that not everyone can afford to just the food. I eat simple food and I'm happy with the taste :)
ReplyDeleteI'm realy not person who cooks. I just buy some sandwiches and lunches, so this topic is not realy for me :) Rarely I buy some freshly squeezed juice, but that is all.
ReplyDeleteAs I said before I don't cook so my shopping list contains mainly water :) I haven't heard about "dirty dozen list". It is very interesting, because usually people thinks that if they buy fresh and eco things they are the best for them and their children, appears that they are wrong. About shops with eco food, I don't know if I would buy there, I don't trust them.
Once I were working at gathering fruits and from this time I don't eat fruits with "skin". I allways peel and wash them. The view of the farmer who was spraying trees with gas mask was unforgettable.
I agree with s7719. Eco food is too expensive. It that situation will not be changed we will be in one of two types of people:
ReplyDelete- who are eating expensive eco
- who are eating cheap food (but with chemicals), and then buy expensive medicines to rescue their organism.
This eco food I associate differently, on the one hand to be healthier, on the other hand sometimes I feel that it's like the sweetener - like better health and it turns out it does not always. No but in general it's hard for large shops to buy the real EKO food. I go to the meat shop where specific products are sold not only in the mass supermarket are the "home" in general, I feel the difference. Eco associated with something "in harmony with nature" and healthy.
ReplyDeleteFor me, this truly organic food is one of their own on a piece of the field grow, we proceeded as if the cattle were fertilized plants and the food you will not find in any store, even with the best certificates. In terms of food today, we can only trust yourself. People used to cultivate the land and ate only natural things and live longer, in today's era of lichen chemicals and accelerators in our food shopping can be anything that makes me very worried, we're going in the wrong direction, we destroy ourselves.
In my opinion eating food of a good quality and exercising every day is the best way of keeping oneself fit and healthy. This is exactly the way in which life expectancy has elongated. Thanks to making right choices, the risk of heart attacks, disabilities or other diseases diminishes. However, while saying ‘eating healthy’ I do not mean choosing only eco-products because as the presentation shows ‘eco’ is not always equal to healthy and, what is more, usually costs much more money which constitutes a problem while living in crisis. We should find the boundaries while deciding whether or not some products are worth our attention, money and health. And actually, I find it important that there is something like ‘dirty dozen list’, as it provides us with some significant information and enables us to make more conscious and responsible choices.
ReplyDeleteThe only products which I am trying to make a choice between expensive and cheap and healthy and unhealthy are eggs. I really buy only eco eggs which is class A and type 0. The rest of products i choose with my sense of taste :) Of course if there are two products on the same shelf and the one is more likely eco than the other, i would take that eco product no matter if it costs more. But i have to tell you something. I work as a professional in retail, from my observation and personal experience, i have to say there is never and please note that NEVER certainty that, the product labeled as ECO is really ECO. You should ask yourself, what if the product labeled as eco isn't really eco? NOTHING, the producer will MAYBE pay some penalty, but all in all this is nothing, because the profit he gets is at least 1000 time bigger than the penalty. So nowadays, this is really dramatic what we eat, what we buy, what we think we eat and what we think we buy. I think in the WWIII we should not be scared of atomic bombs, like we should be about marketing, and social engineering.
ReplyDelete1. What is your personal experience on eco-friendly and organic products? Eh, can't see the difference between organic and "normal" food. Used to eat it, when visiting my parent in Amsterdam, but all the food from supermarket, eco-friendly or not, was the same - quite tasteless. Can't compare it to apples or vegetables from my granny's garden. We're quite lucky in Poland, still having access to fresh, garden-based growth. And it's a lot cheaper than organic products.
ReplyDelete2. Have you heard about dirty dozen list and do you follow it when shopping?
No, never heard of it. I just like to buy my food from people from countryside who drive to city to sell their goods. I know some of them also use pesticides, so I buy from old people with the ugliest (and tastiest) apples :)
Like my mother says - "Everything has to be taken in moderation" :) You should think about the stuff you're eating, but do not be exaggerated about it. I don't buy apples, oranges (sometimes tomatoes) in big supermarkets simply because usually they are disgusting, tasting like paper, with tons of chemicals on it. Maybe if they improve the taste I'll be willing to buy them more often out there :)
ReplyDeleteOfcourse everyone would like to be able to buy food in eco-friendly shops, but they are quite expensive for most of us. In the country with so many people struggling to pay they electricity and heating bills buying apples for 1 euro each isn't priority. So again it's all about money.
I usually buy organic products, but only from EU with special EU organic farming logo, I have assurance that this product is realy organic and healthy. with my gf we try to make food products by ourself, because they are healthier than many prepared products which you can buy in shops. I know that the prices are higher but if you have organic farm, you can't have hundreds carrots from one grain etc. so the costs are higher and the prices too. I also have heard about dirty dozen, but most of this products are cultivated by us without any improvers, so we have assurance that they are healthly.
ReplyDeleteOrganic food is now a very trendy thing. Some time ago I was involved in the creation of organic producers cluster - cluster Bioprodukt. The participants of this initiative were entrepreneurs who health products, organic food. Products that have been produced by them characterized by the fact that they were relatively expensive. On the one hand I can understand the high prices, because there is no protection of pesticides and other chemicals increases the likelihood of plant and animal diseases and at the same time does not affect the growth as well. On the other hand, the prices of these products are properly inflated, because the producers claimed that only the right price guarantees that the customer will pay attention to a healthy product and buy it.
ReplyDeleteIt is a terrible article again because I love roasted apples with sugar and cinnamon. Especially inside pancakes! I can understand grapes, but apples! It is scariest information I have red today! Even more terrible than wrangle at a political rally of PiS.
ReplyDeleteActually I regulary use over half of products from that list. How to exist without lettuce? From today I have to necessarily change my food supplier! Bronisze market is not so far away:) I think also fruits and vegetables from common bazaars are much better than from hipermarkets. Spinach! Lettuce! Cucumbers! These vegetables are essential on every second lunch. Supermarket is not so super! :(
Because of my way of life, studies, friends, responsibilities and so on I have not so much time and sometimes forget about buying food from checked sources, especially bazaars, but I try to think about it during every shoping. I read every unknown product label to see what did they put inside. I do not accept preservatives and i do not buy products with them. For me, if one producer can make food without it, why another needs to add preservatives or other harmful 'E'? Why Polish Mlekowita or German Zott are able to produce milk products almost 'E free'. That requires only new technology - means new thinking - and not always large money cost. If most of companies ceased adding noxious 'E' to food, it would become common and people would stop purchasing bad food. But here is a place where the goverment should help, e.g. higher taxes for preservatives. However, politicians need us only till 67 years old, then the main role of the citizen is to die.
The eco products that are on my 'must have' list are eggs (same as Grzegorz) and chicken (steroidless).
ReplyDeleteThis is because the hormones that might be present in those products are dangerous and can make harm
to you as it comes to your fertility(It can force you to have an in vidtro).
I try to buy as many eco-products as possible but its not that easy when it comes to non-eco markets.
We should also be carefull when buying those products as producers often mislead us with the pseudo-eco-wrapping.
I think that eco-friendly business has a huge potentiall as more and more people are considering eco-shopping.
I can see that that market is growing.