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| What cost is the Earth? |
Often, I make remarks that organic food isn't truly expensive.
Most people may not agree with it unless
we compare organic food to chemically farmed food
from these perspectives:
1.
price / unit nutrition
.. all other factors being the same,
organic produce has at least 2-3 times
more nutrition than chemically farmed ones.
.. say an organic tomato which is 3 times more nutritious
costs twice the price of a non-organic one,
the organic tomato is still 30% cheaper per unit nutrition!
2.
environmental cost (cf account cost)
.. organic farming allows sustainable usage of farm lands and
the renewability of farm lands
renders organic produce cheaper in long term.
.. whereas in the case of chemical farming,
lands are permanently destroyed after a few decades,
This will eventually push up the price of the produce,
because the acquisition of deminishing agricultural land
will naturally become more and more expensive...
That is speaking in long term and broad perspectives.
In short term,
in order for organic newbies to cushion the initial hike in food bill
try the following suggestions:
Suggestion 2:
Go big on super nutritious foods
Organic
whole grains and
sprouted beans/seeds are superbly nutritious.
They are relatively cheap compared to other food groups
and they are also less perishable (hence reducing wastage and eventually the cost)
Some examples of whole grains are millet, quiona, brown rice, barley, oats etc
Sprouted beans/seeds include mung beans, lentils, adzuki beans, peas, chickpeas etc
(check out Super Whole Food post for more info)
With super nutritious foods,
one will easily get enough nourishment to sustain their day to day living
and eliminate chances of over-eating and cravings
(which may jack up the food bill).
Suggestion 3:
Minimise manufactured organic foods
The process of food manufacturing doesn't only compromise the nutrition of organic food,
but also add on extra costs (labour, packaging, middleman, transport etc).
In the end, the value we get is very small per unit price.
Get fresh produce for maximum nutrients and
to avoid compromising our buying power.
Note that some manufactured food may be cheaper than fresh produce,
but be reminded, the nutritional value may be even lower and
may not offer the nutrients and life force our body needs
except the calories to satisfy our stomach.
Sugestion 4:
Minimise the frequency of eating out
This is by the same principle as that of Suggestion 3.
Eating out usually will add on extra cost (labour, rental, overheads, transport etc)
to our organic food bill.
Hence, if one is truly interested about eating cheap, nutritious organic food,
one should cook at home, where the cost of home cooked organic meal
is basically the cost of fresh ingredients plus minimal home electricity/gas bill =)
[big savings!]
Understand these suggestions imply that
we need to put in more energy
into our day to day food preparation
and enjoy less convenience.
But,
if we want to go thrifty on organic food bill
we can't keep paying convenience fee for
manufacturers, middleman, waiters and chefs to serve us.
As mentioned before,
in the beginning, it will be a drag,
but we have 6months to 1 year to get adapted to it ;)
Some people may get talked out of organic living at this very juncture.
Ever, people told me that
they'd rather go back to conventional food
due to the fear of food preparation at home.
-- this fear is exactly the cause of high organic food bill.
Indeed, organic path is not an easy one,
but with a clear purpose,
it's doable.
Next, more tips on how to ensure a smoother start of an organic path =)
With metta,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com
p/s: by the way, what's your purpose of going organic? -- I mean the real big purpose ;)
How-to-kick-start-with-Organic-Living
{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}
