That pig is eating White Castle|Why you seriously need to eat organic

So us “healthy-types” have been banging our organic-eating drum for sometime now. And the movement is growing! But, there are still far too many people not making the connection that non-organic/genetically modified foods are connected to less than optimal health & possibly even body breakdown when genetically modified foods are involved. By the way, if it’s not organic – it’s probably genetically modified – just so ya know.

“But Kate! It’s more expensive to buy organic, and I’m on a budget!” Oh, how that is so wrong – I can say that because I used to think that & now I know that eating organic DOES work for anyone regardless of budget. And we’ll review how we get to that point in a bit. But first, organic food is better because the animals are fed the food they are supposed to eat, and allowed to live in the place they are supposed to live – grass, hay, open air, and no vaccines, steroids or growth hormones. And that makes all the difference in the quality of the product you’re getting. You have to buy food. Why not waste your money on something that is not delivering the full amount of nutrition that it’s meant to?

Cows were not meant to eat corn & pigs were not meant to eat White Castle buns. Plain & simple.

We all know what will happen if we put 87 octane in a Porsche. Cows & pigs & fish are the same way. Their insides were not designed to run on corn & bread – which is what cows & pigs & fish (yes, even fish) are fed. Take a look at a cows arms. First, they stand on their front legs so they don’t really function like “arms” & second, they have these stubby hooves on the ends. How do you propose they peel an ear of corn? They don’t! They were not designed to sit down, peel an ear of corn & eat it. So why would we shuck corn for them, and make that their food? A cow in nature, would NEVER eat corn.

Pigs? Pigs are fed White Castle buns in some part of the country – as witnessed on “Undercover Boss,” a show that follows CEO’s of big companies out into the field. One memorable scene is of a boss wasting a load of buns at the White Castle factory because he couldn’t bag them properly. The workers told him not to worry because they donate them to the farmer for feed for his pigs. What the hell? Pigs were not meant to eat White Castle buns – I would never tell a HUMAN to eat them, let alone a pig that humans are eventually going to eat. Disgusting.

Even if you don’t follow the science above that cows & pigs should not eat corn & buns - you cannot deny this one – fish are now being fed corn. Someone tell me how a fish would get corn in nature? Would it walk into the store & pick up some ears? Or maybe it would head over to the cow’s house & borrow some of his corn? No. So what do you think is going on inside that fishs’ body as it tries to digest & utilize a substance it was never designed to eat & digest? Not what’s supposed to be going on, that’s for sure!

So, when you’re buying that meat or veggie that is labeled organic, or even that pre-packaged item that says organic, there’s a reason it’s priced as it is. 1. It’s a higher quality product, it has more going on inside than any of it’s non-organic counterparts can even hope to have. 2. It’s still the minority in a major supermarket – find a health food store or even better, a farmers market/CSA program, & you’ll pay a lot less than in the store! If you want to get organic to cost less, you’ve got to vote for organic by NOT buying non-organic things & buying regularly organic things. Plain & simple. So how do you do that if on some kind of budget? And who’s not on a budget these days? Read on!

1. If you’re on a major budget – it’s much more wallet-friendly to do organic vegetarian meals with beans & legumes as a main protein source than to do an 8 oz wild salmon filet. Start with the produce that has the highest concentration of pesticides & work back from there – for example - tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, apples, berries, lettuces have super high pesticides. Start buying off this list organic, and as you transition, you can add more veggies & fruits that are organic.

2. Plan plan plan!!! If you buy organic, you darn well better eat it before it goes bad otherwise you’re just throwing good money away. By the way, organic food goes bad quicker than non-organic (take a guess why…no preservatives or pesticides) so you may have to make the whole tray of ground turkey at once then portion it into containers for reheating tomorrow night or at lunch. And hey! Time saver tip! Meals made ahead mean you’ve got more time for other things!

3. After produce, start working in organic meats when you see sales. Whole Foods does sales on ground turkey every so often & the same size container that costs $5.99 for non-organic, goes on sale for $2.50 for organic. I buy 10 at a time when this happens & then freeze them. Each of those containers gets me 4 meals – where else can you get 4 meals for $2.50?? Yeah, nowhere.

4. Stop buying prepackaged garbage and eating out as much. You’d be shocked at how much you save when you’re not buying things from boxes or picking up food in a restaurant/fast food place. We rarely go out to dinner because it’s just a waste of money compared to the super tasty organic meal we can make at home. But when we do, we really enjoy eating out & not having to cook, so the experience is more valuable then! With the money you save from eating at home & homemade more often, you’ll have plenty more for buying great organic food.

At the end of the day, you only get 1 body. Do with it as you wish. But you’d save the rest of us a ton of money on healthcare if you’d start bringing organic food into your life. You’d also save your local economy by buying local (since most organic food doesn’t travel far from the source to be sold). What a do-gooder you are! So Mr & Miss Do-gooder, swing through your organic section on your next grocery trip & if it’s not up to par, start looking into where you can find great organic food near you.