Organic Industry Structure but first... PWN Giveaway Winner!

The winner of the Blog Aid Recipes of Haiti cookbook, using Random.org number generator, is…

KALEENA!

Kaleena is a Maine girl, and she loves to cook. Her blog Top Notch Eats has so many great recipes and they are simple to make, which for me is key! Be sure to check them out. Kaleena, I hope you'll make your way through the cookbook and blog some of your favorites! That way I'll know which ones I should try!

Thanks so much to everyone who entered my first giveaway!

And now onto the Organic Industry Structure:

In my Food Therapy class this week, a couple of my classmates did a presentation on the current farm bill. They showed some information on the organic industry structure, reflecting increased consolidation in this area. Some of the information was pretty surprising to me, so I wanted to share it with you here. I have included the pictures because sometimes that is more familiar than the actual name.

Hershey Foods: Acquired Dagoba in 2006

Coca Cola: Acquired Honest Tea (2008) and Odwalla (2001)

Pepsi: Acquired Naked Juice (2006)

Cadbury: Acquired Green & Black’s in 2005

ConAgra: Acquired Alexia Foods (2007) and Lightlife (2000)

General Mills: Acquired LaraBar (2008), Cascadian Farms (1999) and Muir Glen (1998)

Kraft: Acquired Boca Foods (2000) and Back to Nature (2003)

Kellogg: Acquired Bare Naked (2007), Kashi (2000) and Morningstar Farms (1999)

Heinz: Strategic Alliance with many companies including Rice Dream/Soy Dream (2002), MaraNatha (2008), Spectrum Organics (2005), Earth’s Best (1999), Garden of Eatin’ (1998), Arrowhead Mills (1998), and Westsoy (1997)

Do any of these surprise you? I was particularly surprised by LaraBar, Arrowhead Mills and Mara Natha. I am not trying to tell you to avoid these products just because they were acquired by non-organic companies. That would be ridiculous! I will continue to enjoy some of them on a regular basis. Like Lara Bars – they make a great snack! However, I do believe we need to educate ourselves about where our food comes from, and knowing who is behind the company is important information. Remember to always read labels carefully and don’t hesitate to research ingredients that you haven’t heard of. Be picky! A few days ago, my friend Sondra told me about an ingredient in a marinade she bought: titanium dioxide. She is a hair stylist and remembers seeing that ingredient in some of the styling products they used while she was in school. She immediately threw the marinade out! Who wants to eat something that is also used in hair products - gross!

Of course, buying something that was made locally, such as freshly ground wheat or honey from your local farmer’s market, is ideal. These things are more likely to be fresh and made with high quality ingredients. But this is not always possible, so just keep the above information in mind next time you pick up one of those brands!

"Here We Grow"

We all love shopping at Whole Foods. You feel healthier just walking through the front doors! But sometimes the checkout can be painful... despite by education and personal commitment to buying quality food, I still find myself caught between this is healthier and money well spent and I have no business spending our grocery money on meat that costs more than twice what it costs at Safeway.

I am always on the lookout for ways to get high quality, organic foods for reasonable prices. We are consistently taught in school that these foods are better for overall health, yet we rarely address cost. And I am not totally comfortable sitting down with a future client and telling them they must switch to all organic foods, spending almost twice what they currently spend at the grocery store. I believe it’s money well spent; but I also believe in budgets, especially when you’re trying to feed an entire family.

Last night ABC News had a feature about “going organic” (watch it here). It talked about natural foods chef Craig King’s food documentary called "Here we Grow." So many people consider stores like Whole Foods as “whole paycheck” stores. Organic = Expensive, and they are turned off by that. King set out to disprove this.

One woman, a single mom, went from shopping at a local discount grocery store to shopping exclusively at Whole Foods, barely adjusting her budget. King taught her some tricks for buying organic on a budget. These include:

• Planning is KEY!

• Buy Whole Foods’s 365 brand when possible (it is less expensive than others)

• Buy your staples each week regardless of price, and then just go for the sale items

• Buy what you can in bulk and store in mason jars

• Do not buy anything processed: “Buy whole and make it yourself”

King believes that children learn from our decisions and habits. If they see the importance we place on our food choices, they will be influenced to do the same. The single mom he followed lost 10 pounds just by switching to all organic, whole foods. She prepares meals and snacks herself now, rather than feeding her family processed foods. And she has learned how to do this on a budget.

Buying in bulk and storing in mason jars is a great tip. I already do this with my grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. It not only saves money, but also simplifies my weekly trips to the grocery store.

There are other good organic grocery stores out there. Vitamin Cottage has a much smaller selection, but their prices are usually lower than those at Whole Foods. Sunflower Market has many organic options, and most discount grocery stores like Safeway, King Soopers, Schnucks or Kroger now carry organic brands (although selection is limited).

The trailer to King’s documentary is below. I encourage you to try taking your grocery money to Whole Foods or another organic grocery store. With a little effort and creativity, I believe you can feed your family these foods that are so much healthier and wholesome without breaking the bank.

Fruits & Veggies: What to Buy, and Why

Many of you probably read Haute Apple Pie, a blog attempting (and wildly succeeding) to redefine what it means to be a homemaker. I can’t get enough of these girls, which is apparent by my new Dash & Albert rugs at every door in my home, my success (finally!) in making edible sweet potato fries, and my newfound awareness of my decorating feng shui (pretty sure I’m wood and metal…).

Who knows, I may even pull off a birthday party as chic as this one for my future kid some day (calm down Ed… I am only kidding… we can stick to backyard BBQs, I promise).

But when they wrote about the Dirty Dozen and the Clean 15, I got really excited. Of course buying 100% fresh, organic, local foods is best. But that is not always affordable and practical. So these tips about which fruits and vegetables should be bought organic and which are okay to buy non-organic are very helpful and relevant.

I had a great question recently: Why has there been a decrease of vitamins and minerals in our fruits and vegetables? Why was an apple grown and picked in 1900 much, much healthier than the apples we find in our grocery stores today?

Non-organic fruits and veggies can be treated with things like pesticides, additives, antibiotics and nitrates. Pesticides are used to protect crops, and have been around for 4,500 years. In the 15th century, toxic chemicals such as mercury and lead were used to protect crops. Pesticides really took off in the 1940s when synthetic forms were introduced, and pesticide use has increased significantly since then.

These synthetic materials can be very harmful to us in large quantities, or even in small quantities over a long period of time. Sure, the EPA, FDA and USDA are all regulating pesticide use among farmers. But these pesticides are very toxic by nature (which is why they must be regulated) and although “safe” and acceptable limits have been defined, there is no consideration as to the dangers of these chemicals once they are ingested and thrown into our delicate cells. Our bodies were not made to tolerate pesticides.

In addition, the soil in which non-organic produce is grown is often treated to increase fertility of plants. These treatments can reduce nutrient density in plants, such as decreasing levels of vitamin C in tomatoes and increasing nitrates (harmful substances) in spinach.

Organic fruits and veggies have significantly higher levels of vitamins A, C and E; B vitamins; zinc; calcium; and other minerals. The organic soil fertility methods improve efficiency of nutrient uptake in plants, creating fruits and veggies packed with nutrients that promote plant health and therefore human health.

And let’s not forget about the importance of buying local. As soon as an apple is picked, it begins to lose nutrients. Most US produce is picked 4-7 days before it reaches the grocery store shelves; produce from other countries is even older by the time we get our hands on it.

The fresher the fruits and veggies are, the bolder the flavors. Not to mention the peace of mind associated with knowing what farm your produce came from, and the specific growing practices they use. Try to buy local whenever possible. Stickers on fruits and vegetables should tell you the country or state of origin, and the closer to your hometown the better. For some, buying local means stepping outside and picking a few things from their own backyard. For others, it’s the neighborhood farmer’s market.

To sum it up, local and organic fruits and vegetables contain higher levels of nutrients, giving our bodies more power and health and reducing the amount of toxins we ingest. They may cost a bit more, but we are also getting more bang for our buck. Since most of us are on a budget, the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists can help when choosing which items to buy organic. Just make sure to get a good produce brush to properly clean fruits and vegetables before you eat them.

Thanks to the lovely ladies at HAP blog for helping to make our homes (and our health!) more haute, one day at a time!