{"id":3238,"date":"2021-01-27T12:40:10","date_gmt":"2021-01-27T17:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/?p=3238"},"modified":"2021-01-27T13:01:40","modified_gmt":"2021-01-27T18:01:40","slug":"a-guide-to-eating-organic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/a-guide-to-eating-organic\/","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Eating Organic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are many reasons as to why you should or would want to switch from eating meals mainly comprised of conventionally grown foods, to favoring organic foods. Organic foods turn out to be more local, healthy, and grown sustainably when compared to their conventional counterparts. It may seem overwhelming and impossible to begin this shift, but step by step it can get better, easier, and habitual. Take a look at a few suggestions that may be helpful, which are listed in the last blog post, titled \u2018Transitioning to Organic Foods for the New Year\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s one thing to begin something, and another to stick with it. Despite all the benefits that come with organic foods, favoring them can seem difficult to do at first because of the increase in price. The price of organic foods often makes people back out, give up, or not even begin to try. But there are a few suggestions that could be useful towards your commitment to organic foods while also making it light on your budget, which includes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Eat seasonally \u2013 buying produce that are in season means that they haven\u2019t been imported from far off distances, which also means that they are fresher and cheaper.<\/li>
  2. Buy in bulk \u2013 bulk food is cheaper than individually packaged food and products, helping you save money along the way.<\/li>
  3. Freeze bulk foods or leftovers \u2013 freezing a portion of the bulk food you purchased or the leftovers of a big meal you made helps in your contribution to fight the massive issue of food waste while ensuring that you have extra in your freezer.<\/li>
  4. Plan menus \u2013 by planning what your meals will look like each week you can draft up a shopping list with only ingredients that you truly need. <\/li>
  5. Acquire knowledge \u2013 read up and learn more about how your commonly-bought produce items are grown. From there you can see if there are more sustainable agricultural methods for that specific produce item, and how you can support that kind of agriculture. Then you can see what the most affordable sustainable options are.<\/li>
  6. Use your compost \u2013 use your compost (made from organic produce) as fertilizer for your garden. Vegetables and fruit that you are growing will then be fed, grown, harvested, eaten, and will then decompose, starting the process over again. It\u2019s a cycle!<\/li>
  7. Eat out less, or, due to the pandemic, order less take-out \u2013 it may seem nice to not have to cook after a tiring day, but it\u2019s so much more expensive in comparison to the affordable option of cooking. <\/li>
  8. Check items carefully before purchasing \u2013 before buying anything, check that it\u2019s in good condition, not moldy, etc. so that you get your money\u2019s worth.<\/li>
  9. Check expiry dates \u2013 the above point can also be said here.<\/li>
  10. Subscribe to an organic basket distribution program \u2013 the benefits in subscribing to this program is that you support local organic farms. You get a healthy, fresh, local, and organic produce basket in return! \u00c9quiterre\u2019s Family Farmers Network<\/a> has an excellent distribution program located in Quebec and New Brunswick. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As said before, there are many reasons as to why you would want to turn to organic foods, but there are naturally some people who are more inclined or predisposed than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. You are sensitive to chemicals<\/li>
    2. You are asthmatic and\/or allergic to fragrances<\/li>
    3. You wish to raise your children in a healthier environment<\/li>
    4. You wish to adopt a healthier lifestyle<\/li>
    5. You care about the environment<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      To learn about the details for each of these groups, take a look at the ASEQ-EHAQ\u2019s eco living guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      In conventional farming practices, every crop has a different requirement for chemical input, with some requiring higher inputs than others. These chemicals then remain on fruits and vegetables, from farm to table. If you\u2019re looking to avoid produce that contain the highest amounts of pesticide residue, take a look at the Environmental Working Group\u2019s 2020 Dirty Dozen<\/a> list, where the top twelve produce containing high amounts of pesticide residue are listed. The Environmental Working Group makes these lists annually, in accordance with data taken from the USDA. You don\u2019t need to fully avoid the listed produce items, instead you can just swap conventionally grown produce with their organic versions, which would be a safe and good option if you don\u2019t want to fully commit to eating 100% organic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      EWG’s Dirty Dozen for 2020<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      1. Strawberries<\/li>
      2. Spinach<\/li>
      3. Kale<\/li>
      4. Nectarines<\/li>
      5. Apples<\/li>
      6. Grapes<\/li>
      7. Peaches<\/li>
      8. Cherries<\/li>
      9. Pears<\/li>
      10. Tomatoes<\/li>
      11. Celery<\/li>
      12. Potatoes<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

        ASEQ-EHAQ also recommends opting for the organic option of root vegetables, which are grown in the ground and therefore absorb the chemicals found in the soil. So, think about adding beets, yams, turnips, onions, carrots, and others to the Dirty Dozen list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        We are what we eat! Choose wisely!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        There are many reasons as to why you should or would want to switch from eating meals mainly comprised of conventionally grown foods, to favoring organic foods. Organic foods turn out to be more local, healthy, and grown sustainably when compared to their conventional counterparts. It may seem overwhelming and impossible to begin this shift, but step by step it […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aseq-ehaq.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}