I have not always been a big fan of Whole Foods. The thing is, I am easily irritated by institutions that take themselves too seriously, and Whole Foods can be a bit smug in its role as the nation’s more-holistic-than-thou purveyor of natural food and beauty products. It’s hard not to be annoyed by a supermarket that has a lofty, 3,000 word Mission Statement and is the exclusive distributor of a product called the “Save Your World Exfoliating Bar.” I have frequently felt compelled to roll my eyes as I wandered the store’s bright and shiny aisles filled with green tea-based body products, astronomically priced bibb lettuce, and a staggering selection of tofu.

But I no longer have a snarky attitude towards Whole Foods and this is why: I am a woman who is firmly entrenched in middle age. My kids are almost grown, I have clothes in my closet from the Reagan administration and my actual hair color is a mystery even to me. At this stage of my life I find that what I am after – what I cherish – is surprise. More than fun, more than professional satisfaction, more than close personal relationships, I crave the unexpected. I want experiences that jolt me awake – events that smack me in the face and announce “this hasn’t happened before!” Given that I’m not the kind of person who bungee jumps or hurls myself foolishly out of airplanes, this kind of novelty can be hard to come by.

Which brings me back to Whole Foods. Recently, as I was walking around my neighborhood shrine to overpriced organic produce, I passed a perky older woman giving away food samples. She was dressed in head-to-toe medicinal white, as if the Surgeon General himself had given his blessing to her savory offerings. As I walked by, she put a tiny wax cup with a toothpick-speared piece of meat into my hand and said something completely unintelligible. Bringing the fragrant niblet to my lips I asked her to repeat what she had said and I was just about to dig in when I clearly heard her say just one word: “rabbit.”

Resisting an almost overwhelming impulse to dry-heave, I quickly returned the meat to the cup and looked around for the nearest trash can. I apologized to the woman for wasting her sample, explaining weakly that I have a moral problem with eating bunnies. This being Whole Foods – a haven for self-righteous vegetarians, a temple to conscientious food choices, I expected nothing less than the woman’s whole-hearted and loving support – perhaps even a gentle blessing. Instead, she gave me a withering look and snapped “Oh, grow up.”

It was not at all what I expected. And that is why I have officially decided that I really do love Whole Foods.

Well, that and the outrageously good pumpkin muffins.

Image: That Other Paper

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The healthy fruits and vegetables you feed your little one to make him grow “big and strong” could actually be injuring his brain, according to a recent study published in the journal Pediatrics. Scientists have discovered that exposure to pesticides called organophosphates – which are known to damage the brain’s nerve connections – increases the likelihood that a child will suffer from the learning disorder Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which 4.5 million children have been diagnosed with in the United States.

This is yet another finding in a growing series of disturbing studies which link diseases to environmental chemicals that run rampant in our everyday lives. The lowdown: the study was led by Maryse Bouchard in cooperation with researchers at The University of Montreal and Harvard University. They analyzed the levels of pesticide residue in urine samples from 1,139 children ages 8-15. The samples containing the highest level of dialkyl phosphates, which are the breakdown of organophosphate pesticides, also had the highest incidence of ADHD. Additionally, nearly 95 percent of the children had at least one byproduct of a pesticide detected in their urine.

According to the National Academy of Sciences, the children most likely accumulated the pesticides in their systems through dietary exposure, and by eating fruits and vegetables that were sprayed with the pesticides while growing as crops. Bouchard recommends feeding children organic produce whenever possible, and washing, scrubbing and peeling all fruits and vegetables to help remove toxic residues. Additionally, parents should avoid using bug sprays in or around their home.

As an added FYI: strawberries, raspberries and peaches contain the highest amounts of pesticides, so be certain to buy organic in these varieties.

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Standing in the produce section, you hold up two seemingly identical peaches. One has an organic label, and one was grown at a farm only ten miles away. Which piece of fruit is better- for you and for the environment?

Modern conscientious eaters have a lengthy list of “food rules” to which they’re expected to adhere. No commercial meat. No fast food. No unsustainably farmed fish, nothing grown more than one hundred miles away, and nothing grown with chemicals. In a perfect world, we’d all tend our own organic produce and slaughter our own humanely raised meat, but in the real world, we have to make choices, and especially when it comes to produce, the choice sometimes comes down to buying local products or buying organic ones. Is one really better than the other? Given the choice, which should we purchase?

Fresh from the Farm

When you buy food from farms within your community, you’re supporting local businesses. But you’re not just supporting the farms themselves; you’re also supporting the local workers who do the planting and harvesting; the companies that provide equipment, seeds, and service; and the local markets that sell them. Small farms are more integrated into and invested in their communities than factory operations are, and patronizing them spreads the wealth around.

Another big benefit to buying local is that it forces you to think in terms of growing seasons. Yes, that means you won’t get tomatoes during the winter, but eating seasonally is a good way to stay in tune with the natural rhythms of nature and become familiar with your region’s agriculture.

Buying locally also eliminates the need for farmers to pay to transport their products over long distances. According to the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, the average carrot travels 1,838 miles from farm to table, so local food both saves fuel and eliminates the need for expensive packagers and distributors who add to the final cost. Those savings for the farmer can translate into a substantial savings for the customer, too: according to the University of Michigan Center for Sustainable Systems, about 23 percent of the total fossil fuels used in food production are devoted to processing and packaging. When you buy local products, especially at a farmers’ market, the farmer is able to keep eighty to ninety cents of each dollar you spend- far higher than what he or she would earn for the same product bought in a supermarket hundreds of miles away

But the best part of local food is that it’s fresher. Factory farm – even organic ones-pick their produce before it’s ripe and then allow it to ripen on the way to market. An organic apple from the grocery store was likely picked about a week ago, as opposed to a local apple, which could have been picked as recently as this morning.

Local food, however, is not necessarily sustainable, humanely raised, or environmentally friendly food. Many small farmers still use pesticides or fertilizers, which account for a substantial part of the fossil fuel use in farming. According to the University of Michigan, approximately 40 percent of the fossil fuels used in agriculture are spent on manufacturing chemical pesticides and fertilizers. Ingesting these chemicals has its own health risks, as well as environmental consequences.

In Search of the Big O

When you buy any food labeled “USDA Organic,” you know exactly what you’re getting. Farms with this certification undergo stringent testing to ensure that no chemicals come in contact with the produce. Organic meat cannot receive the organic certification unless it’s antibiotic- and hormone-free. Not only do the farms themselves have to maintain these high standards, but so do any packagers or shippers that handle the products on their way to market. Organic farming in this country has increased significantly in the past decade, but it still represents only a small percentage of food sales.

We sometimes think of organic farms as being small, family-owned operations, but nowadays, many large-scale organic-farming operations ship to supermarkets all over the country, such as Whole Foods. Buying organic produce – wherever it comes from- ensures the survival of these food distribution networks and makes it easier to increase production and bring more organic food to more people. Another benefit of supporting large-scale organic farming is that it increases the acreage of farmland that remains pesticide- and fertilizer-free, which is great for the environment.

The organic produce found in most supermarkets travels from farms all over the country. The good news is that this enables people everywhere to have access to organic food, but the bad news is that it uses fossil fuels the same way conventional produce does: organic produce from factory farms still undergoes packing and shipping, and it’s still transported hundreds or thousands of miles, ripening during the journey. Organic fruit picked in Florida and shipped to Ohio doesn’t do much for local food systems or suppliers, either.

Ultimately, the decision of whether to buy local food or organic food should be made based on your own priorities and needs, and on what’s available in your area. If your greatest concern is avoiding pesticides, buy organic. If you’re just trying to eat seasonally and reduce your carbon footprint, local food may be the way to go. If you live in California, you have a wealth of options for both local and organic food, but Hawaii has to import 90 percent of its food, so choices may be slim.

Seek out farmers’ markets, where you can interact with the farmers themselves and ask questions about how they grew their plants or raised their animals. Shopping at farmers’ markets – whether the food is organic and local, or just local – is the best way to get acquainted with where and how your food was grown. Even if you do your shopping at Safeway or Publix, when customers start asking questions, the company will start providing answers.

Whether you buy your produce local, organic, or both, the important thing is getting off the system of factory farming. Both choices are important in discouraging harmful agricultural practices and encouraging the production of the kind of food that keeps us – and our world – healthy.

Article by Allison Ford for DivineCaroline. First published May 2010.

Related DivineCaroline posts:

• Don’t Let Good Produce Go Bad
• Herbal Essence: Should You Buy Fresh or Dried Herbs?
• Which Bin Does It Go In? Recycling and Composting 101

Image: Rhett Maxwell

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