Making the choice between purchasing organic vs. conventional food may be a tough one because it may mean making the decision between paying a higher price now, or suffering the consequences later. Organic foods are superior to their conventional counterparts for a few reasons.
The first reason is because organically grown foods are simply much healthier for you. This is because there are no pesticides or herbicides sprayed on the food. This is important because the suffix "cide" means "to kill." You don't want to put something in your body that was meant to kill. You want to put something in your body that was meant to heal and nourish.
Secondly, it is preferable to eat organic in order to avoid Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). The reason for this is because these are foods that have been gene spliced to created new creatures that have not been tested on anyone before and could have very harmful effects on humans. An example of this is taking genes from salmon to create square tomatoes. This is completely going against mother nature, but farmers like it because they can then package more tomatoes in a crate. There are also gene splicing techniques used to make soft foods, such as tomatoes, stronger and thicker skins so that they don't burst when shipped. These GMOs could cause diseases or other serious problems, although it is unknown at the moment.
Third, buying organic a great thing to support your local organic store. When I am at home, I always go to my local organic store and I personally know the manager. He know's what kinds of fruits I like and he goes out of his way to help me get what I need. It is advisable to build that type of relationship with the workers at your organic store.
Which is better for the economy? That is hard to say. I wish that the answer was organic, but the fact is that it really depends who is growing the organic food. If the company growing the organic food is a large, industrial organic company like Earthbound, the result is that it may not be much different than buying from a large Agribusiness company, or a large conventional company in general, say, Kraft, for a lack of a better example/comparison.
So, next time when you walk into your organic store, look for the produce marked "locally grown," (understand that in temperate locations this may not be feasible during the winter months) and then you know that you are positively benefiting your community. What is even better is to go to your local farmer's market and to meet the growers first hand. There's nothing better than to shake the hand of the person who grew your food and helped to bring it to your dinner table.
Challanges Of A Frugivorous Diet
What are some of the challenges you might face when first becoming acquainted with a fruit-based diet? Here are some of the problems that I encountered when first adjusting to a frugivorous diet (i.e. a diet consisting of sweet, ripe fruit as the staple and supplemented by leafy greens and/or other high water content vegetables):
Food Combining Problems:
When eating salad I have found that cauliflower does not combine well with grapes. My conclusion here is that vegetables that are relatively high in complex carbs/very rough and fibrous do not mix well with anything but acidic fruits. This means that subacid fruits, such as grapes, would not combine well. I usually get short lasting stomach pains after a meal combined like so, for about fifteen minutes. I would recommend that if you eat a salad of greens, tomatoes, and grapes, leave it at that for optimum digestion. If you decide to use cauliflower in a salad, I've noticed that apples combine well for me, but for optimal digestion I stick to acid fruits like pineapple or oranges.
The Inconvenience of Unripe Fruit or Not Having Fruit When Hungry:
How many times have you found yourself hungry, only to search through your entire 40lb crate of bananas to find that nothing is ripe. I recommend always having an entire ripe crate on hand as well as an entire green crate. This way, by the time you eat through the ripe crate, your green crate will have ripened and will be ready to eat. Any extras, or bunches that turn extra fast can just be tossed in the fridge. Worst comes to worst, peal some, toss them in a ziplock bag, and save them in the freezer for blended banana ice cream, or give some bananas to some friends or co-workers at the office.
Whenever you are going to be away from home for an entire day, ALWAYS bring tons of fruit. When I interned for a summer with a company in New York City (gone anywhere from 8:30AM - 7:30PM), I would usually bring at least 3 bunches of bananas with me (roughly around 18 large bananas). However, sometimes I would only bring two bunches for breakfast and then I would bring 3 large tomatoes, 2 mangoes, and a head of lettuce and chop all of that into a bowl for lunch. Never go away from home empty handed. It's setting yourself up for disaster.
Instead of Under Eating Problems, How About Over Eating Problems:
Be careful not to get carried away after learning to expand your stomach by eating more in one sitting and end up eating too much. This can lead to horrible stomach pains, which are not caused by the fruit itself, but it's caused by your digestive system yelling at you for over loading it. Make sure that if you decide to eat 20 bananas in one sitting that you are sufficiently hungry before hand. You can't numb emotions with fruit. When I first started a low-fat raw vegan dietary program, I tended to have the bad habit of eating out of impulse rather than hunger sometimes. So, it's important to learn to recognize true hunger signals. If you just ate an hour ago, busy yourself with something else. Pick up a book, balance the check book, or do some push ups. Also, make sure to relax and enjoy your meal. If you end up "inhaling" the fruit than you can over eat fast if you're not well acquainted with the diet, especially on calorically dense fruits, such as bananas.
Limit Yourself to One of Two Fruits Per Meal When Possible:
When first learning to consume a fruit based diet, I would often eat one fruit, and then search for another, and then yet another within the same meal. This can also lead to some stomach pains by creating disharmony in your digestive system. Try eating a mono fruit meal, and you may find yourself eating sufficiently less food. The searching through the refrigerator for something else could be more of an addictive impulse rather than one of true hunger.
Replace A Past-Time Comfort Food With A New One:
Find new joy and comfort to your new lifestyle. Try to replace the cheesecake with an extremely satisfying fruit. For example, I have found new comfort food in persimmons. Try some new fruits, and find one that works for you.
Savor Every Bite:
Enjoy your energy-filled life, and be thankful for your new and vibrant health.
Food Combining Problems:
When eating salad I have found that cauliflower does not combine well with grapes. My conclusion here is that vegetables that are relatively high in complex carbs/very rough and fibrous do not mix well with anything but acidic fruits. This means that subacid fruits, such as grapes, would not combine well. I usually get short lasting stomach pains after a meal combined like so, for about fifteen minutes. I would recommend that if you eat a salad of greens, tomatoes, and grapes, leave it at that for optimum digestion. If you decide to use cauliflower in a salad, I've noticed that apples combine well for me, but for optimal digestion I stick to acid fruits like pineapple or oranges.
The Inconvenience of Unripe Fruit or Not Having Fruit When Hungry:
How many times have you found yourself hungry, only to search through your entire 40lb crate of bananas to find that nothing is ripe. I recommend always having an entire ripe crate on hand as well as an entire green crate. This way, by the time you eat through the ripe crate, your green crate will have ripened and will be ready to eat. Any extras, or bunches that turn extra fast can just be tossed in the fridge. Worst comes to worst, peal some, toss them in a ziplock bag, and save them in the freezer for blended banana ice cream, or give some bananas to some friends or co-workers at the office.
Whenever you are going to be away from home for an entire day, ALWAYS bring tons of fruit. When I interned for a summer with a company in New York City (gone anywhere from 8:30AM - 7:30PM), I would usually bring at least 3 bunches of bananas with me (roughly around 18 large bananas). However, sometimes I would only bring two bunches for breakfast and then I would bring 3 large tomatoes, 2 mangoes, and a head of lettuce and chop all of that into a bowl for lunch. Never go away from home empty handed. It's setting yourself up for disaster.
Instead of Under Eating Problems, How About Over Eating Problems:
Be careful not to get carried away after learning to expand your stomach by eating more in one sitting and end up eating too much. This can lead to horrible stomach pains, which are not caused by the fruit itself, but it's caused by your digestive system yelling at you for over loading it. Make sure that if you decide to eat 20 bananas in one sitting that you are sufficiently hungry before hand. You can't numb emotions with fruit. When I first started a low-fat raw vegan dietary program, I tended to have the bad habit of eating out of impulse rather than hunger sometimes. So, it's important to learn to recognize true hunger signals. If you just ate an hour ago, busy yourself with something else. Pick up a book, balance the check book, or do some push ups. Also, make sure to relax and enjoy your meal. If you end up "inhaling" the fruit than you can over eat fast if you're not well acquainted with the diet, especially on calorically dense fruits, such as bananas.
Limit Yourself to One of Two Fruits Per Meal When Possible:
When first learning to consume a fruit based diet, I would often eat one fruit, and then search for another, and then yet another within the same meal. This can also lead to some stomach pains by creating disharmony in your digestive system. Try eating a mono fruit meal, and you may find yourself eating sufficiently less food. The searching through the refrigerator for something else could be more of an addictive impulse rather than one of true hunger.
Replace A Past-Time Comfort Food With A New One:
Find new joy and comfort to your new lifestyle. Try to replace the cheesecake with an extremely satisfying fruit. For example, I have found new comfort food in persimmons. Try some new fruits, and find one that works for you.
Savor Every Bite:
Enjoy your energy-filled life, and be thankful for your new and vibrant health.
