I just finished reading a Newsweek article about the high price of Organic Produce.  Until this point, many of my life’s studies have pointed to the high price of conventional produce.

Is it worth it, to buy a bread loaf, for $1.49 because it costs less than it’s organic counterpart?  For me it isn’t.  Is it worth the “dead zone” in the gulf of Mexico that has arisen from nitrate fertilizer and chemical pollution?  Is is worth the rampant fresh-water contamination in the Sacramento Valley?  And it is worth all of these strange food-allergies that people have recently developed (yes, I am pinning this on, of all things, chemicals - who would believe that)?

We figured out that agent-orange wasn’t worth it when it decimated the raptor population.  When will we figure out it isn’t worth $1.49 for that bread, but probably closer to $5 when we consider taxpayer dollars spent on cleanup, our own money spent at doctors examining medical problems to which these chemicals surely couldn’t have contributed?  To cite a cliche, when will we consider a chemical-free environment worth it, for our children’s sake?  Why even risk it, when there is so much at stake?  What could possibly sanctify that risk, when, maybe, just maybe, we are ruining the earth for our dear little ones?  Nothing justifies that risk.

Ryan has mentioned how much better he feels physically from working on the farm.  Better! What?  If you’ve worked on the farm and broken your back, you wouldn’t expect these words, but since I started eating this fresh goodness thrice daily, my digestion has improved, skin is healthier, teeth are stronger.  I think this is worth it.

Now, if you go to your local Whole Foods, the “organic” produce may come from near and far, SoCal and Chile.  Devoid of flavor, high in price, I agree the monetary tag isn’t “worth it”.  Shop at your local farmers’ market.  If you have a Whole Foods, I guarantee you have a local farmers’ market.  The taste and freshness, nutrition and energy cannot be beat.  You will pay more than conventional produce from Krogers, but only in the short term.  You will pay less in the long term, knowing you have fit your piece into the puzzle of preserving this earthly abode for our future kings and queens.

much love once again, andrew