Grow and GO Organic!

PRODUCERS tips on how to grow organic - click here.

CONSUMER tips on how to eat a more organic diet - see below.

Eating an organic diet can easily double your grocery bill. Sometimes even sourcing the organic products that you need means multiple stops to different grocery stores, thus increasing your shopping time. We’ve prepared some helpful tips and ideas on how to minimize the cost and the hassle to eat a more organic diet.

Tip #1: Do your research: With rapid growth in Canada's Organic industry, more product choices are emerging in the market place. To ensure that you are buying a quality product, we recommend that you read the product claims and ingredients. Without the CERTIFIED ORGANIC claim on product packaging, standards can vary between companies, provinces and countries. The Certified Organic claim is valuable because it means that the product was produced according to a set of standards that are regulated. If the product doesn’t make this claim, then look further. Who is behind the brand? Does the company adhere to any standards? Do they share in the same values as you? Do they have testimony to their actions? Where was the product made?

Tip #2: Prioritize your values: Certified Organic is not always better if the product is from overseas and you want to minimize the amount of fossil fuels that were burned getting the product to your table. Sometimes, the alternative to organic is a local product that was produced organically. For example, an organically produced apple from British Columbia’s Okanagan will have traveled less miles to your table than an apple from California.

Tip #3: Buy in bulk and freeze: Fresh produce is cheapest when in season. Buy a large amount of seasonal fruits and veggies and freeze them for use at a later date. In order the get the produce you want you may have to go out of your way a little bit to cut down on the costs. If a more affordable market is only open on Sundays, then make shopping on Sundays a priority.

You can also explore ways you and your friends can buy bulk organic food cooperatively from natural food distributors or directly from the producers. For more information, the Cooperative Grocers’ Information Network (CGIN) has posted an online guide to starting a food coop at http://www.cgin.coop/manual/index.html.

Tip #4: Grow your own: Take up gardening. Even if you only have a small patio you can still grow herbs such as dill, basil, oregano, rosemary, chives and parsley. If you have the yard space, then you can grow your own vegetables and shave some dollars from your grocery budget over the course of a year. You may also want to consider starting a community garden in your neighbourhood. For example, MOBY (My Own Backyard) is a Vancouver urban community garden association with 100 members in the vicinity of Commercial Drive. The MOBY garden is located on the vacant lot in the 1700 block of East 11th. Visit www.myownbackyard.ca for more information.

Tip #5: Make it from scratch: Consider making some of the ready-to-eat items you buy yourself. Make extra and freeze the meal for later. The advantage in doing this is you know ALL the ingredients that went in to your food.

Tip #6: Be flexible: Shopping for your food doesn’t have to be so political. How you shop may say a lot about your lifestyle and what you value, but you should also allow for some flexibility. For example, if you consume such a small amount of ketchup on a monthly basis, does your ketchup really need to be organic? Alternatively, if you consume milk everyday as part of your diet, should it be organic? Decide what you can and cannot live without. What is more important to you? An organic turkey sandwich? Or organic potato chips? Or both?