The Dirty Dozen
I did a some light reading with Breks today…a nice summary article about balancing organic + local + seasonal foods!
Here were the eats:
- eggwhites with peppers and onions
- half a slice of American cheese
- toasted whole wheat english muffin
- coffee ala lobster
And a cutie pie hubby in his sweats!
As I was reading, I discovered how totally awesome and succinct this little article was. Let’s let the pics do the talking.
Fresh Thinking about what it means to be organic, local, seasonal. Where do we need to pay attention?
Welcome to the Dirty Dozen. We all know the benefits of organic at this stage…less pesticides = potentially lower risk for certain cancers and heaps better for the environment (no nasty chemicals washing off into the soils and streams). But if organic isn’t your bag of tricks, and conventional produce is on your shopping list, here are the Dirty Dozen to avoid in terms of MEGA SUPA TOO MANY Pesticides.
YIKES! These are all the besties!
So, best to avoid these puppies if you’re not going to indulge in organic. The good news is that there are some alternatives, called the Clean 15 (even though I hate rhyming, I’ll allow it here) that are conventionally grown with far less or no pesticides.
Ok, these are pretty good! But what if I can’t find them in season…hello watermelon??
Here’s where I stand, in terms of my approach to Ethical Eating and a balanced approach to all this shit.
If you can afford to buy organic, focus on those Dirty Dozen (plus organic, free-range meat). But pay attention to seasonality of these items!
If you’re by-passing the organic section, sometimes that’s good, b/c we ought not be supporting the mass transit of organic produce from all over the globe! That’s a lotta truck miles and carbon we’re putting into the atmosphere. Sometimes, it’s best to pause and think about which path you choose to protect…and if global climate change is at the top of your list, then focus on this approach below…
The IWITW house practices a balance of those tips above. Are we guilty of buying bulk spinach trucked over from CA during cold winter months? Yes we are. But we also try to get our asses to the Farmers Market to buy the local kind, probably grown in a hot house this time of year.
We tend to focus our efforts on buying local AND organic/free range where possible (at the farmers market). If it’s not organic, I still tend to focus on local because I choose:
- To support our local farms (versus agri-business behemoths);
- I believe in positive efforts to reduce our carbon footprint; and
- It’s fact that food grown locally doesn’t need a lot of chemical treatment for mass transit over long distances.
It’s all about finding your balance and what works for you. The only thing I really ask is that y’all take a sec to just ponder these issues. Think about the options, the environment, your body, and whatever other hefty goodies you wanna throw into your brain.
Deal?
Dinna last night!
- free-range organic chicken crockpotted with salsa and ff cream cheese (peppers and kale tossed in), seasoned with cumin, chili powder, and gahlick
- served over brown rice
- green beans with a mustard glaze on the side
Holy hell this was good!!
We also hit up the gym for a solid 30mins, and Erin threw in 30 squats just to get rid of my saddle bags for fun.
And…Day 7 of no alcohol. Woot!
Ciao,
Er
P.S. Thx to my BIL for passing along those articles to me!
© 2010, Erin. All rights reserved.
Tags: ethical eating; PA food blog;
This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 11:17 AM and is filed under ethical eating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
January 7th, 2010 at 11:31 AM
Lauren @ Eater not a runner says:Interesting article! Too bad apples are on the bad list, I should really start buying organic!
January 7th, 2010 at 12:18 PM
Lee says:I have a list of the dirty dozen on my phone, I just seem to forget to refer to it when I’m at the grocery store.
Good point on organic vs local. I feel like sometimes so much emphasis is placed on buying organic, that we forget that an organic fruit from Costa Rica may have just as much environmental impact as a local non-organic one. But you’re right, it just depends on what’s most important to you.
Good job on Day 7. How long are you trying to be drank-free?
January 7th, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Erin says:Lee, I’m just trying to clean up my system…no set target or anything. But my rule is no more drinking at home. Out socially is ok.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:38 PM
Kara says:Awesome post…I’m always trying to remind myself of these concepts. It’s such a bummer the dirty dozen list includes pretty much all of my favs. At least I buy local!
January 7th, 2010 at 12:54 PM
Whitney @ Lettuce Love says:Great post! My mom’s new year resolution is to buy more organic and I told her all about the dirty dozen. I will have to let her know about the Clean 15 — I haven’t hear of that!
January 7th, 2010 at 12:56 PM
kay (eating machine) says:i try for local mostly… especially in summer when there’s so much being grown right here-plus local in season things cost less (hello 98 cent/pound green beans all summer!)
sometimes, it makes the fiance pout cause we can’t have asparagus. and i get picky about stores (”they don’t tell you where it’s from there!”) but he deals.
not going to lie, in the winter i get lazzzzy. i buy what’s cheap. but i still don’t buy the scary tubes of ground beef or anything-ick
January 7th, 2010 at 1:01 PM
Mama Pea says:Great article! The sad/promising thing is, if we all just demanded based on our consumer vote, that all produce be grown organic and locally, that’s what would be in stores, and at reasonable prices.
I’m starting an all organic commune. Who’s with me?!!!
January 7th, 2010 at 2:04 PM
kate says:Great post! I love your three goals about eating. I strive for this too, but I’ve gotten lazy lately. You’ve inspired me to clean up my act!
And that chicken looks delish! Did you put the salsa and cream cheese in the crockpot with it?
January 7th, 2010 at 2:35 PM
Erin says:Kate, on the stove, in a pot, mix together the salsa and cream cheese over low-ish heat. Stir til the cream cheese melts into the salsa. Then pour it over the chicken in the crockpot.
January 7th, 2010 at 2:47 PM
Holly says:I’m kinda proud of myself that I hit up my Farmer’s Market for the first time this summer, and I TRY to make an effort to buy organic produce when possible (i.e. when not priced so that I’d have to mortgage my house to afford).
I used to think all that “organic” stuff was nonsense, but take one look at some of the produce (like strawberries) that are NOT organic and see how huge they are - that’s just not normal…right? At least that’s what I tell myself.
January 7th, 2010 at 7:07 PM
coco says:since I read about the dirty dozen I’ve been buying them organic! But I agree that if we buy local it’s okay too!
January 7th, 2010 at 8:44 PM
Lauren says:I think I read this same article recently. Great read!
Wow, these crock recipes are always looking so good. Do you follow a recipe or make these up in your brilliant head of yours?
January 7th, 2010 at 10:34 PM
Jenny says:Great article about eating organic…I’m so bad about this, I do buy organic when I can though!
January 8th, 2010 at 9:19 AM
Katie says:I read that article earlier this week and tore out the “Clean 15/Dirty Dozen” page to refer to in the grocery store
January 8th, 2010 at 10:47 AM
Christina says:Thanks for posting the Dirty Dozen! I tried to memorize them but all I remember when I get to the store is bell peppers and apples. I need it drilled into my head!
January 8th, 2010 at 11:04 AM
brandi says:that looks like a great article. I love being able to find things at the farmer’s market - it ALWAYS tastes better and is often cheaper, too!
January 8th, 2010 at 9:33 PM
Chelle says:I finally wrote these down
Thanks!
January 9th, 2010 at 5:50 PM
Erin @ Big Girl Eats says:I saw that article! Really informative. I try to keep that in mind now when I go to the store.
I think I need to join you in on the no alcohol challenge. I’ve been drinking socially way too much lately and Saturdays have been rough. Boo! Keeping the challenge in mind starting, now.
January 13th, 2010 at 10:09 PM
Marianne says:It really is about finding the right balance between organic/local/seasonal, isn’t it? Just because something is organic doesn’t necessarily make it the best choice. Unfortunately for us here in BC, we’ll never be able to go fully local in the winter, as our greenhouses don’t even grow everything then. But I do the best I can - like not buying the bell peppers my produce market was selling that came from Israel. Seriously - you couldn’t at least get me some Mexican peppers?