Eating Smart and Reading Smart (august 16)

            A recent topic of discussion that I watched unfold regarding the all-important topic of food is one that I’ve given a lot of thought to and am constantly evaluating—“is it better to eat organic first, or local first?”  In an ideal world the answer would be “both,” but it’s not as cut and dried as that.

            Grocery shopping with me is pretty much a nightmare. I agonize over everything, not just what to eat but when to eat it (hybrid hydroponic tomatoes in January? That’s an easy one, no). Is it organic?  Where did it come from?

            I can spend ten minutes in the organic apple section looking to see which apples to buy. Even if organic, if they came from New Zealand or Chile, it’s better to get organic apples from the US—they didn’t have to travel as far to get here to Indiana.

            What about local apples? Seems to be the best choice. But then there’s the issue of pesticides.  Does consuming the pesticides on local apples outweigh the benefit of the carbon footprint created by organic apples coming to us from thousands of miles away?  Further complicating the issue, I read that many organics do have chemicals used, naturally derived instead of synthetic, and many need to be applied in greater quantities. 

            And, as much as I try to garden and shop farmer’s markets in the summer, most of my diet really isn’t local.

            I don’t know what to do about this.  I’d love to hear readers thoughts on this issue. How do you eat?

            On a similar thoughtful note, I was in a bookstore last week and saw copies of the Utne Reader, a magazine my friend Linda has recommended many times. I love to hold something in my hands even though I can read online, so I grabbed a copy.  It’s wonderful and smartly written, and so I recommend it, too. 

That same day I was in the library, so I checked and they have copies of Utne (and Current in Noblesville) there too.  Sweet! Here’s gratitude for our library, which is pretty awesome and has just about everything I want, and hello, Mark! (One of the helpful and personable employees there.)

Thanks for reading me, and I look forward to your thoughts!

Eat pure and leave the biotechs and chemicals on the store shelf

**I received this from Michael DePape of Botanical Interests.  This has helped clarify GMO and I want to be sure to present accurate info:  "To be fair to our competition and to prevent panic in home gardeners, as far as we know, there isn't any GMO seed in the garden seed trade. The companies that produce genetically modified seed are producing it for the big-ag farmers who have to sign extensive contracts and legalese and pay a lot of money to use the GMO seed. Home gardeners are just not (so far) the market for this type of product.

Gardeners and consumers of all kinds should be more concerned about the food that they are purchasing in the grocery store. There is no law to require labeling of foods that contain GMO products. So, chances are, you may be purchasing cereal, fresh corn, corn tortillas, soy products, and all sorts of processed foods that contain genetically modified ingredients.
(For more info., visit the Center for Food Safety http://truefoodnow.org/shoppers-guide/.)


The best thing you can do to vote with your dollars and for your own peace of mind is to grow your own food and purchase certified organic products. (Organic products cannot contain GMO ingredients.)"




A friend and I got together last week to do some heirloom variety seed sharing, as we’re getting ready to do start seeds indoors. Mindi, who I met via this column (hi, Mindi!) is an avid gardener like me and we are both committed to growing non-GMO, heirloom variety fruits and vegetables organically.

GMO stands for genetically modified organisms and are achieved through genetic engineering, leading to potential biological risks and scenarios yet unknown. Many of the seed packets you can purchase in the big box stores (unless marked ‘Heirloom’) may be genetically modified. I seek out the heirlooms. Not only do they have such interesting names, such as these tomato varieties:‘Aunt Ruby's German Green’ or ‘Green Zebra’, but they also taste amazing.

There are many reasons why I love heirlooms, and I’m committed to doubling my garden this year and growing more varieties. I refuse to support the huge biotech conglomerates that are producing all of these GM crops/seeds, and these same companies produce highly toxic pesticides (you couldn’t pay me to use Round-Up anywhere near my yard or my children. I wouldn’t use it anywhere far either). Thankfully, lots of seed companies have taken the ‘safe seeds’ pledge—the pledge to not include any seed from these biotechs in their stock.

Botanical Interests is one. I purchased their seeds from Allisonville Nursery—it felt great to support a local business and also a seed company that has taken the safe seeds pledge.

So, I’m voting with my dollars and leaving the biotechs and the chemicals on the store shelf, hoping and wishing they would go away. It’s so good to dig in the earth chemical free and eat good, pure food. See my blog for a list of seed companies safe from biotech ties. Happy Organic Gardening!

Read more from the Organic Consumers Association here.


Here is the list of safe seed companies:

Abundant Life Seeds
Amishland Seeds
Annapolis Valley Heritage Seed Company canada
Baker Creek Seed Co.
Berlin Seeds - they don't have a website. Atleast I didn't find one.
Botanical Interests
Bountiful Gardens
Diane's Flower Seeds (she has veggies now, too)
Fedco Seed Co. - phasing out seminis seeds.
Garden City Seeds
Heirloom Acres Seeds -I've heard from several people thier seed germination is poor and so is thier customer service.
Heirlooms Evermore Seeds
Heirloom Seeds
High Mowing Seeds
Horizon Herbs
Irish-Eyes
Kitchen Garden Seeds
Lake Valley Seeds
Livingston Seeds
Local Harvest
Mountain Rose Herbs
Natural Gardening Company
New Hope Seed Company
Organica Seed
Peaceful Valley Farm Supply
Pinetree Garden Seeds
Renee's Garden
Richters Herbs
Sand Hill Preservation Center
Seed Saver's Exchange
Seeds of Change
Southern Exposure
Territorial Seed Company Tiny Seeds
Tomato Fest
Trees of Antiquity
Underwood Garden Seeds
Uprising Seeds
Victory Seeds
Wildseed Farms
Wood Prairie Farm

Links to these companies websites is here.



Seed companies to avoid:


Audubon Workshop
Breck's Bulbs
Burpee
Cook's Garden
Dege Garden Center
E & R Seed Co
Earl May Seed
Flower of the Month Club
Gardens Alive
Garden Trends
Germania Seed Co
HPS
Johnny's Seeds--they get 4% of their stock from Seminis-I would feel comfortable buying from them.  see here
Jungs
Lindenberg Seeds
McClure and Zimmerman Quality Bulb Brokers
Mountain Valley Seed
Nichol’s
Osborne
Park Seed
Park Bulbs
Park's Countryside Garden
R.H. Shumway
Rocky Mountain Seed Co
Roots and Rhizomes
Rupp
Seeds for the World
Seymour's Selected Seeds
Snow
Spring Hill Nurseries
Stokes
T&T Seeds
The Vermont Bean Seed Company
Tomato Growers Supply
Totally Tomato
Vermont Bean Seed Co.
Wayside Gardens
Willhite Seed Co.