Certified Organic
Anybody can claim that they have and sell organic products. That doesn’t mean that it is true.
The United States Department of Agriculture defines how a product is classified as organic and that classification is guaranteed with a seal.
Organic farmers are required to follow rules set by the USDA in terms of how to maintain their soil, how produce must be grown and the treatment and wellness of their livestock.
Breaking these rules can result in a fine and the certification being denied.
When you go grocery shopping, ensure that you are checking labels correctly. Identifying a product as a USDA certified organic product confirms that you are indeed eating organic.
No Excuses
As I continue this journey of eating organically, I’m slowly realizing that leading a healthier life style adds up. So I went on a hunt to find ways to minimize my spending while maximizing my purchase.
There is one key factor to food shopping and that is learning how to budget and plan. Know how much you want to spend and what you want to buy. This limits the amount of extra goodies jumping into the shopping cart as you walk down the isle.
The simplest way to save is to home cook your meals. Eating out and prepackaged dinners are the fastest way to watch your money dwindle.
In Gainesville, local organic stores are much more likely to offer coupons and deals in order to keep up with its competition. Make sure to keep and eye out and take advantage of this.
Shop in season to get the best value on produce that is available. Varying your diet and trying new food is a great money saver.
Admittedly it is a little pricey to lead a organic lifestyle. However, the benefits you obtain from it far outweigh the cost.
What’s a GMO?
The organic food industry throws around a lot of terms that are difficult to understand, especially for someone new to the lifestyle.
Browsing through articles and doing research on organic food, I have come across the term “GMO” countless times.
A GMO is a genetically modified organism. Essentially this means that you take the gene of one organism and insert it into another.
Many are concerned with GMOs because of their unpredictability when it comes to peoples reactions with allergens. Groups argue that the public should know when their food contains GMO’s and fight that they should be labeled so.
I do not care to be eating anything that has been modified. When I chow down on a strawberry, I want it to be entirely strawberry and not enhanced with chemicals and extra genes.
The food we consume should come from the ground and not a lab.
Struggles of the Organic Variety
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to obtain a goal you set for yourself and struggling while doing so. However, the struggles are what make it worth your while when you do reach your goal.
So far the biggest struggle on my quest to go organic has been the food shopping.
Publix has done a great job at trying to incorporate organic items into its’ food isles. That said, you really can’t do a complete shopping trip there. It’s best for when you need to pick up an item or 2 that you forgot.
So what I did, with the help of the internet, was research some local stores that sell nearly everything organic.
The 2 stores I have been using are Earth Origins Market and Ward’s Supermarket.
Both stores offer deals and coupons to offset some of the pricing due to the food being organic. This is something I really appreciate, because it is more motivation to lead a healthier lifestyle when it is comparable to eating food loaded with preservatives.
These stores have definitely been a great tool I’ve been using in my new dietary change.
Why Eat Organic
As I get older, I have been wanting to change my lifestyle habits. Eating healthier and working out 30 minutes at least 3 times a week have been the two biggest changes I am trying to make. The biggest change in my diet has been to switch to organic foods.
But why go organic?
My reasons to go organic are varied, but the biggest one is because it is just better for you. There’s no pesticides or hormones injected into the product, your produce wasn’t genetically modified in a science lab and the nutrients retained through organic growing is significantly more than commercially farmed foods.
Hopefully I will be able to convince you to change to leading an organic food lifestyle, as you follow me on my journey to maintain my own organic diet.
