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It`s hard to be completely organic in a commercial pot

Published 11th November 2009 - 9 comments - 1934 views -

Walt Hester from Trail-Gazette visited Marty Yochum Casey in the back of the Local Roots Co-Op. We speak about organic food and prices. Does it have sense to spend that much effort and mainly money to do it? How much shall we spend on organic according Alyce Lomax. What is our food IQ and why shall we think about it?

Here what Walt Hester wrote:

It`s not made-to-order, it`s not particularly fast. What it is is fresh and made from scratch, like lunch at home. That is what Marty Yochum Casey intends in her Alpenaire Bakery and Deli.

She buys much of her ingredients from the co-op and creates interesting dishes from a wide range of cultures and influences. The day I visited, she had baked raspberry scones and gluten-free chocolate muffins for the breakfast rush. The day before, she had cooked up a spicy Moroccan dish, and for lunch on this day, Casey would prepare a Mexican red and green chili soup with sweet potatoes. Casey started with fresh garlic, chilis that had been roasted in-house the day before, sweet potatoes from the co-op`s produce section and extra-virgin olive oil.

"It`s hard to be completely organic when you cook commercially," said Casey. She picks the most natural ingredient she is able to from the commercial food service. The olive oil is cold-pressed and about $25 a gallon.

She credits her slew of helpers, four of them, for making the efforts possible. Some do prep work, like the Eagle Rock student who roasted the peppers, some help make the side dishes and some man the register so Casey can focus on the meal.

Casey ran a restaurant in the Courtyard Shops about 10 years ago, so she knows her way around a commercial kitchen. She also wants to create a sense of a community kitchen. She hands out samples and takes suggestions like one might expect if one walked into her home.

Her whole process, from gathering the ingredients to selling the first portion, takes a few hours, but speed is not the aim. Warmth in temperature and in familiarity is. Casey has made a little bit of home for the crowd who eats lunch out.

Many consumers wonder why organic foods don't cost less. A ton of money is being saved so that they don't pay for herbicides and pesticides. Don`t forget though that there is more processing by hand that must be done for organic foods and that can really add up fast to more expenses than those chemicals.

While it is understandable that we want to consume food that is good for our health, that higher price is what often stopps the masses from doing so. Many surveys conducted that indicate consumers are passing over organic foods due to the fact that they can't justify the addition 10% to 40% markup on them.

A great deal of the crops can be lost in organic farming. This is due to the fact the food sources cannot always grow. You can't always protect them against pests and insects. The insurance - unbelievably high.

To change over a conventional farm to organic methods is not cheap. The process can take five years to complete. The money lost in the mean time has to be factored in somewhere along the line. So, when you eat organic you are paying for some of these processing costs too. You just didn't realize they had to be covered by the farmer before he could start to make organic foods and a profit from them.

 

Good news and bad news in organics (excerpt) - by Alyce Lomax

Organic groceries, which used to enjoy heady annual sales increases of more than 20%, grew by a mere 4.6% in the year ended June 13, according to a market research firm the WSJ cited. Organic production often demands more labor- and management-intensive techniques, leading to costlier food than more conventional goods with industrialized production. If consumers are unwilling to pay enough for suppliers to turn a profit, their stinginess could eventually drive many of these operators out of business. In organic goods' favor consumers are paying more attention to where food comes from and how it's produced.

The new film Food Inc. may help raise awareness of the benefits of organic goods, and encourage more people to make moral, sustainable choices about what they eat. (Chipotle (NYSE: CMG) (NYSE: CMG-B), which has its own Food with Integrity program, helped spread the word about the documentary.) However frivolous it may sound in recessionary times, I think grocers' expansion of private-label organics signals that many shoppers would rather cut corners elsewhere than give up on healthier, more sustainable food.

Tight budgets may make organic food a tougher sell, even in private-label form. Still, the growth of this odd combination of categories suggests that organics are here to stay. Grocery-store shareholders who enjoy a dose of green in their brokerage statements should be glad that their companies are keeping tabs on changing customer spending, and doing their best to keep pace.

 

Organic Money Saving Tips by Organic.org

Comparison Shop. You may be able to find less-expensive alternatives at different stores. Many major chains are coming out with their own organic brands, such as O Organics™ at Safeway and ShopRite Organics at ShopRite.

Cook More. The more convenient the food is, the more expensive it is. For example, buying an organic frozen dinner may save you time in the same way a conventional frozen dinner would, but it costs quite a bit more than its nonorganic counterpart and much more than a homemade meal. Buy organic items that are lower in price (such as produce), and make your own dishes from scratch.

Stock Up. Stock up on your favorite items when they go on sale. Or try something new that is on sale or is priced well, and you may find a new favorite!

Buy in Bulk. Buying in bulk will keep costs down. Look for many pantry staples often available in bulk, such as beans, legumes, rice, flour, nuts, chocolate chips, and much more. Many local co-ops have extensive organic bulk sections.

Organic Coupons. Keep an eye out in the Sunday paper and grocery circulars for coupons and, again, stock up to take best advantage of the savings!

Shop in Season. Shop farm stands and farmers’ markets for the freshest, most-delicious produce while supporting local farmers. Purchasing in season produce from your grocer may also keep costs down.

Be Selective. Decide to only purchase organic milk and produce. See the Environmental Working Group’s “dirty dozen” for the most-contaminated produce and tailor your decisions based on these.

Eat With Friends. Choose some like-minded friends and get together to each prepare an organic dish—a great way to add variety to your organic diet while keeping your own purchases down. Get together for a weekend potluck—or, during the week, arrange a food swap to minimize cooking and maximize eating organically.

 

Top products you should buy organic

The following list is based on information and studies by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Consumer Reports, and the Environmental Working Group.

1. Nectarines – 97.3% of nectarines sampled were found to contain pesticides.

2. Celery – 94.5% of celery sampled were found to contain pesticides.

3. Pears – 94.4% of pears sampled were found to contain pesticides.

4. Peaches – 93.7% of peaches sampled were found to contain pesticides.

5. Apples – 91% of apples sampled were found to contain pesticides.

6. Cherries – 91% of cherries sampled were found to contain pesticides.

7. Strawberries – 90% of strawberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.

8. Imported Grapes – 86% of imported grapes (i.e. Chile) sampled were found to contain pesticides.

9. Spinach – 83.4% of spinach sampled were found to contain pesticides.

10. Potatoes – 79.3% of potatoes sampled were found to contain pesticides.

11. Bell Peppers – 68% of bell peppers sampled were found to contain pesticides.

12. Red Raspberries – 59% of red raspberries sampled were found to contain pesticides.

13. Asparagus

14. Avocados

15. Bananas

16. Broccoli

17. Cauliflower

18. Corn (However, almost all corn is genetically modified)

19. Kiwi

20. Mangoes

21. Onions

22. Papaya

23. Pineapples

24. Sweet Peas

 

What's Your Organic Food IQ?

Take the Quiz and Find Out.

Some people, however, don`t have problems to think if they will or not buy organic. Why?

Category: Agriculture, Climate Reporting, | Tags: organic food, walt hester, commercial stores, farming, marty yochum casey, alyce lomax, prices,



Comments

Aija Vanaga on 11th November 2009:

Times just change.
I remember when I was a kid, we had all fresh and great from Oma’s garden. All summer, autumn long. And then a lot in winter too.
That was as a gathering to prepare food for winter.

In one moment it changed. It started to get more cheaper and comfortable to just go to supermarket. And do not care.

Its about human being, what we see and what we don’t. What we want to change, hear or recognize. Do we want to give up comfort..
That doesn’t affect health now and today.

Lucy Setian on 11th November 2009:

I don`t know. For the people living in the big cities the difference is little bit harder to be established. However, I can always feel the plastic taste of some vegetables or fruits and to understand that there is reason for the supermarket directors to cut the prices lower after 18:00 o`clock. When I see all the garbage in the rivers or on the fields I just want to run away in some other country.

Aija Vanaga on 11th November 2009:

You always have option to run away smile

The point is to figure out what change can be brought. You can’t change the world, but it is possible to change everyday.

I became a vegetarian and that really feels like contribution to myself (1st place) and world around me.

Poli on 11th November 2009:

Well in BG some of the organic food is actually not organic it just costs more. There is no way to know if it is really organic. You have to prepare it yourself smile It also cost too much so only the rich can afford it. It is useless until they start making it suitable for the middle class. So until then lets eat what we like as much as we like (and avoid the pigs until the epidemy is over :D )

Aija Vanaga on 11th November 2009:

Swine flu has nothing common with pigs smile
Than it somehow sucks.

Example today: I bought tomatoes that where written that is organic from Austria and they costed like 0.1 euro more than ones from Morocco. And tasted like tomatoes..

Seems like I am lucky here smile

Lucy Setian on 11th November 2009:

You are, Aija! I cannot live without meat. But Poli is totally right. Here are a lot of crimes connected with the gain of money from Europrojects programmes, which have to go to farmlands and what happens? The so-called farmer businessmen just “swallow” them.

Aija Vanaga on 11th November 2009:

And again we came back to politics and incredible human behavior to swallow funds .. Ahh ..

Adela on 11th November 2009:

My grandma has a small garden where she plants tomatoes, carrots, onions & different spices that make the food tasty.

Every autumn she goes to places only the elder know to pick mushrooms, she buys fish directly from fishermen, rarely from the market.

So in a way, I’m lucky as I have different goodies at hand, waiting for me at her place.

We buy plenty of things from the supermarket, too. But every time we have the chance, we go for the farmer’s market to try & keep the balance.

I guess it’s a matter of being healthier or lazier. smile

Lucy Setian on 11th November 2009:

And everytime I go there I think..hum..the new marketing fraudulent :(

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