Societal Impact of Food Choices (sounds all serious, doesn't it?)

I'm interested in how much attention others give to the wider impact of their food choices.  Nothing judgemental.  Personally, I shop by weekly special most of the time.  Just interested in the question of wider responsibility.

For example, do you choose foods not only because of the idvidual health impact (ie - high frucose corn syrup = unhealthy for you specifically) but because of the societal impact as well (i.e. high frucose corn syrup = industrial agriculture = pesticides, run-off, etc. = bad for environment and unhealthy for general population)?

Can you make good individual food choices that are good ideological statements without going completely broke?  Just curious, thanks to the replies to my other post that brought this up.  Discuss...

I do both, actually.  I am Macrobiotic so I choose all organic, non-processed foods.  But these days, it's tough to even find grains that have not been genetically modified/engineered, so I have to search for not only organic, but non-GMO (Genetically Modified Organism). 

A good book for those interested in non-GMO foods is Seeds of Deception. 

the without going completely broke is the tricky part...

the fruits and veggies aren't that much of a problem - I live in a rural area and have a roadside produce stand just a 15 minute walk from my house.... in the summer....

the organic beef & chicken is where it gets expensive because I have to drive 80 miles with a cooler full of ice to get to a store that carries it....  and so I'm polluting the air by driving that far for food...

but I did stop buying frozen dinners that are made by con agra foods just for that reason -- they are the biggest industrial food producer out there and I have little confidence in them

I try to avoid processed foods as much as I can.  It's not that much more expensive, though it costs more time to make it.  If I were to go all organic, it would cost quite a bit more...

I definitely look for things that are healthy for my family, but beyond that I do not shop to make a statement. 

I live in a small town with one small grocery store - if I chose to shop organic, I'd have to drive 70 miles to the next nearest grocery store.  Just not feasible for me time-wise or financially.

I do, however, grow a big garden in the summer, buy my meat from a local farmer, and have my own chickens (and eggs). 

I try to do my part, but with a house full of kids and a $1000 / month grocery bill already, shopping organic is hard on the pocketbook!

only marginally.  I try to buy local produce and other farm products to support our local economy and to pull my support from factory farming. I'm lucky enough to live not far from Lancaster County, PA, where all the Amish farms are.  The Amish don't use pesticides and their produce is clean and very fresh.  However, local produce is seasonal and during the winter I buy from the supermarket like everyone else. 

I buy organic beef (Laura's Lean Beef) even though it's expensive and free range chickens from a real farm where I can see those birds running around.  There's even a local cheese maker who's cows are grass fed, and his product is pretty good.  I'm willing to spend more and not support factory farms.  I do sometimes buy chicken from the supermarket, but try not to do it often.

Join my vendetta against partially hydrogenated oils and fats and if it's even mentioned on a label I won't buy the product. 

Being in this community, I'm trying to be more careful about what I buy. But truthfully, I'm in a rural community with one poorly stocked store. Yes, I can drive 30 miles and get more food that is organic, etc, but I fear that not supporting my local store could cause it to close. (We had two grocery stores when I arrived here 2 years ago, but one closed from lack of business)

So, I don't buy organic except in summer when I can get fresh veggies from roadside stands and the Amish. I do read labels - and try to select what does not have high levels of sodium, what has a good amount of fiber. I'm just now thinking about things like high fructose corn syrup and partially or fully hydrogenated fats.

This will be a lifelong learning I suspect

I buy the raw ingredients for stuff in bulk and make big batches of it-stuff like sauces and soups. much lower in sodium and chemicals I can't pronounce, and just as convenient. it also doesn't break the bank.

all you need is a Sunday afternoon to devote to making a couple batches of whatever you'll want for the week ahead.

Here's my purchasing rules:

Absolutely no partially hydrogenated oil AT ALL
Trying to enforce the same for High Fructose Corn Syrup - some resistance from the boyfriend.  SIGH

I boycott Wal-mart and Sam's.  Next month will be a full calendar year since I stepped inside one. 
I try to shop at Krogers because they hire special needs individuals.
I also try to do a good portion of my grocery shopping at Whole Foods because not only is it healthy - they are excellent employers. I understand that I'll end up paying more for some items, but that's okay.

I am just starting to become a label reader now and am avoiding hydrogenated oil and anything that has fructose, lactose etc in it.  This month I am not eating refined sugar and have cut way back on white flour. 

As for organic - it depends - I come from the Okanagan and the so called organic fruit farmers are surrounded by orchards that spray...so how organic is it really? Did they go organic or just stop paying for the spray? So, I am a bit skeptical when it comes to that. 

Finances dictate that I cannot avoid eating meat that has steroids etc in it, if I could I would only buy free range - perhaps in the future.  It is sad that the consumer's choice has been taken away due to economics isn't it? 

Genetically modified food is perfectly safe.  Please read this book:

Mendel in the Kitchen:  A Scientists Look at Genetically Modified Foods

Organic farming still uses pesticides.

I buy whatever I want whenever I want; the word organic drives me crazy.  But, that could be largely inpart to my inlaws... who very annoyingly tell me what I should and should not eat... regarding whats organic and what is not.  And also because I asked them to NOT give my daughter organic foods, and they did and do.  And, it definitely annoys me, that my inlaws complain about not having any money, but then, go to their house and you will see EVERYTHING they own is organic, from trader joe's or from the supermarket organic section.  Where everythings price is 5 dollars more than it should be. 

Don't mistake what I am saying... I'm more venting about my inlaws than anything... I'm not against organic foods really, but I don't see the harm in buying normal things....  Yeah there is chemicals and stuff in it, but there are also chemicals in organic foods, so I don't see the difference.  What I mean is, my inlaws don't have a clue what they are talking about, and it annoys me.

I buy shares every summer at a local organic farm thru a Community Sponsored Agriculture program.  That way, I know where my food is from, and how it was produced.  I am supporting a small farmer and his family, as he works to feed us and leave the soil on his land in better condition every year. The pesticide thing is only a small part of my decision to buy organic.  Soil improvement, heirloom seed preservation, supporting small farmers, preserving farmland, and variety of produce are equally important to me.

While some GMOs may be perfectly safe for us, they are toxic to not just pests, but beneficial insects.  Corn and Monarch Butterflies, look it up.  Also, GMOs often have their ability to germinate controlled by the company that produced them, forcing farmers to buy seed over and over, instead of seed-saving.  And finally, GMOs are not always about natural selection, but forced integration of 2 totally separate species.  The long-term effect of such interventions is unknown.  Frankly, I find the hyper-sweet GMO corn to be one-dimensional in flavor, and I'll take an heirloom tomato grown from saved seed over a perfectly round, red, insipid GMO tomato any day.

Other than that, I try to buy food that is minimally processed.  Balance bars, Bob's Pizza, and Girl Scout Cookies are some glaring exceptions. :)

My personal cause: Fair Trade.

I don't buy chocolate that's not fairly traded.  Same goes for coffee, and I'm trying to learn more about teas and other goods that are affected by this.

More info:  [TransFair, Equal Exchange, Fair Trade Standards]

Actually, the social impact is often what keeps me from buying stuff I'd normally be tempted by, those luxury goods mentioned above.  This started when someone suggested I google "chocolate" and "slavery" and see what I got.  Didn't like it, one bit.

I am also trying to buy organic or local produce wherever possible.  This is easier for the half of the year that the farmer's market runs, and possible (if more expensive) the rest of the year thanks to the local co-op.

I want to phase in meat to that -- but what I end up doing is eating vegetarian more often.  When I do get free-range and organic meats, I end up using them very sparingly.  I suppose that's not 100% bad, is it?

This was my journal entry for Wednesday.

Its Wednesday,
This was in my e-mail this morning.  Funny foods.  Frankenfoods?
http://www.ediets.com/news/article.cfm?cmi=23 68460&cid=1 &code=24730

I do not know why people would want to do this to food.
I have also heard that scientist are devoloping plants that do not seed so that farmers have to buy new seeds every year, instead of being able to use their seeds over.

Edited:  Found this later doing some clean up work.
Anyone want healthy bacon?
http://healthandfitness.sympatico.msn.ca/Gues s+Whats+Coming+to+Dinner/Home/ContentPosting_ TransCon.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=32826& ;feedname=RODALE-MENHEALTH&show=False& ;number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&a mp;detect=&abc=abc

I buy organic when I can, read labels and try to stay away from most prepared foods. That is getting less expensive here in Holland, thank goodness. There is a small store (from a very large corp.) that now has quite a large range of organic veggies and the prices are only slightly higher than the others. However Rob and I have talked many times about how easy the manufacturers of these quick prepared foods make it for us to eat unhealthy. An example of this is we paid 5 euros for 5 pounds of potatoes  (a euro is close to the US dollar in value) and a 5 pound bag of ready made french fries was 89 cents. Chicken breasts are anywhere from 5 to 8 euros a kilo and a 2 kilo box of garbage weiner like things are 2 euros.  For those people that have 3 or 4 children and a limited amout for food each week, the right decission is a tough one and for some maybe impossible.

Our very small local grocery store here on the Island does not carry organic products. I think that it is important to note, that organic is just a label. =) That being said, I am a farm owner. I have an enormous garden and do my own canning. I mostly have heirloom plants and do not use harmful pesticides or chemicals in my garden. I also raise my own sheep. Here on the Island we have a local butcher, where I can find beautiful free-range chicken or turkey. We also have a local deer farm, that provides fresh deer meat. Hunting is a big part of life around here and provides bear, moose and fowl. With being on and Island, there is also access to plenty of fish. With all that is available, it still doesn't stop me from buying bananas when I want them. =) I try my best to buy locally grown, locally produced through and through, from start to finish.

One of the websites that I really enjoy is: http://www.100milediet.org/ and one of the things I found interesting is that say you buy an "organic" chicken, or free-range, or whatever special word it is labeled with. All chickens are feed some sort of grain to supplement their diets of worms and bugs. Where does the grain come from? How was it processed? Was it grown with genetic modifications? What sort of contaminates did the grain come into contact with before it was feed to your free-range chickens?

Well geez, water is a chemical as well, that mean i should stop drinking it all together, oh and don't forget that almsot all foods contain water, guess i can't eat either :-(

Having grown up on a farm, a real farm that is. One where the farm income was our livelyhood, I've seen first hand how nasty pesticides and herbicides can be. There are pesticides that will kill anything that enters the field several hours after spraying, including humans.  And when spraying the wind has to be taken into account as it can have a harmful effect on neighbors if one is not careful.  Sloughs and ponds have been killed, or rendered no fit for humans or animals because of them.  They are not innocent.

They are neccesarry for our current way of life, but they are also slowly killing the planet.

I don't like the thought of eating that stuff. However I also have a budget. I try to buy organic from the regular store when I can, if it is on sale, or a good buy. I also can get a lot of organic stuff for a good discount thru the company I work for, but sometimes even then it is a bit high.

I do read a lot of labels. I will not buy anythign with the words, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup or hydrogenated anything.

I tend to try and buy foods as close to thier natural state as possible and with as few ingredients as possible. If there are ingredients that sound more like they belong in chem lab than a kitchen I tend to pass it by. I also look for items that have a fairly good amount of at least some nutrients.

I am also conscious of what companies I buy from. I only buy salad dressing from Newman's Own because it has a lot of flavor in a small amount, their are no chemistry lab ingredients and even though they cost more, I know the profits (his anyway) are going to charity.

I also try to look for the words fair trade when I can as  then I know the workers and the farmers are getting a better deal for thier products.

I also live ina farm state, and am lucky enough to be with in walking distance of a farmer's market, so I can get quite a bit of local produce in the fall, though in the winter produce is seriously limited due to geography.