Shoppers who are toying with the idea of buying organic products are sometimes dissuaded by sticker shock.
Even proponents of going organic acknowledge that it’s not easy on the pocketbook, with prices for organic products sometimes significantly higher than comparable nonorganic items.
But making the switch and spending a little bit more money is worth it, they say.
Friday, June 27, 2008
Organic wine-making moves on to a new level
WITH almost 6% of its vineyard converted to organic production Alsace can claim to be the greenest wine region of France.
Although the prediction made a few years ago by one top grower that 90% of Alsace’s vineyards would be organic by 2010 now seems wildly optimistic, the rate of conversion is steady and sustained. There are also a large and growing number of vignerons who, while stopping short of full organic status, claim to practice sustainable viticulture and only spray their vines with agrochemicals as a last resort.
Biodynamics: the heart and soil of winemaking?
CONTRARY to popular opinion, biodynamic wine is not the same as organic wine, and to proponents of the former, it should never be viewed as such.
While both viticulture practices are concerned with sustainability, restoring the health of the soil and a zero tolerance of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, this is probably where the organic bit ends and the biodynamic thing begins.
Organic foods offer twice as many antioxidants
New study finds organic foods offer up to twice as many antioxidants
A new study throws light on just how much healthier organically grown foods are compared to mass produced foods - up to 97 per cent richer in certain antioxidants.
And with more nutrient content by weight, organic foods can provide more health benefits for your money.
New Zealanders fastest with uptake of Fairtrade products
New Zealand has reported the fastest growth in sales of Fairtrade products in the world - a 45-fold increase in just four years.
Friday, June 20, 2008
This is from the latest edition of the newsletter, in case you missed it!
This issue's article talks about the thoughts and struggles behind
following an organic eating plan. Can you relate? Let us know what you think!
Specials and Recommendations
Up north of the equator we're heading into full summertime grilling season. Timing is never better for your gardens or your local farmer's market. If those don't work for you, the Internet is as always loaded with choices.
You've heard me tell you about Ideal Bite, right? Daily organic tips in your inbox? I recently saw a report that it's been bought by none other than Disney.That's validation not only of the newsletter, but of the market it serves (i.e., us.) Check it out and see why 230,000 others already find Ideal Bite so fascinating.
Pfaelzer Brothers: Take 15% off your entire purchase - just enter promotion code Summer15 at checkout. Free steak seasoning with any steak purchase too!
If you like Hickory Farms better, use promotion code FATHERDAY and get 10% off your entire purchase, through the end of June. Father's Day may have passed, but this hasn't!
And at wine.com, save 20% off any 6 or more bottles of clearance sale wines. They do frequently include organic wines in their specials, so be sure to check.
Our newsletter community spans the globe, but it's tough for me to find specials that do. So be sure you're checking the web site for providers that ship to or service your part of the world:
Organic wine
Organic coffee
Organic meat
Organic produce
Organic chocolate
Feature Article: Organic Eating Habits Aren't As Wide Spread As They Could Be
Unfortunately with the easy and ready availability of processed foods, organic eating habits aren't as wide spread as they could be. Even those of us who prefer not to literally riddle our bodies with pesticides and chemical toxins find that sometimes a fast food meal from our favorite drive-in or takeaway is easier than going to the trouble of preparing our own organically cooked meals.
I have to admit that I sometimes even go to the lengths of heating up a TV dinner when I'm too tired to even lift a finger to dial the pizza joint for a meal that has to be better than a first frozen and then nuked meal eaten in solitary confinement in front of the TV.
In fact this is why I turned to organic eating habits to begin with, to get out of the rut that my life had fallen into. It did take some doing, and I did fall off the organic eating wagon quite a few times, but perseverance finally won through and I was out of my fast food junkie and TV dinner rut, and onto the benefits of organic eating.
The problem is though, that sometimes I'm just too tired to bother about cooking a meal for myself and that's when I resort to the fast foods or the TV dinners. In order to combat the seductive quality of these fast paced lifestyle ruts, I even went so far as to find and buy organic TV dinners, but common sense finally set in on that one, and I switched back to stocking my freezer with non-organic TV dinners.
Why? Simply for the reason that after all the processing these foods have gone through, along with the freezing process, and then the nuking, it renders useless any type of goodness that might be found in the foods. So why pay more for what turns out to be essentially the same item? That was my theory anyway.
If you decide to follow an organic eating regime however, you will find that your life just became healthier and more difficult at the same time. It became healthier because you're eradicating pesticides and other toxins from your body, and it became more difficult because now you have a larger monthly food bill, and you also have to search specifically for organic foods!
The benefits however, far outweigh the disadvantages, and you will most definitely be glad later on that you went to the trouble to change your eating habits to organic eating habits.
This issue's article talks about the thoughts and struggles behind
following an organic eating plan. Can you relate? Let us know what you think!
Specials and Recommendations
Up north of the equator we're heading into full summertime grilling season. Timing is never better for your gardens or your local farmer's market. If those don't work for you, the Internet is as always loaded with choices.You've heard me tell you about Ideal Bite, right? Daily organic tips in your inbox? I recently saw a report that it's been bought by none other than Disney.That's validation not only of the newsletter, but of the market it serves (i.e., us.) Check it out and see why 230,000 others already find Ideal Bite so fascinating.
Pfaelzer Brothers: Take 15% off your entire purchase - just enter promotion code Summer15 at checkout. Free steak seasoning with any steak purchase too!
And at wine.com, save 20% off any 6 or more bottles of clearance sale wines. They do frequently include organic wines in their specials, so be sure to check.
Our newsletter community spans the globe, but it's tough for me to find specials that do. So be sure you're checking the web site for providers that ship to or service your part of the world:
Organic wine
Organic coffee
Organic meat
Organic produce
Organic chocolate
Feature Article: Organic Eating Habits Aren't As Wide Spread As They Could Be
Unfortunately with the easy and ready availability of processed foods, organic eating habits aren't as wide spread as they could be. Even those of us who prefer not to literally riddle our bodies with pesticides and chemical toxins find that sometimes a fast food meal from our favorite drive-in or takeaway is easier than going to the trouble of preparing our own organically cooked meals.
I have to admit that I sometimes even go to the lengths of heating up a TV dinner when I'm too tired to even lift a finger to dial the pizza joint for a meal that has to be better than a first frozen and then nuked meal eaten in solitary confinement in front of the TV.
In fact this is why I turned to organic eating habits to begin with, to get out of the rut that my life had fallen into. It did take some doing, and I did fall off the organic eating wagon quite a few times, but perseverance finally won through and I was out of my fast food junkie and TV dinner rut, and onto the benefits of organic eating.
The problem is though, that sometimes I'm just too tired to bother about cooking a meal for myself and that's when I resort to the fast foods or the TV dinners. In order to combat the seductive quality of these fast paced lifestyle ruts, I even went so far as to find and buy organic TV dinners, but common sense finally set in on that one, and I switched back to stocking my freezer with non-organic TV dinners.
Why? Simply for the reason that after all the processing these foods have gone through, along with the freezing process, and then the nuking, it renders useless any type of goodness that might be found in the foods. So why pay more for what turns out to be essentially the same item? That was my theory anyway.
If you decide to follow an organic eating regime however, you will find that your life just became healthier and more difficult at the same time. It became healthier because you're eradicating pesticides and other toxins from your body, and it became more difficult because now you have a larger monthly food bill, and you also have to search specifically for organic foods!
The benefits however, far outweigh the disadvantages, and you will most definitely be glad later on that you went to the trouble to change your eating habits to organic eating habits.
About the author:
Muna wa Wanjiru is a Web Administrator and Has Been Researching and Reporting on Organic Foods for Years. For More Information on Organic Eating, Visit His Site at Organic Eating.
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