Organic on a Budget

How can you live green but stay within your means? Here are
some ways to make your organic food dollars stretch farther:

Buy Smart: Between 2000 and 2004, the USDA and FDA did some
43,000 tests for pesticides in fresh produce. When the
Environmental Working Group analyzed the results it found that
you could reduce your pesticide intake by 90 percent if you ate
only organic versions of twelve of them: peaches, apples, sweet
bell peppers, celery, nectarines, strawberries, cherries, pears,
imported grapes, spinach, lettuce, and potatoes. If all you did
was buy these foods organically, you'd be making a huge
contribution to your family's health.

Shop Around: Pricing for organic foods is sometimes ... well,
let's just call it whimsical. So many different retail outlets
are selling organic products these days that there are bargains
available if you just take the time to look for them. You
comparison shop for everything else, right? Why not for organic
food? And when you do find a deal, buy lots if it isn't
perishable.

Buy Local: Buying locally grown vegetables, fruit, and meat is
easier than ever. Many supermarkets feature them in season and
there are more and more farmers' markets every year. Foods in
season tend to be cheaper, because they're abundant then. And
for that matter, consider shopping at the end of the day; you
can often drive a better bargain then and you don't even have to
feel guilty: it makes the farmer's life easier not having to
pack up the excess or discard it. Most locally sourced foods are
organic - but you should always ask what fertilizers and
pesticides (and for meats, what antibiotics and hormones) were
used to produce them. Also, one of the big benefits of buying
local is what you save environmentally: the fuel costs (part of
what's called your "carbon footprint") for a local tomato are
way lower than for one grown in a hothouse somewhere else in the
world and air shipped to your supermarket. Not to mention that
the local one will actually taste like a tomato!

Buy in Bulk – Shop with Friends: Farmers are smart folks. If
you walk up to a stand at the farmers' market, or even one on
the farm, and say you want to buy crates of produce, not just a
bag, they'll cut you a deal. So either shop with your friends or
make an arrangement to shop for them. If you've got a freezer,
you can do the same thing with a side of organic beef. By the
way, if your market or natural foods shop has bulk bins, that's
another way to get organic on the cheap. It's this simple:
Buying big saves big.

Buy Store-Brand Organic Products: The major supermarket chains
have caught on. So now, if you're looking for a can of tomatoes,
there's a pretty good chance that the store's own house brand
will offer you an organic choice that is cheaper than the
big-name organic brands. Choose it.

[The above excerpt is reprinted with permission from Green Goes
With Everything: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life and a Cleaner
Planet by Sloan Barnett (Atria Books, September 2008)]

About The Author: Sloan Barnett is a regular contributor to
NBC's Today Show and the Green Editor for KNTV, the NBC
affiliate in San Francisco. She has been a television and print
journalist for more than 10 years, and wrote a popular consumer
advice column for New York's Daily News for nearly a decade. She
lives in San Francisco with her husband and three children. FMI,
please visit: http://www.greengoe switheverything. com.