- my iParenting
- quick clicks
- recipes today articles
- recipes today q&a
- community & groups
- research baby names
- prepare a birth plan
- content channels
- ip channel rss feeds
- read birth stories
- read parenting stories
- recommended books
- e-newsletters
- safety recalls
- ip diaries
- ip store
- mom of the month
- dad of the month
- editor's letter
- letters to the editor
From Our Sponsors
- e-newsletters
- Sign up to receive our free weekly e-newsletters
- award-winning products
The iParenting Media Awards program helps parents find the best products for their families.
It's Only Natural
The Basics of an Organic Lifestyle
By Donna Smith
That tiny space holding the organic produce in your local grocery store has most likely doubled in size over the last couple years. And organic is no longer contained in the produce department – products from cleaners to milk decorate store shelves. But what does living an organic lifestyle really mean?
"Organic eating means supporting a healthy diet for your family and a healthy environment for your children – and your children's children," says Anna Lappe, co-author of Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet (Tarcher/Penguin, 2002) and Grub: Ideas for an Organic Urban Kitchen (Tarcher/Penguin, 2006). "Organic foods are grown without the chemical pesticides used in industrial agriculture."
Raised by Depression-era parents, Jacqueline Duda from Monrovia, Md., grew up eating homegrown produce. "It only seemed 'natural' (pardon the pun), to feed my own family of six the same once organic shopping and products became more prevalent and industry awareness has been heightened," she says. "Let's face it, the food tastes better, hands down, when compared to processed foods and non-organic."
Switching to organic produce is the first step for many families. "Purchasing organic produce is one way to promote your family's health, redress the social costs of chemical agriculture and help preserve our environment," Lappe says.
Produce was the first change Duda made. "I selected comparably priced avocados, tomatoes, squash, grapes and bananas when shopping with other mom friends at the markets," she says. "Starting out a 'little' organic, I feel strongly, is better than none at all, especially when price is a concern for a large, middle-class family."
Does eating organic cost more? Not necessarily, Lappe says. "No doubt about it, organic processed foods (fancy veggie burgers or potato chips, for instance) cost more, but compare the cost of a bag of potato chips to a pound of actual organic potatoes and you'll see that if you and your family buy whole foods, you can buy organic and save," she says.