One of the easiest ways a concerned citizen can promote sustainability and good agricultural sense is by going out of their way to purchase or grow their own organic produce. But it’s easy to forget that the little things count, too. For example, consider the origin of the spices you use to jazz up your organic dishes. Salt’s not a problem, of course, being a mineral; but almost all of our other spices are grown on farms, and they’re just as likely to be subject to chemical fertilization and pest control as any other produce.
Americans eat an average of one-third of a pound of black pepper per capita each year; that’s about 55,000 tons, and that’s just one spice among many. How much of that is organically grown? Probably not much—and certainly the stuff you’ll find on the average supermarket shelf isn’t likely to be organic at all. So where do you get the good stuff? Unless you grow your own (which is certainly a possibility for some spices like basil and mint), head on over to your local organic food store or co-op. Here’s the kicker: in the amounts that most of us use them, organic spices from an organic food store are often significantly cheaper than the ones sold in a grocery store.
{ 0 comments… add one now }