I’m always looking for healthy foods.
I started our journey to healthy when CJ was a toddler and at that time (15 years ago) there were not that many options and what little foods there were, they were hard to find. I would drive anywhere or buy foods via mail if they were organic, gluten-free and dairy free. So you can imagine, my first trip shopping at Whole Foods; I felt like a child on Christmas morning! There were so many healthy choices. I loved it. As I told my story to people and encouraged them to eat whole organic foods, many people said it was just too expensive and hard to find.
How sad that processed foods are cheaper than whole organic foods.
You would think it would be the opposite as processed foods take more time to make and factories and workers are needed. Unfortunately, the low quality ingredients in most processed foods allow for a cheaper price. It doesn’t seem fair or make much sense, but it’s reality.
We are just beginning to understand and accept the need for whole foods.
Let’s face it, people today are used to fast convenient foods so that’s what is readily available. It’s Economics 101-the problem is supply and demand. There are fewer healthy markets and organic farms so the demand may be getting higher, but the supply is still low, causing higher prices. For example, my cousin had many food allergies and was also not able to eat foods with preservatives when she was growing up in the 1970’s. My aunt had to drive 20+ miles to a health food store for things as simple as almond butter or whole grain bread. Thankfully today you can find many stores that sell healthier food choices, but it still may be expensive.
Shopping for organic foods will get even get easier and more reasonable!
Walmart is teaming up with Wild Oats organic foods. This essentially means organic foods will be available in almost every neighborhood. It also means that organic products will be sold for a better price. Consumers will not only have more options on where to buy organic foods, but the competition should bring organic prices down over all. That is a win win for the consumer.
The possibility for more organic foods available to everyone excites me.
The fact that Walmart is branching into organics means that the demand for organic food is not just for the stereotypical health food junkie, but also for the average consumer. This means that more people are aware of the dangers of eating chemically processed and genetically modified foods and want to change their eating habits. I think the competition between Walmart and traditional health food markets will raise awareness even more. My hope is that someone will see organic and non-organic foods side by side, see that the cost is similar and opt for organic. My dream would be that people would then buy fresh organic foods as well. This would also allow organic farmers without GMO produce to become more profitable. People wrongly believe that just because organic produce is more expensive, the farmers make more money. The truth is that it cost more to farm organically. Whole Foods has long held to the belief that they are “the buying agents for our customers and not the selling agents for the manufacturers.” Unfortunately for this once food revolutionary “food to fork” market has had their profits slip, as more grocery stores want to provide customers a healthier way to eat. I hope stores like Walmart retain the dignity and hard work of these small organic farmers and help them make more money as well.
What motivated Walmart to add organics?
I’m not sure why and maybe it did have to do with wanting a share of the growing “organic” market. I don’t care though because anything that gets people talking about, buying and eating healthy food choices is good. I do find it funny that Walmart has a disclaimer stating “This isn’t about telling our customers what to eat, nor is it an endorsement of certain foods. It’s about leveraging our scale to provide access to the choices that currently elude too many families in our country. It’s just one more way we’re helping our customers save money so they can live better.” I guess they don’t want to alienate the people who shop all the rest of the food aisles packed with processed food! Oh well, I will take any amount of health awareness I can get!
There are other ways to buy h russian grocery store ealthy at a reasonable or cheaper price.
One of the best and most fun (to me) ways to buy organic produce is to shop at the local farmer’s market. (There’s even a website called Local Harvest to help you locate the farmer’s market closest to you!) I love getting to know the vendors and learning what’s the best produce to buy for the season or even that day. Our early ancestors didn’t have food shipped from miles away. Rather, they ate the fresh food available to them and then fermented/cultured and canned their food to eat later. This not only preserved the food, but provided valuable good gut bacteria that helped their immune systems and over all health.
This is one less excuse for not buying organic!
As always, you need to be your own warrior and check the ingredients on everything you buy. Best rule of thumb: if you can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is, it’s probably NOT good for your gut! Raw, whole, organic, fermented probiotic foods help replenish good gut bugs, amino acids and live enzymes, which you need when you don’t eat as well as you should AND even when you do eat well. Fermented foods are as essential to your body as drinking water. Your body needs it to be balanced so your body efficiently absorbs and distributes essential nutrients for all the other foods you eat too. A healthy gut equals a healthy body, mind and life!
