The Dirty Dozen

Have you heard about the dirty dozen list?  It's the twelve produce items with the most pesticide residue on them, and for this reason it's recommended that you buy these organic.  Wouldn't you know it - I regularly eat all of the items on the dirty dozen list: cherries, blueberries, potatoes, peaches, etc.  I don't buy these items organic right now, which I should definitely change. 

The organic craze was one of those that I did initially roll my eyes at.  It seems like everything has an organic version, which of course to me is just a reason to double the price.  So for the past 5 or so years, I've happily bought my non-organic produce that stays fresh for seemingly months...now I know why. 

Julia and I are the produce consumers in the house.  My husband....ummm....well, do maraschino cherries count?  He does eat apples...in pie.  And he eats cucumbers...pickled and on his burger.  So, yeah, it's really just Julia and me who eat produce. 

I don't want to get all maniacal about this organic thing.  I think a sound strategy is to start buying local/organic the foods on the dirty dozen list.  If that goes well, I think buying some meat from a local farmer might be a nice next step.  I did some research on the local farms, and they primarily sell beef around here.  I don't really eat beef, so buying half a cow when you don't eat beef might not make a lot of sense.  I do eat chicken, but I cannot find a farmer who sells chickens within 100 miles.  So I'm not sure what to do about that.  Maybe I can ask around about the meat thing.  And if any reader has tips on the meat thing, please let me know.

Back to the organic dirty dozen list.  I was looking at local CSAs.  Those are where you pay upfront (about $600 here) for 20 weeks of produce during the prime harvest season.  So for about $30 a week you pick up a box of fresh local fruits and veggies.  The downside is that you typically don't get to pick the mix of produce you want.  You get what you get.  I'm not fond of a variety of veggies (turnips/radishes/beets) and some I don't use THAT often (onions, tomatoes) and, again, I'm the only one who eats them in this house.  So I'm not sure a CSA is for us. 

Several of the CSAs also have farm stands in the summer, or they participate in local farmers' markets.  I think this is an excellent way to support local farmers.  The farmers' markets run from June - October here, and I haven't ever been before, so I will definitely check them out this summer.  That seems like a great option.

So what do I do until June?  I think what I'm going to do is price compare four natural foods/organic food stores around here.  I'm going to write out my dirty dozen list and then columns for each of the four stores (Trader Joe's, Marlene's Market, Fred Meyer (organic section), and a corner market) and see how things stack up.  My hope is that I can figure out what store is typically the best deal and make a weekly run to that store for the organic versions of the items on the dirty dozen list.

One other option is www.spud.com.  They deliver in this area. It's an online organic grocery store.  Kind of like a CSA, but you pick what you want.  Pretty awesome except for the $50 minimum order.  A $50 order for just me would be a LOT of produce. 

Right now I'm in the information gathering phase of this.  I want to start making some more conscientious decisions about eating organic and supporting local farmers, but don't expect me to start making hemp necklaces or anything.  It's all about finding the right balance. 

On another note, I've finally got all our stuff ready for tax filing.  I love doing taxes.  I think my husband married me because I like financial sorts of things; he really doesn't have to remember much in that facet of his life.  I tend to the vast majority of it.  And he does the vast majority of the home fix-it projects because I cannot be trusted with a screwdriver.