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Does organic cost too much?—Episode 3

October 8th, 2010


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Have friends and family who still eat processed crap? Send them this video. Kathleen compares the cost of an organic meal to a trip through the local drive-thru.

This video has been posted as part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday.

Related:

Episode 2: Kiss Sugar Good-bye

Episode 1: Self Publishing: A word of advice to Authors

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7 Responses to “Does organic cost too much?—Episode 3”

  1. Nick Mortensen says:
    October 9, 2010 at 12:27 am

    Truly difficult to focus on the theme because I kept being distracted by how awesome your shirt is in this video.

    Reply
  2. Antonio Centeno says:
    October 11, 2010 at 4:52 pm

    Kathleen – I 100% agree with your message and point. Unfortunately you skip over 1 HUGE point. The time to make the meal. Granted if you make a special trip to McDs, the time spent cooking (and cleaning) is partly offset…..but I find the TIME factor is huge in determining which choice people make.

    My wife, being the genius she is, has recently started making multiple meals at the same time. Basically, when she prepares something like homemade soup or chicken Kyiv, she make enough for at least 2 meals thus cutting the prep time by 50%.

    Keep up the great work! We love your show here in central WI!

    Reply
  3. Alyssa says:
    November 9, 2010 at 2:10 am

    I love your message…and I try to feed my family as healthily as possible but DEF can not do all organic. Number one reason being….we can’t spend 14 dollars a meal for our family of 5 (almost 6.) I try to make our meals about 4 dollars a meal and cook everything at home…..organic meat is VERY expensive and so is the milk…..bread….everything is more. how would you suggest eating organic on my kind of budget (plus snacks.) I spend 50 dollars a week on groceries for 5 people….

    Reply
    • Kathleen Slattery–Moschkau says:
      November 15, 2010 at 6:15 pm

      Alyssa, thank you for sharing the reality of your situation…one that many of us are facing. When it comes to this issue of food and money and budgets, I think each of us has to simply do the best we can with what we have. I am going to throw out a couple of suggestions, but please feel free to use the ones that feel right for you and lose the rest. The meal I described above could easily feed six (with left overs for a second meal) by adding more chicken broth to the mix (so that you can use the entire bag of rice). You could also replace the raspberries with sliced organic apples which prove more filling and stretch further. Outside of the meal above, I often cook very simple meals, like stir frying a head of cabbage in organic canola oil and serving that with oranges, or apples, or bananas. I know that might sound crazy to most people, but that is a typical meal around our house. I only cook meat about 1-2 times per week. Also, instead of the wild rice above, you can grab a big bag of organic long grain brown rice (cheaper)–the rice combined with any kind of stir fry veggies makes a great, low cost meal. (you can choose to add broth and/or meat for if you choose or when you can afford it.) We also really only have milk with cereal in the morning. If you could only afford to do one organic thing, I’d say do the milk so that you can avoid the hormones, antibiotics and pesticides. Also, per Liz’s response below, if you can swing it next summer, maybe you could plant a small garden this year? Most families I know who plant one have more food than they know what to do with. If you don’t have time to do a garden, consider a CSA next spring (Consumer Supported Agriculture). It’s where a local (and organic if you choose) farm delivers a box of food to your door or for pick up. Many times the food comes pre-washed and with recipes. This can lead to HUGE savings at the grocery store for farm fresh organic produce, etc. I hope this helps! But more than anything, give yourself a huge pat on the back and just do the best you can. It’s all any of us can do.

      Reply
  4. Liz says:
    November 15, 2010 at 4:01 pm

    Eating less meat (or meatless) per meal really cuts down on the cost of an organic meal. I make veggies the main focus of my meals and then whole grains and then meat protein or dairy. Also the home garden is very important in absolutely knowing you have the best and freshest organic food.

    Reply
    • Liz says:
      November 15, 2010 at 10:03 pm

      I also found local eggs for $1.00 to 2.00 a dozen. They are incredibly fresher, healthier and tastier (and cheaper) than supermarket eggs. I found that on craigslist and meet the person at a convenient corner in town. You can probably find meat and produce that way in your area, check it out.

      Reply

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