{"id":321,"date":"2013-09-21T10:40:20","date_gmt":"2013-09-21T17:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/?p=321"},"modified":"2013-09-27T17:03:48","modified_gmt":"2013-09-28T00:03:48","slug":"national-organic-week-in-canada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/?p=321","title":{"rendered":"National Organic Week in Canada!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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We at holistic health consulting, are over-the-moon to welcome this guest contribution, the author of this post, ‘National Organic Week in Canada’ is:\u00c2\u00a0<\/span> Dr. Catherine Trask!<\/span><\/h4>\n

This Saturday marks the start of National Organic Week in Canada (September 21-28).\u00c2\u00a0 There couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be a more appropriate time of year for a celebration of fresh food and produce; as Elizabeth has noted on social media there is an abundance of wonderful fresh foods available right now.\u00c2\u00a0 That is really something to get excited about!<\/p>\n

\"Gorgeous<\/a>

Gorgeous Gala Apples, grown in beautiful British Columbia’s interior.<\/p><\/div>\n

The organic week website<\/span><\/a> describes local events in many parts of Canada, and lots of these are famer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s market events that give an opportunity to meet the farmers and get fresh local food.\u00c2\u00a0 The measurable health benefits<\/span><\/a> of eating organic food are not clear\u00c2\u00a0 in scientific studies.\u00c2\u00a0 Since we all share the same soil, air, and water, pesticide contamination is often also found on organic crops, albeit in lower amounts<\/span><\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 So why would one buy organic?\u00c2\u00a0 One can consider not only pesticide exposure, but other aspects of food and environmental quality.\u00c2\u00a0 There are clearly differences in the characteristics of a garden-grown heritage tomato grown in your neighbourhood and a genetically-modified, hyper-resistant tomato that can endure thousands of kilometers of travel to make it to your plate. \u00c2\u00a0An older variety of tomato might not be as large or thick-skinned , but it might also have more vitamins (something that isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t captured if you test two identical crops and only spray one of them).\u00c2\u00a0 As a consumer, your choices can help limit the amount of pesticide and synthetic fertilizer released into the environment.\u00c2\u00a0 Historically organic producers were also smaller, family-run farms, so an organic purchase was more likely to be local and sustainable. \u00c2\u00a0With the entry of agri-corporations into the organic marketplace this is not always the case, so you might actually support your local farmer with non-organic foods that you buy from a farmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s market or on the farm.\u00c2\u00a0 I would encourage folks to appreciate foods that contribute broadly to community and environmental health: locally-produced, organic, or non-standard varietals (such as heirloom tomatoes or red fife wheat).<\/p>\n

\"These<\/a>

These beautiful Roma Tomatoes were grown on a small family farm in British Columbia.<\/p><\/div>\n

I spent many years shopping on a student\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s budget, and as with many other individuals and families it was just not financially viable to buy organic all the time. \u00c2\u00a0Taking inspiration from Elizabeth\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concept of holistic health, living under financial stress does not support optimal health.\u00c2\u00a0 Therefore, it might make sense for you to start small or to make limited changes that fit your budget.\u00c2\u00a0 If you are interested in introducing some organic food, you may consider starting with those foods listed on the Environmental Working Group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcDirty Dozen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/span><\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 On average, these foods typically have more residue.<\/p>\n

Organic foods, along with farmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s market or non-standard foods, almost always cost a bit more, but the way you incorporate them into your lifestyle and kitchen habits can help.\u00c2\u00a0 If you conceptualize these foods as \u00e2\u20ac\u02dctreasured treats\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 then you are unlikely to waste any of them of leave them to spoil.\u00c2\u00a0 Buying an organic chicken?\u00c2\u00a0 Use the bones for stock.\u00c2\u00a0 Buying beets from the farmer?\u00c2\u00a0 You can eat the tops too, just like chard or spinach.\u00c2\u00a0 Like everything else, these kitchen habits take a bit learning.\u00c2\u00a0 I have found the blog \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcMennonite girls can cook\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/span><\/a>\u00c2\u00a0to be a great inspiration on this front; they have lots of great recipes to use in-season produce, as well as great tips to eliminate waste and make use of everything. \u00c2\u00a0This blog in particular does a great job of presenting food as a pleasure and not a chore.\u00c2\u00a0 Posts this time of year emphasize storing and preparing for winter as a way to mark the seasons and acknowledge our history and our ancestors.\u00c2\u00a0 This doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t need to mean canning 80lbs of fruit, it can be as simple as freezing some blackberries and a litre of soup for a rainy Fall night to come.<\/p>\n

\"Many<\/a>

Many of the most delicious berries are far too delicate to transport, your best bet to taste these fragile little treasures, is to visit your local farmer’s market or family-run produce stand. The berries don’t survive long once they are picked, but they certainly can be frozen and enjoyed later.<\/p><\/div>\n

I hope you enjoy the season and the seasonal produce, and enjoy the organic week events in your community. \u00c2\u00a0However, please avoid feeling that non-organic foods are not nourishing, or that you cannot live healthfully without them.\u00c2\u00a0 Wash all your produce (including organic!) and look for opportunities to connect with the food that nourishes you: when you can, start with the raw\/unprocessed food, meet the farmers, and develop an awareness of the food production system.<\/p>\n

Bon app\u00c3\u00a9<\/b><\/em>tit!<\/p>\n

Post Author:<\/span> Dr. Catherine Trask<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We at holistic health consulting, are over-the-moon to welcome this guest contribution, the author of this post, ‘National Organic Week in Canada’ is:\u00c2\u00a0 Dr. Catherine Trask! This Saturday marks the start of National Organic Week in Canada (September 21-28).\u00c2\u00a0 There … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56,65,74],"tags":[83,62,85,86,8,90,89,14,82,80,81,84,79,87,88],"class_list":["post-321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-celebrations","category-education","category-resources","tag-dr-catherine-trask","tag-elizabeth-trask","tag-environment","tag-global-health","tag-health","tag-heirloom","tag-heritage-varieties","tag-holistic-health","tag-i-love-local","tag-local","tag-local-food","tag-nutrition","tag-organic","tag-pesticide-free","tag-slow-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.holistichealthconsulting.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}