The first raw interview to be posted for our group is an interview between Jessica and her mother. Her mother was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1993, and decided to stay on an organic-only diet. She strongly believes that it was a mix of her new eating habbits and a positive mindset that helped her heal and recover from cancer.
The switch from non-organic to organic was not an easy one when she started. In 1993, organic foods were not as easy to come by, and few stores carried these products. It was an extremely long drive from her home to the store where Jessica's mother could find organic foods - I believe she mentioned living in Atco and the organic food store was in Vineland. She did mention the possibility of getting some organic foods from typical food stores, but the issue with that was the freshness. They were not bought regularly and would often be sitting out in the crates in the stores for days, and the fruits and vegetables would start to go bad. Because there was a relativey low demand for them and because of the farming practices used to grow organic crops, the prices for the organic foods she needed were extremely high. She resorted to buying in bulk - apparently the prices of certain items were reduced if they were bought in bulk - in order to save money and gas. She mentioned that she would frequently buy chicken in bulk because it could be frozen, and honey because it never goes bad. I am very interested to find out if buying in bulk is still a cost effective way to manage an organic diet. I'm sure it is possible, but I would like to know how it compares to a grocery list of non-organic foods.
Jessica's mother did mention that there is an "extreme difference in taste" between inorganic and organic foods. She stated that organic produce is much sweeter than non-organic produce. She tried to juice regular non-organic carrots, and thought that it tasted horrible.
Another interesting point that Jessica's mother brought up that I had never heard before in the argument for organic foods is that the processing techniques for non-organic foods can in fact take out some of the nutritional value. When the foods are heated, they lose many of their vitamins and minerals, and should go through cold processing instead of hot processing. This is definitely something that I am interested in looking into.
Jessica's mother gave a great viewpoint for organic foods. She has slowly switched back to non-organic foods since her recovery, but most of that has to do with remaining cost-effective. There's plenty to think about! :)
The switch from non-organic to organic was not an easy one when she started. In 1993, organic foods were not as easy to come by, and few stores carried these products. It was an extremely long drive from her home to the store where Jessica's mother could find organic foods - I believe she mentioned living in Atco and the organic food store was in Vineland. She did mention the possibility of getting some organic foods from typical food stores, but the issue with that was the freshness. They were not bought regularly and would often be sitting out in the crates in the stores for days, and the fruits and vegetables would start to go bad. Because there was a relativey low demand for them and because of the farming practices used to grow organic crops, the prices for the organic foods she needed were extremely high. She resorted to buying in bulk - apparently the prices of certain items were reduced if they were bought in bulk - in order to save money and gas. She mentioned that she would frequently buy chicken in bulk because it could be frozen, and honey because it never goes bad. I am very interested to find out if buying in bulk is still a cost effective way to manage an organic diet. I'm sure it is possible, but I would like to know how it compares to a grocery list of non-organic foods.
Jessica's mother did mention that there is an "extreme difference in taste" between inorganic and organic foods. She stated that organic produce is much sweeter than non-organic produce. She tried to juice regular non-organic carrots, and thought that it tasted horrible.
Another interesting point that Jessica's mother brought up that I had never heard before in the argument for organic foods is that the processing techniques for non-organic foods can in fact take out some of the nutritional value. When the foods are heated, they lose many of their vitamins and minerals, and should go through cold processing instead of hot processing. This is definitely something that I am interested in looking into.
Jessica's mother gave a great viewpoint for organic foods. She has slowly switched back to non-organic foods since her recovery, but most of that has to do with remaining cost-effective. There's plenty to think about! :)