Sourcing Spray-Free/Organic
Share
As you probably know by now, LifeDirt aims to provide our community with local, whole and healthy food. One of the ways we pursue the goal of "healthy" is to source a lot of our food from farms that don't use toxic pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and fertilizers.
One of our priorities is to source our food as often as possible from farms practicing regenerative agriculture. These farms use methods that not only reduce harm but actually have a net positive impact on the environment through things like carbon sequestering and improved soil health. One example is Nature’s Route Farm in Point du Bute, NB, where Kent and his team use crop rotation as a method of reducing weed growth. This not only keeps the weeds at bay, but enriches the soil for a healthier land and better food! Learn more about Nature’s Route here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VOGgGZj-iKA
We also love getting food that’s simply grown without the use of harmful chemicals. This is sometimes referred to as organic or spray-free farming. (Note: “synthetic” pesticides etc. may be used in organic farming, but they have to be approved by the Canadian Organic Standards body.)
Although our first focus is on getting you local food, when we have the option we opt for spray-free/organic. Not only does this promote healthier soils, water systems, animals and plants, but it prevents toxic residues from ending up on/in our food. Glyphosate is a popular and infamous ingredient found in some pesticides, and is known to be an endocrine disruptor, meaning it changes the functioning of the human endocrine system (our hormones). Not good.
When we eat fresh produce, we expect to be receiving GOOD things into our bodies. And we are! The Anticancer Lifestyle Program states that the benefits of consuming fresh produce outweigh the risks of pesticide exposure. However, with conventionally grown produce there are often pesticide residues that make it into/onto our food. Sadly enough, the word “conventional” here means not organic. It’s a word used in the industry that just shows you how normal the use of toxic synthetic pesticides, fertilizers and fungicides has become.
So, we can recommend the following practices:
- Peel your conventional fruit/veggies if it has a skin that allows you to do this (example: apples & pears, potatoes, mangoes, etc.)
- Wash all your produce before eating it (remember that even though your produce may be organic, it has still passed through many hands!)
- Wash your conventional produce using one of the following methods (recommended by the UK College of Naturopathic Medicine):
- Vinegar Solution
- Salt Solution
- Baking Soda Solution
When we send out our lists from LifeDirt, if we know a produce item is spray-free or organic, we will mention that in our box content lists. If we don’t know, we will just leave it blank. For examples, if you see “2 LB Potatoes (Local Organic),” then that product comes from a certified organic farm. If you see “1 Pepper, Red (Local Spray-Free),” then that item comes from a farm that does not use synthetic pesticides, etc., on their produce, but does not have organic certification. If you see “3 LB Apples (Local),” then that item comes from a farm that does not necessarily use spray-free or organic practices.
Our first priority when sourcing for our boxes is to find products from local Maritime farms. When we get both local and spray-free, then our hearts rejoice!
Check out some of our local organic/spray-free farms here:
Red Rop Ranch: https://www.instagram.com/redtop.ranch/
Ferme Terre Partagee: https://www.fermeterrepartagee.org/
Strawberry Hill Farm: https://www.strawberryhillfarm.ca/
Nature's Route Farm: https://www.naturesroutefarm.ca/en/#about
Schurman Family Farm: https://schurmanfamilyfarm.ca/
Sunden Farms: https://www.sundenfarms.com/
If you are interested in learning more about the effects of processed foods and pesticide residue on our health, I recommend checking out the books Ayurveda for Depression by Dr. L. Eduardo Cardona-Sanclemente and Eat Dirt by Dr. Josh Axe.
Until next time,
Miriam