It's no secret that there's a major shift happening with the environment. More and more people are becoming aware of the damage that has occurred. As a result global awareness, eco-friendly and all things green have never been more popular. As important as recycling, less driving and energy efficiency are, what's equally as important is food awareness.

Organic or non-organic? That question is heavily debatable. There are those who don't believe that pesticides are really that harmful. Then there are those who think organic is a sham all together. Many people rationalize that they can't afford it and this is true for a large majority of the population. However, if there was more of a demand for organic, prices would likely go down. Clearly it's a catch 22.

Local and seasonal food is a hard pill to swallow for a lot of people. After all, North American society encourages instant gratification and if one wants corn in June or a tomato in December, then one shall have them. Given that these items most likely came from Mexico, this creates major stress on the environment due to long distance transport. It's just easier to adopt the "if you don't see it, it doesn't exist" mentality, particularly when you rode your bicycle to the store. For the most part, spices and seasonings all come from other countries. Are we supposed to resort to the bland and flavorless?

So, what do we do when imported items are less expensive than local and the price of organic anything is probably half of your mortgage payment? Most people will rationalize that they are doing the best they can in other areas of going green. Food however, is not a high priority in our society. It never has been. It's not often that one sits down at the dinner table and questions where that steak came from, what it ate while alive and if it contains any chemicals. Sure organic is pricey and local products are inconvenient but when people are more concerned with turning off a light than what they are ingesting, the whole going green craze is, quite frankly, a little colorblind.

Madeline McGowan

For more on Madeline McGowan visit her blog at: www.madelinesadaptations.blogspot.com/

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