Understanding Organic Food Labeling

While there is no research proving that organic foods are a more nutritious choice, the number of customers requesting organically grown foods in grocery stores and local markets has increased dramatically in the past few years. All 50 states have USDA-certified organic farmland, totaling more than 4 million acres of range, pasture and cropland. Walmart jumped into organic food marketing this year, taking organic foods from the domain of earth friendly foodies and farmers to mainstream America. Early organically marketed foods were fresh fruits and vegetables, Today, many packaged foods are also carrying organic labels which may be confusing to consumers. There are four categories of product composition of organic claims. These standards have been established and are regulated by USDA. If a product is sold, labeled or represented as “100 percent organic”, it must contain 100% organically produced ingredients. Products sold, labeled or represented as “organic” must contain not less than 95% organically produced raw or processed agricultural products. Any remaining product ingredients must be organically produced, unless not commercially available in organic form, or must be nonagricultural substances or non-organically produced agricultural products produced consistent with the National List. Products sold, labeled or represented as “made with organic ingredients” must contain at least 70% organically produced ingredients. If a product has less than 70% organically produced ingredients by weight or fluid volume, it may only identify the organic content of the product by identifying each organically produced ingredient and the percentage of the ingredient. There are no requirements for organic food to be grown locally. There is no definition for what local means. Farmers growing organically do not use synthetic fertilizers or pesticides. In some studies, pesticide levels in organic produce have been shown to be lower than conventionally grown. However, pesticides residues in conventionally grown foods were well below federal standards and thus are considered safe based on scientific studies. As organic foods become more common in food markets and prices closer to conventionally grown products, more consumers will choose organic foods. Expiration dates may need to be observed more closely as organic foods will not contain the preservatives in conventional foods. Eating organic is an alternative option that will continue to expand and as we look to more sustainable lifestyles, organic foods may be a choice you decide to adopt.

Bringing Back Home Canning

Bringing Back Home Canning I have noticed this year that the number of people interested in home canning has been on the rise. I attribute it to the increasing cost of food and the concern for food safety. So if you are one of the many people out there who is dusting off Mom’s old canning jars to put up those tomatoes, here are a few tips and reminders for you. Canning jars last for years if you take care of them. However, with the hard water in our area they often look dingy. This is result of a hard-water scale that forms on them during the processing. This can be removed by soaking jars for several hours in a solution of 1 cup vinegar and 1 gallon of water. Inspect your jars to make sure they are free of cracks or nicks in the rims. Check that you have enough jars, lids and screw bands before you get started. The lids need to be new (no recycling here!) and the screw bands rust free. Jars can break in a canner for a number of reasons. Usually it happens when people try to can in commercial food jars (like mayonnaise jars) rather than a canning jar made of tempered glass. Other causes include putting the jars directly on the bottom of the canner without a rack, putting hot food in cold jars, putting jars of cold or raw food into boiling water rather than hot water, and using jars with hairline cracks. Another reminder is to remove the screw bands after the jars have cooled completely. Wash the screw bands and dry them completely before storing. They can be used over and over as long as they are not rusty. However, never reuse the flat lids as you will probably experience a much higher rate of seal failure. Leaving the screw bands on during storage will result in the bands rusting onto the jar. It may also hide an unsealed lid. If your jars have sealed properly, they will not need that screw band to keep the lid in place. Make sure you are following up-to-date canning recommendations. If you would like the latest information, go to http://foodsafety.psu.edu/lets_preserve.html for the latest processing times and recipes.

The Best Money I Ever Spent

We all do dumb things with money. In his book, Personal Finance for Dummies, Eric Tyson writes about a fellow who went into a convenience store, laid a $20 bill on the counter and asked the clerk for change. When she opened the register, he told her it was a stick-up and demanded all the money in the register which she then handed over to him. It was $10. The thief then grabbed the $10 and ran out the store leaving the $20 bill behind on the counter. Hopefully we’ve also done some pretty smart things with our money. At a conference I attended a few years ago, the speaker challenged us to think about how we have used our money. She gave us an index card and asked us to make two lists. On the left, we were to write three or more of our best uses of money and on the right three of the worst uses. She then collected the cards, shuffled them, handed one back to each person in the audience, and asked us to tell her what was on the card we received. When thinking about some of my worst uses, I had no problem. There were several things I could put on the list. Among them, one of the first cars I bought, some expensive pots and pans I didn’t really need, and clothing I ended up not wearing. But when it came to the best uses, I could think of several possibilities, but nothing in particular stood out as “best.” Because the time we were allotted to make our list was running out, I wrote the first thing that was on my mind. It was an item I bought as a teenager for my grandmother. I was on a trip with my family and we stopped at Wall Drug Store in Wall South Dakota. Wall Drug Store sold every conceivable type of souvenir. Looking over it all, I spotted something I thought my grandmother might like. It was a small white plastic urn with some plastic violets in it and was 39 cents. When I returned home and gave it to her, she graciously showed her appreciation of the gift and of my thinking of her. It was also when I learned she was dying of cancer. She died two months later. It was a small gift but the last one. It didn’t cost me much, but it was the best money I’ve ever spent. This is an activity I’ve used several times since then with a variety of different audiences. The results have been interesting. In the best column, frequently listed items include a house or mortgage, a car, education (for self or for children), savings, investments, and health insurance. Some other items include helping a family member or friend, a vacuum cleaner, car maintenance, a loan to a family member, son’s orthodontist, and the divorce. What are some of the things that have tended to be listed on the worst side? One of the most frequent is the car or truck, just as it was often on the best use side. Others include clothing never worn, going out to eat, fast food, snacks, credit cards, cosmetics, partying, the time share, expensive toys for the baby, dental work, iced coffee at the convenience store, gifts for others, the boat, gambling, cigarettes, and the phone bill. I often wonder what the story is behind some of these items listed, but because the responses are anonymous, I can’t ask about them. If we try to look for a common theme or connection among these responses, one is that on the list of the best uses of money, most were thoughtful decision or spent on things that would last. Another is that it was spent on needs rather than on wants. Among the worst uses of money, many tend to be impulse purchases. If fact, many people simply listed “impulse buying.” Another thread is the small expenditure that was repetitive but added up to a large expense over time, such as the iced coffee or snack. They probably didn’t realize how much they were actually spending on these items until some emergency came along and they had to look for some way to save. Some things listed were simply mistakes such as the car that was a lemon, the bad repair job on the car, or the dental work that may not have been done satisfactorily. Another group, things that could be considered as status symbols, reminds me of a quote by Will Smith who said that “we spend too much money we don’t have to buy things we don’t really want to impress people we don’t even like.” If you were to list your best and worst uses of money, what would your list look like?