Farmers Markets will open soon with fresh, local food. However, not all local farms are growing organic food. Unless a farmer’s stall indicates it grows organic food, it probably doesn’t. If none of the stalls at your farmers market indicate organic produce, don’t give up! Some small markets around town may have local and organic food. Or, some organic farmers will deliver food to your door. Use this guide from Eat Well or this one from Organic.org to find fresh, local, organic food around you.
When shopping at a national food store chain, organic produce grown hundreds of miles away can lose its optimum shelf life by the time it finally arrives at your store, and then at your table. Use this handy guide for more information on the shelf life of produce at the Still Tasty website. Try to buy produce that is in season for the local area. The Eat Well website can help you understand what produce is in season in your area.
Of course, the best and freshest food is the food you grow yourself. I have tried several times to grow my own food but our land is shaded so if I want to grow food I have to grow it in a pot and move it around every day so it gets enough sun. Last year I had some success with peppers and onions, but not a lot. One year I grew collards but my dog loves to eat them so that didn’t work either.
I choose organic food over local conventionally grown food because I eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. Systemic pesticides in use today are absorbed by the plant so that washing will not get rid of the pesticides because the poison is actually in the food, not merely sprayed on top of it. (We should still wash our food before we eat it because topical sprays are still in use.) Even though researchers will say that the amount of pesticides in some foods are negligible, if you eat a lot of produce every day, year after year, organic and chemical-free produce will keep you from storing high levels of carcinogenic poisons in your body. Young people are very susceptible to a build up of systemic chemicals and can develop allergies, asthma, and other chronic problems early in life. Since the 1990s when GMO food came on the market, these types of problems have skyrocketed.
I choose organic AND local food because I think that is best; I also choose God AND Jesus because I believe the Christian religion is best for me. Anyone who has seriously searched for God will end up finding scripture that explains that God is holy. Worshiping God is serious business and whenever we approach Him in prayer or worship, we must give an account for our wrong-doing. In the three religions that worship the God of Abraham, some type of payment must be made to Him to make up for our wrong-doing. A sacrifice is necessary. In the Christian religion, the death of Jesus Christ who was born filled with God’s spirit was given to us to make up for our wrong-doing. Christ was perfect and without sin. He was the unblemished lamb, the chosen sacrifice for all sinner. Whenever Christians approach God in prayer or worship, our Lord Jesus Christ is there to intercede for us. He is our sacrifice and payment for our sins. Christians are able to have a personal relationship with God only because we acknowledge Christ’s death as the payment for our sin.
For those Christians following the Roman Catholic calendar, this Friday is Good Friday and is a Holy Day for Christians. It marks the day that Christ died on the cross for our sins. Christ died at the hands of Roman justice using a judicial system that is the basis for the one we still use today. Out of man’s brutal justice, God’s heavenly mercy was born. God’s timing was perfect. Since Christ’s death, the door to God is wide open and anyone can claim Christ’s death as payment for his sin. Now is the time of God’s favor for this great gift unburdens us from the yoke of God’s laws and His wrath against sin. Accepting Christ’s death as payment for our sins frees us from God’s condemnation.
If anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.–1 John 2:2
God is Green 