With the farm to table movement already growing and more people generally interested in knowing what is in their food, many people are choosing to go the organic route.
Organic
foods are free of chemicals, pesticides and other toxins and are also high in
nutrients. If you are one of the people who choose to go organic you have to be aware of how the food is grown and by extension, exactly what you are putting in body.
Nyakallo Lephoto, a Qwa-Qwa, Free State based entrepreneur who has a great interest in leading a healthy lifestyle, says it is encouraging that an increasing number of people are now choosing to consume organic
food. "It is nutritious, free of any cancer-causing
pesticides and, fertilisers therefore giving us proper good
health and all the benefits of long life that comes with it."
As more people go organic, they soon realise how expensive it is and some become discouraged, which then begs one to question if it is posisble to go organic on a budget.
Reacting to the above question, Lephoto said organic food is
expensive because businesses have figured out a way to raise prices and create
hype around the brand of organic food. "This is hype that really should not exist and
high prices that really should not be charged. But capitalists are prying on
people’s gullibility."
In this April 2, 2018, photo, organic tomatoes grow on vines planted in soil in a greenhouse at Long Wind Farm in Thetford, Vt. Owner Dave Chapman is a leader of a farmer-driven effort to create an additional organic label that would exclude hydroponic farming and concentrated animal feeding operations. (AP Photo/Lisa Rathke) He added by saying there is, unfortunately, a cost to
growing food organically since one as to acquire the land, infrastructure and
knowledge to do it. But one can start small and work over time to build over
that foundation.
He said if you really need the best organic foods and to save
up a little, you have to know what to look for, what to do and not what to do.
Below are Lephoto’s do’s and don’ts of going organic.
Make use of
the little you have
: It should not be costly to go organic, most of the stuff
you need is found at dumpsites. Go there and see what discarded items can you
up-cycle.
Learn weather
patterns and how that affects growing foods:
Learn which vegetables grow well
in summer and which ones grow in winter. Click here to see Lephoto's suggestions on when it's best to plant fruits and vegetables)
Don’t cut
corners
. Nature takes its time. Obey its rules and practice patience.
Never be
tempted to reap the rewards immediately.
Allow yourself to make mistakes and
learn from them. Eventually you will get it right.