Eco Versus Frugal: How Do You Decide?
Posted by cami on 01 Jun 2007 at 07:58 pm | Tagged as: Eco Vs. Frugal
When it comes to buying things, I have two sides: there’s my eco or environmentally friendly side that wants to buy low impact products that are good for me, produced in a sustainable environment, and so forth. And then there’s my frugal side which likes to save money, and wants to make sure that if I’m paying more for something, that I’m really getting a higher quality product versus a more expensive label.
So how do you decide and what types of information do you base your decision on? I’ve found that in the environmental round at least there is a lot of contention about what’s good and what’s bad.
Here’s an example: produce. Some people say, only eat organic produce. Other’s say there’s no difference. Some say, it’s not about whether or not it’s organic, but it’s more about produce miles. Well there aren’t any bananas produced in the US, at least not from what I’ve seen; does that mean that I shouldn’t eat them? And what about fair trade, where does that fit into all this? Just because something is organic, does that mean it’s produced in a sustainable environment? What about locally grown, should that trump organic?
Another example: lotion. Is it really worth $1/oz. to buy the completely organic lotion? And what about the packaging; what types of environmental impacts were caused by the manufacturing of those plastic bottles? Yes, they are recyclable but if there aren’t any recycling facilities around me, does that really help at all? Then there’s the parabens. If they occur naturally and aren’t harmful, why do people think that they are harmful when produced synthetically? How conclusive is the scientific evidence? And furthermore, is this super expensive lotion even any good? What if it doesn’t work as well as the store band stuff?
If order to see where I fall, I’m going to start examining some of the common purchases I make, namely food and toiletries, as I try to determine which is best and if there’s any way to come up with a workable compromise. If you have an eco versus frugal item, I’d love to hear about it.
[…] cami on 09 Jun 2007 at 09:42 pm | Tagged as: Eco Vs. Frugal This is the first installment of the eco versus frugal comparisons, where I’m going to examine some of the items that I buy and see if my purchases […]
One of the arguments in favor of consuming organic foods is that you avoid consumption of pesticides, which are theoretically harmful to your body. I susbcribe to this theory, although Monsanto would likely disagree. I fully believe it is worth it to pay more for produce in order to have lower levels of pesticides in my body. Certain fruits and veggies are at more risk than others–somewhere online if you search I’m sure you can find the list, but things like strawberries and lettuce are best bought organic because, as you might guess, you’re eating the sprayed surface area, even if you wash it well. Bananas and oranges are less of a concern, since you’re probably not eating the peel.
Locally gown without pesticides is the best, even if not officially certified organic. Most nutritious, freshest, and best tasting. Doesn’t have to be expensive, either–I pay about $11 a week for tons of organic produce since I split my CSA share with a friend. It’s a hunk of money to spend up front, then I have plenty of veggies from May thru November. You can also be frugal and healthy at local farmers’ markets–buy seconds or bulk quantities. At my market, I can get a giant bucket of slightly scarred zucchini or eggplant for $5, then make eggplant or zucchini parmesan, enough to freeze for many many weeks. Buy plum tomatoes bulk, make a basic sauce, freeze it (well-packaaged to avoid freezwerburn) and then you can defrost and use as needed instead of paying $4 a jar for sauce that’s full of chemicals and preservatives. Add onion and bacon for amatriciana. Add capers, olivers, and red pepper flakes for puttanesca. Add chicken and mozzerella and bake it for chicken parm, and on and on. Pasta’s cheap, and a great sauce can help you stretch your budget far while eating healthy/naturally.
Excuse the typos–it’s late…
I started buying more and more fruit and veggies organically in the last year, a good friend told me about the strawberry/pesticide thing and it really freaked me out. Our local farmer’s market actually started having produce a couple of weeks ago and it’s great. I got pesticide-free radishes for $0.25/cents a bunch and mixed greens for a $1.00 (about 5 servings or so for one person). I grew some squash last year and I had so much from one plant that I had to give some of it away. I like your suggestion about the parmesan. What do you use to freeze things; it seems like I always end up with freezer burn.
(Don’t worry about the typos.)
I got a Tilia FoodSaver (one of those things which sucks all the air out of packaging/canisters) at Sam’s club on sale and I use it to package most food. The plastic rolls can be expensive so I use canisters or just reuse the bags a good bit (not good if you are doing meat, but other things are ok). Or, wrap items in plastic then tinfoil to prevent freezer burn.
I will freeze things in tupperware or pyrex containers too….it all depends what I’ve got, but the best for preventing freezer burn in the foodsaver, in my opinion.
[…] by cami on 22 Jun 2007 at 09:58 pm | Tagged as: Eco Vs. Frugal This is the second installment of eco versus frugal. Last time I looked at body soap (hopefully a common hygiene item), this time I will look at black […]