Organic Living - Just a Fashionable Trend?

When I moved to the United States from Eastern Europe, I didn't bother buying organic food. My English was not the best in the first place, so "organic" was just one of many words, which I didn't know how to translate.

I wondered sometimes why American food didn't spoil and why a lot of it tasted like plastic, but didn't even think that it could be due to the use of chemicals. I didn't even know you could put chemicals in food. In Eastern Europe, where I grew up, everything was organic.

So I was happily eating plastic-tasting food, learning English and dealing with the culture shock. My stomach did bother me once in a while, but I just blamed change of climate, change of my lifestyle and stress.

I never really understood the cult of food, so I was always eating (in moderate amounts) just when I was hungry. Imagine how shocked I was when after 3 months in the United States I gained 21 lb. I don't know how and why I wasn't noticing these "changes" and it is still a miracle why my clothes were fitting me.

I sent some pictures to my family and friends overseas and one of my dearest (but the most untactful friend) friend sent me an e-mail in reply: "OMG. Are you pregnant??!"

Umm, no. I wasn't pregnant.

"What do you mean?" I emailed back.
"Well, you look like you are pregnant!!!"- was the reply.

This is when I decided to check my weight. I thought the stupid scale was broken. 21lb??? Whaaaat? How in the world??? I wasn't overeating, I wasn't pregnant....

I looked at myself in the mirror and suddenly realized how fat I was. There are some people who look good with extra weight. I wasn't one of them.

So I started doing research and found out about chemicals and preservatives in food. This is when the word "organic" first popped up...I became obsessed with organic living.

It took me some time and a lot of effort to go back to my pre-American weight. I made myself a promise to eat only chemical-free organic food, however when I saw the prices at the supermarket, I realized that unless I win a lottery, it woudn't be easy.

3 years, 2 children, and a few health problems later I found ways to buy organic on a budget and made it my priority.

I made a blog about organic living, about benefits of organic products and about health in general. I realized that there is nothing more important than health and that we often start appreciating it only if we loose it.

I feel that many people neglect the benefits of organic living, because:

1. Everyone else is eating non-organic and they are "just fine".

Well, this is not true. People are not "just fine". Americans are visiting doctors more often than ever before. Allergy rates, cancer rates, obesity keep increasing despite of millions of dollars spent on research and medication.

2.They think that organic food is boring and doesn't taste good.

Ha! Organic food tastes so much better. If you never tried organic apples, try them. You may never want to go back to the conventionally grown ones.

3. Organic is expensive.

Yes, it may be, but if you know where and how to shop, buying organic will actually save you money.

I do tons of research; I compare international and American sources before writing my posts. I am very skeptical, so it takes me awhile to start believing something.

I believe in organic living not only because of my research, but because of how much better I feel (and look, I think:-)) since we switched to organic.