The modern mother can buy any variety of organic packaged food for her children: organic toaster pastries, organic freezer waffles, organic cheese puffs, organic chocolate graham bears. The list goes on. The organic label might make a mother feel better about feeding her children fruit snacks instead of fruit, but of course she is fooling herself. If the first ingredient is “organic cane sugar” or “organic evaporated cane juice,” chances are it is, well, mostly sugar. If it looks like a Rice Crispy treat, and tastes like a Rice Crispy treat, well… you get the point. We’re not saying “don’t buy organic,” since buying organic supports organic agriculture and leads to lower pesticide use, among other things. But let's be honest with ourselves: processed food is still processed food and organic soy lecithin is not any healthier for our children than regular soy lecithin. There are times when the convenience of a packaged snack can't be denied, but the well mannered mother knows that just because her cellophane-wrapped treat is USDA certified organic doesn't mean its superior.
5 comments:
Spending more than the GDP of a small country at Whole Foods every week doesn't make a modern mother superior either!
Very funny! I needed to read this, as a new mom with a babe under 1, it is hard not to go overboard!
But for reals...what is soy lecithin? This thing is showing up all over the place!
Whole Paycheck?
I like the organic worms in my organic apples!
It's bad manners to judge! Anyway you can shop Whole Foods without spending so much. You just have to compare prices, shop the sales, buy local and choose the house brand-- just like anywhere else.
Agreed, Amy. I shop at Whole foods all the time, and if you're buying organic (which I do) your dollar will go a lot farther buying actual fruits rather than fruit-based packaged snacks. Maybe I should have just said that....
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