I am very critical of large businesses like Whole Foods and Trader Joes. They are chains. They de-emphasize local produce in favor of what will sell better. Trader Joes, in particular, buys stupid exotic products like Persimmons and lychees that are purchased for their novelty. Or not purchased, in which case they are thrown out.

Another aspect of sustainability for me is waste. Our society is consuming way too much. Technology has made it possible for us to consume beyond our means, (that is to say, technology has facilitatied consuming summer produce all year long, and has made it possible to find items that only grow in tropical climates in your local gourmet/"health food" store.) And we have become convinced that this is the way it needs to be. Take tomatoes and parsley, for example, two product mentioned in previous posts. These are both products that one can easily grow their damn selves. And if you "don't have time" or you live in an area that does NOT allow you to grow these products, perhaps you should be assessing whether you actually need them. There was a time when people subsisted on local, seasonal produce. In many communities, people still do.

Trader Joes in particular is ridiculously wasteful. They overpackage everything- they are more wasteful than most supermarkets in that regard, because they are appealing to a particular clientel that likes things to look a certain way. We have become very detached from our food. We seperate ourselves from it with layers of plastic and cardboard. And at least in supermarkets, cans don't get thrown away for having a dent in them. They get discounted. In small food stores and true co-ops, food that isn't looking as fresh as it did a week ago gets marked down or given away. But at Trader Joe's, whole bags of oranges get thrown in the dumpster because one of the oranges in the bag isn't as pretty.

Trader Joes throws away enough food to feed whole houses. This is what my house retrieved for ourselves and our friends the last time we went "shopping" in that big metal box behind a Trader Joe's in Framingham, MA: 4 crates of bananas, 2 crates of apples, 6 pineapples, 12 containers of raspberries, 12 containers of blackberries, 3 bags of romaine lettuce hearts, 8 "individual serving" bags of mixed salad greens, 1 can of tomatoes, 10 whole tomatoes, 3 bags of "cocktail" tomatoes, 2 containers of cherry tomatoes, 4 avocados, 3 limes, a container of jalapenos (yeah, we made guacamole!)10 bags of Marcona almonds, 4 bags of yellow potatoes, 1 bag of russet potatoes, 12 Persimmons, 2 bags of tangerines, 6 onions, 6 bulbs of garlic 4 summer squash, 4 zuchini, 1 acorn squash, 4 containers of garlic hummus, 4 of chipotle pepper hummus, 2 blocks of tofu, and for our non-vegan associates: 2 boxes of crackers, 2 fruit tarts, 4 large containers of plain yogurt (that had been dented but not broken), 6 smaller berry-flavored yogurts (the cardboard packaging holding the little containers together had ripped) 10 eggs (out of a container that had 2 broken eggs in it), a container of feta, two blocks of cheddar cheese...
there was more. We barely went through that dumpster. And sure, it's "gross" to wade through trash sometimes. It's a dumpster. Things break. Shoes get dirty. And you're probably going to ask me about sanitation now. It's a typical response. And it may be a risk. But I have never, in my years of subsisting primarily off of what others throw away, been struck by food poisoning or any illness that could possibly be attributed to my diet. Most of the stuff that gets tossed hasn't even passed it's sell-by date yet, and as you (should) well know, you can still safely eat things well after that date. Most foods offer sensory clues as to whether they are bad or not. (They smell bad, or grow mold.) Plus, if you are a vegan, your chances of salmonella and e-coli contamination are significantly reduced.

Sustainability is an ethic that needs to pervade from production to consumption and back again.

Buy organic produce from the farmers themselves or from a small, co-operatively owned and operated business that supports local farmers, grow it yourself, use what others get rid of, and redefine what you really need is my message when it comes to food security and sustainability.

P.S. I, like all the rest of us, am a hypocrite, since I'm using a computer to respond to a blog post about sustainability. Oops.

My problem is that a good supply of organic produce is many many miles away and I don't have time to drive that far so I end up buying whatever commercial produce is available. I do belong to an organic co-op and have been getting an order from it monthly. However, that leaves most of the month left when I've run out. It's a settled fact that organic is more nutritious so, from that standpoint, I'll buy it wherever it's from. IF I can afford it. However, coming right down to the real nitty gritty, I have to eat a lot of commercially grown food. I keep my Veggie Wash handy and get all the pesticides I can off of whatever I'm eating but that doesn't increase the food value. I've heard it said, though, that eating non-organic raw is better than eating organic cooked. :)

I'm an organic farmer in Ohio (not certified yet). My thought on this is that the use of chemical pesticides is not sustainable - period. On the other hand, trucking organic produce across the country isn't either.

I guess for me, the question isn't one or the other. Organic is a necessary part of the sustainability equation.

Perhaps in the NYC scenario mentioned, a group of consumers could get together with a farmer and offer to support him if he transtions to Organic in a CSA or something similiar. The best of both worlds...

Joe Greene
realfoodfreedom.com

Whole Foods is definitely the next best alternative to the farmer's markets. Living in New York, I usually shop at Whole Foods when the farmer's market is closed.

I think people concerned with sustainability can probably trust their instincts on what to buy. The problem I run into at Whole Foods, though, has to do with price. Do I choose organic parsley at double the price of regular when both look healthy and gorgeous? Sure, in the case of parsley we're talking about 70 cents difference, but every little bit adds up. It's very common to leave Whole Foods with two bags and have spent $50.