Ever since I became pregnant with baby M, I've become extra conscious of the food we buy. Understandably, I didn't want to be consuming any pesticide residues, hormones or medication during her fetal development!
Now that M is learning to eat herself (the time has just flown by, by the way) my obsession with finding high quality food continues. For a while, we were a part of a food co-op that provided access to great local organic produce, and I felt like I could trust the source of the food. Sometimes we had the opportunity to meet the farmers, which was a great way of connecting with the food. Unfortunately, in a very sad chain of events, the co-op has gone belly-up, leaving both buyers and suppliers out of pocket. (For more information about the co-op, pleas read The Tyee article and blog.)
I try to buy organic whenever possible because I believe in sustainable farming and, as mentioned, I don't want to consume any harmful substances. The food also often tastes better, which is a bonus! But sometimes the selection just isn't there, and sometimes I just can't afford it. So sometimes I have to go with an acceptable alternative, like buying local un-organic produce. When it comes to poultry, sometimes we buy specialty chicken. But what is specialty chicken anyway? After blindly buying it on a number of occasions because it appeared to be one up on regular chicken, I wanted to find out the details.
Specialty chicken is basically chicken grown without antibiotics. Unlike organic chicken, which is raised according to strict Certified Organic of British Columbia Guidelines, specialty chicken only has the one criterion that distinguishes it from regular chicken. However, the difference is noteworthy. In Canada, unlike in Europe, chicken farmers can give their healthy birds unregulated amounts of antibiotics, which seems pretty crazy to me!
A recent CBC Marketplace story revealed that 'regular' supermarket chicken is often covered in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. And, according to an earlier CBC story, about a quarter million Canadians suffer from an infection each year, which means that this resistance can have a big impact on our population. We definitely don't want to go back to the days where people die from a simple cut or scrape. If you have the choice then specialty chicken is probably a good choice.
If you're worried about hormones, there's some good news that was news to me: the use of growth hormones in chicken farming has been illegal in Canada since the 60s (Chicken Farmers of Canada). Another thing I didn't know is that chickens raised for meat are not caged but instead are raised in large sheds, with free access to feed and water. Unfortunately, unless your chicken is labeled as free-range, it did not have any access to an outside space.
I will continue to buy organic chicken whenever I can, but will definitely chose specialty over regular chicken if that's the choice. As well, I will try to support local farmers and smaller farms whenever I can. Maple Hill Farms out of Abbotsford raises free-range specialty and organic chickens, which I've seen for sale at both the butcher shop and local supermarkets.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Consignment Store Finds
It's been a little while since I've posted here, and I don't have much of an excuse except that I was sidetracked by another project. But let's forget the break ever happened and we'll just jump right into this next topic...
I wanted to talk about consignment stores today. I think whether you're buying for your baby or yourself, consignment makes sense because it is basically recycled clothing, and we already know that recycled = good. I think the whole concept clicked for me after I had M and after she outgrew all the baby shower outfits, which was much sooner than I expected! (I thought we were going to have a small baby, but M is consistently in the 70th percentile for both weight and height.) Even with generous donations of hand me downs from her cousin, we still ended up with a baby clothing deficit and soon found that baby clothing is relatively expensive. This is especially true considering M will only wear any article of clothing for a very short period of time... and even when it fits, it sits in the laundry most of the time!
The Vancouver neighbourhood that we live in (Mount Pleasant) is actually a hub of high quality consignment stores. There are at least three within a short walk that specialize in kids' attire (Wee Ones Reruns, Tiggy Winkles, Kiddo), and too many to count that deal in adults'.
The great thing about gently used clothing is that you know it was built to last! Some of the things I buy new shrink or fade or even shred in the first wash... that is always so disappointing. I am definitely the type of person who has basics that last me years and years, so when I buy a T-Shirt where the seam comes undone on the first wash I get super angry! (But not angry enough to actually return the T-Shirt... that would disagree with my passive aggressive nature.)
Used baby clothing is often hardly used at all. Sometimes, the original tags are still attached, and even when you know that the piece has been worn a few times, it's usually in really good condition or it wouldn't make it on the rack. Quality consignment stores will weed out the soiled or damaged pieces so all you have to worry about is whether it will fit your (chubby, in our case) baby.
There are also a few thrift stores in our neighbourhood, and the difference between thrift and consignment stores is that the former is a charity shop. That means that items for sale are usually donated to the shop, and the sale proceeds are funneled towards the charity. In terms of karma, thrift stores are one up on consignment, however, I find the quality of items in thrift stores is sometimes inferior to those found in shops where the sale revenue is split between the consignee and the store.
Wherever you buy your used clothing, though, I think it's a positive act... It saves money and keeps perfectly wearable items out of the landfill. And we should definitely focus our energies on keeping things in circulation for as long as possible!
I wanted to talk about consignment stores today. I think whether you're buying for your baby or yourself, consignment makes sense because it is basically recycled clothing, and we already know that recycled = good. I think the whole concept clicked for me after I had M and after she outgrew all the baby shower outfits, which was much sooner than I expected! (I thought we were going to have a small baby, but M is consistently in the 70th percentile for both weight and height.) Even with generous donations of hand me downs from her cousin, we still ended up with a baby clothing deficit and soon found that baby clothing is relatively expensive. This is especially true considering M will only wear any article of clothing for a very short period of time... and even when it fits, it sits in the laundry most of the time!
The Vancouver neighbourhood that we live in (Mount Pleasant) is actually a hub of high quality consignment stores. There are at least three within a short walk that specialize in kids' attire (Wee Ones Reruns, Tiggy Winkles, Kiddo), and too many to count that deal in adults'.
The great thing about gently used clothing is that you know it was built to last! Some of the things I buy new shrink or fade or even shred in the first wash... that is always so disappointing. I am definitely the type of person who has basics that last me years and years, so when I buy a T-Shirt where the seam comes undone on the first wash I get super angry! (But not angry enough to actually return the T-Shirt... that would disagree with my passive aggressive nature.)
Used baby clothing is often hardly used at all. Sometimes, the original tags are still attached, and even when you know that the piece has been worn a few times, it's usually in really good condition or it wouldn't make it on the rack. Quality consignment stores will weed out the soiled or damaged pieces so all you have to worry about is whether it will fit your (chubby, in our case) baby.
There are also a few thrift stores in our neighbourhood, and the difference between thrift and consignment stores is that the former is a charity shop. That means that items for sale are usually donated to the shop, and the sale proceeds are funneled towards the charity. In terms of karma, thrift stores are one up on consignment, however, I find the quality of items in thrift stores is sometimes inferior to those found in shops where the sale revenue is split between the consignee and the store.
Wherever you buy your used clothing, though, I think it's a positive act... It saves money and keeps perfectly wearable items out of the landfill. And we should definitely focus our energies on keeping things in circulation for as long as possible!
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