It's Not That Easy Bein' Green.

Kermit was way ahead of his time.

By now, everyone's heard of the whole "green" thing. I think there are two movements though: the fresh/local/organic one and the save the Earth one.


I have issues with joining causes and need to come to them on my own terms (as I've mentioned here before). Recently, I've become a fan of the fresh/local/organic one.

It all started when I was given a few baby food cookbooks. I thought, "if I have the option of giving my daughter safer foods vs less safe foods for a few bucks more, why wouldn't I?" And so, when I have been able to, I have.

It's a slippery slope into paranoia, though. Once you start thinking of foods as "toxic" and "non-toxic" it's easy to be convinced that you're feeding your child colored pesticide on a rubber-coated spoon. Obviously, this is not the case. At least I think it's not.


I'm not that great at grey areas when it comes to feeding children poison, so I've sworn off watching things like Food, Inc. and Super Size Me because I know my head might implode.


So, I've decided the emotionally healthier way for me to go about this is to research organic food co-ops in my area. (This is easier than it sounds given that I live in Amish country.) And, I've vowed to choose organic for my family whenever it's an option, but will not freak out when it's not.

I've also found out that there are certain foods that absorb pesticides more than others, so when it comes to those, I suppose I'll need to be even more vigilant.

Ugh, I just used the word vigilant. Good thing there's a fresh local organic-only restaurant nearby. Now if only Outback would do the same.

And cloth diapering? It has some appeal-- or it did, anyway-- right up until I was told that latex gloves are involved. I don't know if I'm THAT green. Wouldn't the purchase and disposal of the gloves outweigh the benefit anyhow though?

So, see? I'm not doing so bad with my Seventh Generation chlorine-free diapers afterall.