Okay, so after many, many conversations and articles and debates, and then after reading this in today’s Chronicle, I finally have to ponder out loud.

Being a parent means – among other things – having to live to a higher standard. In particular, there is an acute awareness to live to a higher health standard. It starts when you are pregnant. All of a sudden you shun the otherwise unhealthy things for the sake of your precious unborn child. Wine? No way. Tuna? No way. Caffeine? Um, sometimes – BUT JUST SOMETIMES! Better diet, more protein, less fat. It is inevitable that you begin to wonder how is it that you are not worth all these healthy and wise decisions, yet your child is. This continues on even after they are born. You don’t skip making dinner just because you are tired. You make something, and you even put out the effort to make something that includes at least 2 of the food groups. Then there is the question of teaching them to care about what they eat. As foodies, it is hard to avoid the question about the (other) Big O. Yes, Organic. And therein lies my current conundrum: What is organic? How much does it matter? Is it simply that there is just a bigger message that needs to be taught?

There is the obvious: Just because something is organic, doesn’t mean it is healthy (organic sugar – yeah, still sugar…sorry about that). Then, there is the more subtle: Just because something is organic doesn’t mean we are forgiven for all of our otherworldly food sins. Organic has become a negotiable term. The bigger issue, instead, lies in our ability to think, learn, understand, and not just believe.

Steve and I have been working through this process ourselves, and are lucky enough to live in an area with an abundance of locally owned food purveyors. Food purveyors that focus not just on slapping an “organic” label on everything, but in supporting the spirit in which the word “organic” was derived: local, seasonal and healthful, with an eye towards humane practices and environmental impacts. We have a newly remodeled, and GIGANTIC Co-Op that opened here in Eureka just a couple of weeks ago, another natural foods store that is in the process of relocating to a new (and larger) building, as well as two more in Arcata. We have an amazing Farmer’s Market that runs Memorial Day to Thanksgiving, 5 days a week throughout the region. Ever conscious of quality and price, it is not uncommon for us to shop at 2 or 3 stores for our weekly groceries.

Price. This, truly, becomes the point at which the hard decisions have to be made. We have set an unofficial hierarchy when it comes to buying organic. Milk & eggs – always. Meat – as much as possible. Everything else – on a case-by-case basis. As you can see, there is quite a bit of wiggle room in our un-erring set of standards. We have spent a fair bit of effort (and money) trying to figure out the best way to feed ourselves well, with high quality, healthful food while also ingraining these ideals into our lifestyle. One thing we have realized is that it will be what we do – far more than what we say – that will have a lasting impact on how our children relate to food. And it is plain ridiculous to undervalue the importance of how kids relate with food. Read the news. Look around. Go ahead, try explaining to a three year old why there exist foods that have ZERO nutritional value, foods placed on the second shelf from the floor – taunting them with their fun colors and recognizable characters.

Yes, we let Stella eat M&M’s™, however the idea that someone would actually eat an entire bag of them is completely lost on her (eating 2 of them is still a magical experience for her). We talk about food that is considered a treat and what that means. Even juice provides a certain amount of tingly excitement. This, because she could consume an entire gallon of Raspberry Lemondade in a single sitting.

Steve and I have divided evenly on the fast food debate. Although once a great conniseur of everything South of the Border (burger joints always held a distant second), I have found myself not only disinterested, but also just plain disgusted by the standard fast food fare. The argument usually goes that Steve defends the “comfort” quality of a drippy, gooey burger, whereas I argue that if I am going to consume all those sinful calories it is at least going to be a good quality burger – one that actually tastes good. I am then going to pair that with big, homemade onion rings and not gross little french fries that leave that creepy grease feeling on the roof of your mouth. This is a debate wherein we will probably forever agree to disagree (but I am right).

Without sounding too cliché, I guess the answer is that there are no answers. The best thing we can do is keep paying attention, and focus on the logical.

To (good, healthy, local, organic, seasonal) food! We eat it, we feed it to our kids, we share it with our friends and because of that, it’s well worth the effort.