I don’t even know where to start, I think I’m going to address them generally with the things that hit me as I was reading them…

(1) thanks for all your tips I’m not in the doghouse! Just wanted to see if you guys have any creative ideas for me!

(2) Organics, yes, “just” organic is not always the best. Local is better, grow your own is best (as long as you’ve tested the soil or don’t live next to an old autoshop.)

(3) Buying organic is priority. Education is also extremely important. I would not be able to bring you this information at no cost, if it weren’t for the tens of thousands of dollars I’ve spent on education on health and marketing.

(4) There is a lot of misinformation and anecdotal information everywhere. Be savvy. Sometimes people make false claims and other times they’re dead on. We can’t look at a whole body of work and dismiss it completely because of an error, or on the other side, we can’t trust it fully without and question.

(5) I ate way too much chocolate tonight and looks like I’ll be up for another 2 hours or so! Chocolate is definitely best in SMALL doses. It is a stimulant.

Kev

The article you read, above, was written by Daniel J. Towsey and can be found on the internet. It wasn’t written by me. His name is at the top under the title. I’m not clear as to which natural health products he is referring to in his article…however, if Bill C51 is passed, we won’t be able to buy a simple multivitamin here in Canada without a perscription. It’s a pretty serious situation and for the first time in my life, I feel like our freedom and our health are in serious jeopardy in this country.

“EU civilians are now, unable to get natural health products that have been around for thousands of years.”

I would like to know which products those supposedly are. I live in the UK and can buy any herb I want, any homeopathic thing I want (if I wanted to; I don’t do homeopathy, but I’ve seen it in the shops all over the place,) any essential oil I want, any vitamin I want, any mineral I want, etc.

What I would like to contribute, on a more positive note, is that low-income people might benefit from knowing which foods are less likely to be contaminated with pesticides. Bananas, for example, are not only cheap but are also not likely to have pesticide contamination even when conventionally grown. I do buy organic apples, as they’re often within my price range, and the fruit market down the street usually sells me 1kg for £1.

And you’re right; it is often a matter of priority: but my priority right now is to invest in my education so that I will be able to have the kind of future that I will enjoy and be proud of the most. At this point in my life, my priority is my university education, and if that means making sacrifices, it means making sacrifices. If it means that any extra money I have goes to textbooks and the like instead of organic food, so be it. I suppose I could also start robbing the bin behind the health food store, but they’ve CCTV and I’d like to keep my job there.

I spend my money on, in order of most expensive to least expensive:

uni fees
food
transportation
entertainment

So, yes, priorities come into play…but for some people, it is just not worth the sacrifice. I don’t regret my choice of priorities, and I don’t think that others who share my situation should be made to feel bad for theirs, either.

I’m extremely healthy, I run, I dance, I do martial arts, I eat more greens on a daily basis than most people (many of which I pick from the forest myself), I’m 80% raw and 100% vegan, I have 2 degrees and am working on a 3rd, and I’m quite happy with my life. I don’t even buy most of the “high-pesticide contamination” fruits and veg, such as berries, because even the conventional ones are usually beyond what I can justify to myself spending for food.

I mention all of that because I want to make it clear that there are many other worthy things to be focusing our energy and expenses on besides organic food. Everything must be done in moderation, and when living on a budget, it’s probably more intelligent to make small sacrifices here and there if it means that in the end things will work out better in the long run.

I buy my organics from the health food store or the co-op. I feel more confident if I can speak directly to the owner. This way I know where it’s coming from and if I find out that it’s not organic I have someone to talk to.

Stay away from the big box stores. Support local business. It’s the only way to get what you want to buy as opposed to whay they want to sell you – both figuratively and literally.

You give her a massage. That can mean a day at the spa, or, you sign up for a class that you can do together, such as Thai Massage (or dancing or whatever).

Another idea is to take her to the park while you hire a cleaning service (or free-lancing artist friend) to detail the apartment. That means windows, corners, behind the fridge, etc.

If you’re not in the doghouse and just want to get something small there’s always an essential oils kit, or a pedicure (at the salon
or at home by you), or an herb garden that she can grow at home. Maybe a new helmet for biking or roller-blading. Or a new squeaky-horn or even a GPS for her bike.

She must have dropped a million hints…