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I live right by the farmers market so I'm very fortunate to buy organic produce for a cheap price. My parents however, live in a small town in Texas and have NO ACCESS to any health food stores or farmers. They mostly shop for groceries at their local Wal-Mart because that's all they've got! The nearest Whole Foods for them is like 3 hours away! Does anyone else have this problem or know of anyone that does? What advice should I give them?
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Even if they can't generally get to an organic market for their foods, and aren't able to grow any food for themselves, your family can minimize their pesticide intake by eating the kinds of "conventionally-grown" fruits and vegetables that are usually produced with less pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group did a great study measuring the levels of pesticide residue in various fruits and vegetables. Some fruits and vegs have production methods in conventional agriculture that require incredibly huge quantities of pesticides -- others not as much.
Here's the link to their downloadable list of the "Dirty Dozen" (the most pesticide-laden conventional fruits and vegetables) and the "Clean 15" (the produce that is safer to eat).
http://www.foodnews.org/index.php
And the full list of produce testing results:
http://www.foodnews.org/fulllist.php
I use this list because I have to be a budget-shopper and it helps me direct my organic produce purchases to where it will have the biggest positive impact on my health (and, one hopes, the environment). Even if your family can't adhere 100% to the list, this will definitely help them minimize consuming pesticides! Hope this helps.
Oh -- and can they afford delivery at home? There are several organic food providers on-line where you can order for delivery, and some of the "dirty dozen" listed by the EWG in my post above (apples, kale, etc.) would hold up OK to shipping.
KarinaFirebreather- I sent my mom and sister the link! Thank you so much for that. I've seen some kind of vegetable cleaning spray at my local Trader Joe's and was planning to send a few to them.
They're very open-minded and told me that they would love to change their diet because it is causing a lot of health problems. I said the first step is to incorporate a lot of fruits and vegetables into their diet and she said that she would give this a try. Yay!
lulushka- yeah, my parents wouldn't spend money on delivery boxes. They'd think I was crazy if I told them to since they really don't make much.
Hi Sheik! Have you tried checking out http://www.localharvest.org/ ?
It's a website devoted to helping people find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in their area. It also includes CSA's, Co-Ops, restaurants, etc. It's been a life-saver for me, especially when traveling.