My Journey on the Life Organic

I've noticed something. Something's changed since I left for Japan eight months ago. It seems as though good ol'Hogtown has gone O-face for organics. Change is just that: change, neither good nor bad, but when we as a society shift in the direction of what I believe to be progress, it leaves a good taste in my mouth.

Since this I assume will be a compare and contrast-type piece infused with my own private anecdotes let me start off by painting the green scene in Toronto pre-Japan. For organic produce, I had become accustomed to travelling far and wide for it, hence my family's weekly journeys to Whole Foods in Yorkville and Ambrosia in Thornhill. If distance wasn't a barrier for us, price definitely was at times. Although I must state that my suburban area in Markham is a relative anomaly in regards to demographic makeup, socioeconomic status, and convenience-to-organic-stocked supermarkets (ie) Longo's, the price of living organically was still quite damaging to our bankbooks at times. But never more so than now is organic so readily available in your friendly, neighbourhood grocery store. From Loblaws to Longo's, Food Basics to Foody *shudder*, almost all grocery stores are adapting to the consumer's demands for high quality, green, and ultimately healthier produce. Not only organic, but local, gluten-free (literally, a "sticky" subject), vegan, and environmentally-sustainable food options are much more present (and thankfully, obvious) in our present lives.

My journey on the life organic however, did not begin in the present but rather in the greener days of my early years. Although my mother came to Canada at an early age (for one, to study dietary nutrition in university) it was not her career choice that planted the seeds of organic living in my mind. Instead, it was my paternal grandmother who stressed the idea of independently growing your own vegetables and fruits. Naturally, I took to the garden like a boss; my thumbs were ever-green as a kid.

If I had a scanner, I would upload photos of myself green and dirty in the garden as a baby. But after a sober second thought I decided against it. As posting childhood photos of me holding huge phallic-like zucchini, cucumber, and corn up to my pure and innocent baby face seemed to hold the possibly of attracting the wrong kind of readership. Plus you all would snicker like mad anyways at the accuracy of the photos' foreshadowing. My grandmother always stressed that vegetables and fruits grown in our own (gigantic) backyard were much healthier for us and simply much better tasting. And vegetables and fruits we had in spades. In our backyard alone we had over five different types of fruit trees: plums, apples, cherries, and also a raspberry bush and strawberry field. I remember during the summertime being in constant glee because of the ability to pick delectably sweet fruits and berries from the trees and devour them under the cool shade they produced as well. Regrettably, my backyard today is a fraction of the size of my old house's yard, and it is mainly occupied by stone and flowerbeds. The only tree in our backyard is a flowering sakura cherry tree that sadly does not yield any fruit. The only resemblance to our previous backyard is the tragically small pot of organic strawberries, and the flower-explosion.

Besides the background radiation that has always been associated with my mother's field of work, there have been other sources health-inspiration that have shed light on my path. I speak highly of my neighbourhood sometimes because truly I've never had better neighbours anywhere else I've lived. One of the neighbours on my street worked in the management-levels of Toronto General and was a nine-year breast cancer survivor. I am so thankful for her appearance in my life, because although I've been touched with cancer before, when my father passed, I was too young to comprehend the chance that perhaps prevention was possible with healthier living choices. This strong woman, my neighbour, was the one who enlightened us to the dangers of antibiotics in meats and stressed all-natural and raw foods. 

The one thing my neighbour said that echoes as clearly today as the first time I heard it was "stress kills". She would often say that stress itself is a poison and that no matter how healthy one lives it is not enough to counteract the body from succumbing to this poison. For her, this hard lesson was learned first-hand nine years ago, but it sadly became a sadly ironic prophecy. The year after her return to work at Toronto General, in her ninth year of remission, her cancer came back. Except this time it was in her lymphatic system, the same cancer my father battled, and it ultimately took her life, too quickly. She was a fighter, she demanded the best of the countless specialists and the many hospitals she visited and she demanded the best from herself in the way she took care of her body. She wanted to live, and she was willing to try any new treatment possible and any new way of living that would give her even one minute's more time to her life. She was willing to go the distance, regardless of the cost. She was definitely a person who valued the quality of her life over money and possessions. She amazed me in her strength and her life inspires me still. She will never be forgotten and a part of how she lived her life now lives within me. 

In Japan, I realized how lucky we are in Toronto. Even in Tokyo, in the most expensive supermarket chains, it was somewhat difficult to find obviously organic fresh produce. Although I did find organic tofu,  soy sauce, miso, and other condiments they were all processed to begin with which decreased their attractiveness to me. However, what I did learn for myself in Japan is to embrace one's locality and its products. I ate more like a Japanese person than I ever did before. In this way, I also ate healthier (though perhaps not as healthy as other periods). Anything local, and only those things which were in season were the things I would purchase. I practically overdosed on strawberries before holidaying in Hong Kong. Before that, eggplant, kabocha, and yams helped me survive the tragically short autumn and blatantly cold winter. In my early and unexpected return to Canada, I may have left all my belongings behind in Japan but I have brought back with me a reignited appreciation for locally produced products and services.

Little do people know that Ontario produces some of the most delicious strawberries I've ever tasted, equal to if not better than those over-hyped, heavily-marketed ones in Japan. Most of the vegetables grown in my part of Japan can and are grown here. If you've ever complained about tasteless fruits or vegetables, you're probably cheaping out and buying things mass-produced in the States or Mexico. You've all heard of Foodland Ontario, right? Start shopping at the local farmers markets, try to seek out organic and locally grown produce in your supermarkets (they taste a lot better!), and get out the gardening tools folks, because if you have a backyard (or balcony) do not let it go to waste. The weather now is perfect, embrace the spring and summer months and embrace your food. Now is the perfect time to begin becoming more observant about what you put in your mouth *insert smirk here*. You don't have to be extreme, you don't have to go gluten-free or raw vegan, but neither do you have to eat fast food that often, or eat meat for every meal. There are happy mediums and you have the power and freedom to choose your own level based on what is comfortable for you. Food is something we should all take more time in educating ourselves over. Food, like life, should be something you consciously make a priority, not something you mindlessly shovel down your throat. Food is symbolic. Food is life. Live consciously! You've read the inspirations for my journey, now perhaps its time to start your own.