Over and over again we hear about all the toxins in our food and personal care products that are bad for us or are destroying the earth and often it can seem that things that are beyond our control.
This month I thought I would try and put a bit more of a positive spin on things and talk about some of the amazing changes I’ve seen here in this fine city of Hamilton.
When I began selling MiEssence products 7 years ago – there were very few natural or organic options out there. Take organic food for example - there was a grand total of one organic farm that I knew of, Plan B (http://planborganicfarms.ca/). If you weren’t getting their CSA box you would be hard pressed to find a local source for organically grown produce.
Nowadays Plan B is not only still standing and thriving but there are a variety of additional organic farms that have been added to the mix. Mano Run (http://www.manorun.com/) and Simpler Thyme both also run CSA’s. If you are unfamiliar with that term it means, it’s Community Shared Agriculture.
With a CSA you pay a set amount for a share of whatever the farmer produces – and you receive a variety of vegetables that are in season, fresh and ready. Originally, a large payment was made up-front to give the farmer the funds he/she needed to get things going at the beginning of the season.
Some folks are still working with this model but others have a more flexible payment schedule for those of us who find it difficult to come up with four months’ worth of grocery payments in one month. For organic meat, there are a few local options as well; Fenwood Farms
(http://www.fenwoodfarm.com/) and Morden’s Organic and Wild Meats (http://mordensorganicfarmstore.com/).
In addition to these great food options Hamilton is also home to two fabulous eco stores, Ecomystic (http://www.ecomystic.ca/) and Simply Zen. Both of these stores carry of wide variety of eco-friendly products and fabulous green clothing lines. The expansion of green clothing has also been tremendous. Remember when buying hemp clothes meant baggy pants or t-shirts?
These days you can find the most fashionable of items done with
eco-friendly fabrics and dyes.
Although I always try and support my local independent farmers and stores I am also pleased to be seeing more organic items in our regular grocery store as well as at Costco. The growth is exciting and amazing and
I hope we continue to see lots of businesses, both large and small becoming more environmentally conscious.
Anita Kaiser
www.MiOrganic.ca
www.Anitakaiser.com
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