Health halos

My favorite thing about Saturday morning (besides sleeping in, duh) is visiting the farmers? market. I used to go to Soulard in St. Louis every weekend, I love my hometown?s market, and I?m slowly getting to know Ann Arbor?s market, too.

I was joined by about 60 billion other hipsters this morning. You will seriously not find a bigger conglomeration of skinny jeans, crossbody bags, and Tom?s shoes in one location (unless you live in Portland).

I have my favorite vendors in my hometown, and I?m glad the vendors here also don?t mind when I ask them questions like, ?how are your chickens raised?? or ?do you use pesticides on your plants??

And there is just something fantastic about interacting with the people who grow the food you buy. Grocery stores are so intangible, and sometimes I just really enjoy the relational aspect of letting farmers know I appreciate them by buying their produce.

I really wish that a) I was good at growing plants and b) I had somewhere to grow them. I?d love to at least get a herb garden going, so I can have fresh basil and cilantro whenever this summer.

Roos Roast Coffee is really good. I tried the Cowboy Blend last time and picked up Lobster Butter Love at this visit. Plus, I think their artsy bags are pretty awesome.

I read a pretty interesting press release from the American Society of Nutrition recently talking about health halos or labels/characteristics of certain foods that cause people to think they are more healthful. A graduate student from Cornell found that people were more likely to perceive foods with an organic label as significantly lower in calories, lower in fat, and higher in fiber. Organically-labeled chips and cookies were considered to be more nutritious than their ?non-organic? counterparts.

vs.

This seems to suggest that people are interested in organic products or know there is some potential benefit to them but don?t fully understand the labeling term. And then you have the whole debate of organic vs. local. The other day, I noticed my organic cucumber was from Mexico; I wonder how many nutrients were left by the time it got to the US (and also about the carbon footprint?yikes). It seems to me that more education is needed.

And even if it has less preservatives or additives, an organic cookie is still a cookie?thoughts?