As I have expressed countless times on my site, going organic is a daunting feat. Organic produce and packaged goods are no problem. It’s turning my nose up at dinner parties or abstaining from dining out that I grapple with. And what about my nearly daily trip for frozen yogurt? Or a bag of gas station trail mix on a road trip?
On other fronts, I have made a valiant effort to switch over my beauty and household cleaning products to organic alternatives, but it has been a costly and cumbersome journey. Sometimes I just feel so defeated by the relentless scrutinization of everything I put in and on my body. I was in the midst of one of these meltdowns when I wrote the detailed post comparing plant based protein powders (click here to read it!). Thankfully, after a bit of due diligence, I was relieved to find a brand that met my rigid criteria and tasted great: Garden of Life.
So naturally, I was thrilled to be invited to the Garden of Life blogger summit in Palm Beach Florida the following month. The summit was eye opening and informative. The employees at GOL are absolutely wonderful, the facilities state of the art, and the extensive line of organic products impressive. I cannot wait to write follow up posts to share with you the advancement of their probiotics, the differences between all of their protein powders, the benefits of Wobenzyme, their breakthroughs in digestive health. And share I will, but today’s post is about something else. Something that surprised me. It’s a post about hope.
That dread I often feel struggling to live an organic lifestyle? I feel it tenfold when I dwell on the bigger picture. The implications of destroying our soil and poisoning our food terrifies me. The entire western diet feels like a doomsday and I am scared half to death about what will happen to my loved ones who don’t trouble themselves with clean eating. At 27, I shutter at the notion of bringing a child into a world rampant with disorders and diseases, many of which I contribute to the horrific quality of America’s ‘conventional’ diet. But what can I do about it? I feel that my blog posts on the importance of labeling GMOs go unnoticed while a post on ‘best makeup tips for spring’ has the potential to go viral overnight. This horrible sinking feeling is exacerbated when I travel and see the living conditions in third world countries. The world is so globalized and connected, yet it feels so disjointed. On one side we have gluttonous Americans gorging on big macs while there are entire populations living in the most unsanitary conditions, facing droughts and famines. I feel blessed by the perspective I have gained from my travels, but cursed by the weight of reality.
Yet, here I found myself, eagerly soaking up all of the information Garden of LIfe was presenting, and somewhere deep in a powerpoint slide, I regained a shred of hope.
This is a company that prides itself on sustainability and fair trade. A company who is actively making a difference in the world through farming co-op projects in rural Africa, but not for the picture they can post on their website… for the simple act of taking responsibility. And their efforts don’t end there. One farm at a time, Garden of Life is instilling the value of growing organic. For 11 years, they have helped pave the way in organic farming, but not only for themselves… for their competitors as well. They understand that the world is a better place without pesticides, and they are whole heartedly committed to their righteous journey.
It’s a certain kind of integrity that you can only get from a company that has a wall of over 20 employes who have been there for 10 years. It’s this beautiful and rare passion for their products, the science behind them, and the ingredients inside.
The summit was fun and informative, but best of all it was energizing. I want to be apart of their movement. And the best way to do that is only buy organic.
And so the organic saga continues, but this time with a bit less doomsday dread.
-Chels
You’re so right, the summit was energizing! Great meeting you, see you online. <3