Using carob instead of chocolate; soy margarine in place of butter; organic sugar, buckwheat flour, rice milk, organic walnuts, sea salt and egg replacement instead of eggs; one would be able to taste a fresher and healthier batch of brownies made from scratch.
On Wednesday, "What's Your Beef?" sought to educate members of the Rutgers community of the benefits of eating organic foods. The program, organized by Chi Upsilon Sigma, National Latin Sorority and Sigma Lambda Upsilon/Señoritas Latinas Unidas Sorority, brought a health perspective to the alternative way of eating.
As explained by speaker Arnette Phipps, who is responsible for the marketing of the George Street Co-op natural foods store, organic farmers feed the soil and rotate crops, to ensure there is no depletion. They also use animals to eat the pesticides, instead of using insecticides. In organic foods, there are no preservatives, synthetic hormones or colorings.
"I learned that much of the food we eat today, we don't know the harm it is doing to our body. We have to have a more conscious awareness of what we're putting in our bodies," said Rutgers College junior Christina Colon, treasurer and community outreach chairwoman of Sigma Lambda Upsilon. "I find it interesting how many people complain about how expensive it is, but they'll be quick to spend money elsewhere. Your health is worth the money."
Oftentimes, organic foods do cost more than conventionally produced foods because they take more time and care to produce. But the hidden costs in producing non-organic foods - such as polluting our water, soil, and health, surpass those of organic ones.
Phipps said going from regular to organic is good for the universe. Converting to organic foods is a gradual process, and one needs to engage in a liver or kidney flush or in a colon cleanse prior to making the change, she said. One can also choose to eliminate a bit at a time, reducing the intake of those "harmful" foods.
"Everything tastes fresher, and it lasts in good condition for a long time," Phipps said, explaining her own experience in switching from non-organic to organic when she became sick as a college student during the late seventies.
Livingston College junior Gisell Torres, secretary of Chi Upsilon Sigma and organizer of the program, learned eating organic food is a lot healthier than eating conventional food.
"I think I'm going to start eating better food," Torres said. "The point of the program was to simply bring awareness. People think organic food is being a vegetarian, and a lot of people don't know about it."
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