Why I Went Organic

I realized I’ve been blogging for a little over a month now, but I haven’t fully shared with you guys why I went organic. This is going to be a little bit of a more personal post but I hope you like it!

My Journey To Going Organic

If I recall correctly, I think I started being mindful of what I eat when I was in late high school, going into college. I remember visiting my cousin Esy in the U.S., who’s a vegetarian (and still is), and one time, we went running together in the park. Man was I surprised because she was so much stronger and faster than me (considering I was already very active that time, going to the gym and playing a lot of sports). That’s when I gave it some thought, maybe it’s with what she was eating. I thought I would give it a try, maybe there would be some changes in my energy and I could do better on my fitness. However,  since I couldn’t drop all meat, I first went pescatarian.

pes·ca·tar·i·an

peskəˈterēən/ noun

a person who does not eat meat but does eat fish.

It was very easy for me. In fact, I think I sustained being a pescatarian for 2 years or more, and I didn’t miss meat at all. Except when… the whole YOLO movement got popular and I thought to myself, hey why am I restricting myself from eating meat? YOLO (You only live once)! …and you know already what happened. This is such a petty reason, I know. But it’s the truth so I wanted to still share it :p

Fast forward to 2015, when I lived in Taiwan. As I mentioned in my previous post, I had a flatmate named Alison who was vegan and she influenced me a lot. No, she wasn’t imposing that I should go vegan, but her lifestyle herself made me curious to actually start researching about it. She recommended a book called Skinny B* and after putting the book down, I was hungry for more information.  I then came across a documentary on Netflix called Cowspiracy and after watching it, I was a changed person. Literally. I became full on health-conscious and started researching about veganism and its impact on the environment. Then I went vegan. Again, it was so easy! I didn’t miss meat at all. Especially in Taiwan, when there are so many vegetarian options available. It was a total switch of mindset and lifestyle. I became mindful of my impact on the environment as well as the people around me. I felt like I was doing something good and it made me feel great.

However, when I returned home to the Philippines, things became different.  I realized that there were not a lot of options for me, especially with the busy lifestyle that I had. There were times that I would just choose not to eat, because a) there were no options available and b) I was too busy to go out of my way and actually find or make something to eat. It was not healthy for me anymore. At this point, I was already introduced to the concept of organic food and beauty, and as I did more and more research, I discovered that there is a whole world of chemicals out there. And it’s present in everything I put in and on my body.

That’s when it hit me. THERE IS NO PERFECT DIET. It’s not possible. I put so much thought into what I eat but the truth is, there’s too much process happening before the food reaches my table that I can’t keep up with it anymore. I then dropped being vegan and went back to eating everything, but this time, I focused on being mindful of where my food comes from. This is when I started going organic.

or·gan·ic

ôrˈɡanik/

(of food or farming methods) produced or involving production without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial agents | synonyms: pesticide-free, additive-free, natural | “organic vegetables”

Out of all the “diets” I tried, I believe that going organic is the healthiest for me. I know that there’s no such thing as a perfect diet. Again, what’s important with organic food is that they are made WITHOUT the use of harmful chemicals, pesticides, additives. You can read more about organic on my previous post, What does organic really mean?. There’s a whole lot of benefits of going organic but I’ll reserve that for another post 🙂

All I can say is… it’s definitely a process. I didn’t just wake up one day and went organic. What’s important is that I’m now at a point in my life (and at an early point, at that) where I am aware and I am thriving. I want to live a long healthy life. Going organic and eliminating toxic chemicals is what I feel is best for me. I’m not gonna stop trying, searching and learning.

Any thoughts? Feel free to share it below!