Like many Helenans, I wondered why we need two substantial health food stores when many Montana towns have none. Now, I relish the fact that the Strawhouse Market has joined the Real Food Market in providing healthy food for us.
If consistent with existing studies, Helena children who eat organic food have one ninth the toxins in their urine as children who eat conventionally. Organic food grows in healthy living soil. Studies show that organic oranges have 20 percent more vitamin C than those grown in sterile soil—abetted by chemical fertilizers. It interests me that in our "Just Say No" society, the majority of our food is grown with heavy chemical infusions — petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides (the "cides").
So why is organic food more expensive? Actually, much organic food costs about what conventional food costs. Apples, oranges, and onions for instance, sometimes cost less at health food stores. The long term health affects of conventional foods may make organic food significantly less expensive in the long run. When organic food is more expensive, it is because it is labor intensive. Spraying herbicides several times during garlic's 9 month growing period takes less time than installing weed barriers and hoeing weeds that find purchase in healthy soil. Labor is more costly than chemicals.
The EPA acknowledges the chemicals in the "cides" as poisons, but decides on "acceptable" levels of these known carcinogens. What these toxins do when mixed together in our bodies we do not know. If you are like me, you know more and more people suffering with cancer. Helena's wonderful Maria Dean Center helps us and our friends and neighbors, but wouldn't it be better to eliminate the causes of cancer? Eating organic food is one way we can reduce carcinogens in our lives. If you choose to eat organically, you will enjoy the delicious natural tastes and the knowledge that how you eat is creating a healthier planet, for gardeners, farmers, ranchers, soils, wildlife, water, and yourself.
Both Laughing Water and Dirk Ellis are men of great intelligence and vision. For almost thirty years Laughing Water has been educating us on the benefits of "real" food and doing his best to live up to his high ideals. He has employed hundreds of Helenans to be of service to his vision of a healthy planet. The Real Food Market has utilized four centrally located store fronts to serve its customers. Laughing Water gives generously to good causes giving hefty discounts or donations to support everything from the Memorial Park playground to Afghan Women. Dirk credits Laughing Water with inspiring him to start his health food store. The Strawhouse Market makes appropriate technologies tangible. You will enjoy the beauty of the building inside and out. Find out about its solar collectors, heat pump, conservation measures, and water saving features.
Helena is blessed with wonderful health food stores giving us the opportunity to continue our commitment to being a healthy heavenly place. Bon Appetite!
