Rule of Thumb!

Rule of thumb is - when hungry, eat! When sleepy, nap! When angry, bite your tongue!

Okay, all jokes aside. With the world's crises of rising gas cost, food cost and global warming etc. How do we not get insane and not become overtly paranoid?

For awhile after learning about the Benefits of Organic foods, I kind of became a fanatic. Especially when my health actually improved. I feel generally better. There are so many benefits to buying Organic but the sad truth is, when farmers changed to organic farming, there is less yield in the harvest. Hence, organics become more expensive and also not as readily available.

Same goes for Fair Trade. So far, for certified fair trade products, there are bananas, sugars, teas, coffee, cocoa, flowers, football, honey, spices and some wheat. As much as I want to buy fair trade and all things organic; the world is still lagging behind in availability.

How do I balance it all? I cannot afford to buy everything organics as they can be pricey and not everything I used in my life is available Fair Trade.
My personal rule of thumb is, anything I use most of in my day to day routine and anything that gives me most benefits to my well-being,I strictly buy organics and fair trade (when it is available) . I won't sweat it if I do not have everything stock up at home that is organics.

And even if products are not certified Fair Trade, I buy from smaller, independent businesses that protect the environment, the local communities and one that gives fairer exchange for its products.
I asked as many questions as I can to understand where things come from.

That is my rule of thumb. And it is alright to shop at large convenient grocery store, if that is only what is available to you. Everyone needs to eat and need to survive.

One day, I pray, there'll come a time when everything we shop is fair trade and organic. That we do not have to use the word "alternative" anymore!

Cheers to that!