Giving you some organic food for thought
After living in the 'Jing for so long, I have become, as most of us have, increasingly aware of issues pertaining to clean air (or the lack of it), healthy food and non-toxic household products. However, “organic” remains a fairly new concept to us Beijingers. I often think back to the tree huggers back home in the remote southwest corner of New Mexico, (that haven of alternative thought and patchouli) who have been living organic lives for as long as I’ve been around (don’t ask), eschewing petrochemicals, building with tires and “growing their own”—fruits and veggies, that is. Even my sister, a hippie at heart, has spent years cramming organics and alternative healing down my throat, going so far as to threaten to smother me in my sleep if I vaccinate Henry.

It wasn't until November 2006, when I was first pregnant with my son, that I started to consider “going green.” I began Googling questions and researching natural products, toxins in lotions, hormones in milk and meat, even fluoridated toothpaste. My mother often jokes that a veritable “Library of Congress,”compliments of Amazon, is stacked up in the garage for me to lug back to Beijing. However, there was precious little on the availability of organic produce in Beijing.

Luckily, in the past 15 months, much has changed. I have joined a fantastic group called the Beijing Organic Consumers Association on Yahoo, which is open to the public and great for finding out where to get organic products in Beijing, in addition to timely articles about vaccinations, vitamins and the like. Each day, I am greeted by an email newsletter in my inbox, providing me with good bites of frequently controversial topics that I take to my pengyous in the teacher’s lounge during break. (My lecturing is often ignored, but now and then I manage to utter something fairly succinct and relevant to their everyday lives.)

Among the many venues that provide organic goods, Lohao City is one of my favorites, and I make a point of stocking up there once a week. I could go on and on, but, as space is limited, be sure to check out my blog for a list of other favorites and reader suggestions.

Kristen Billings