World Ark Magazine - March/April 2009 - (Page 8) the good life tips for Better living I good groceries But is it healthy? We’re all used to glancing at the caloric and fat content of the foods we buy. But what’s really the best way to evaluate our food? a team of nutritionists and public-health experts hopes to become the last word in food ratings with a new system called oNqI, the “overall Nutritional quality n recent months a quiet debate has been brewing: what are the best— and worst—ways to spend your food dollars? does buying local foods hurt the business of fair-trade farmers in developing countries? or does buying fair-trade foods, which are often shipped long distances, contribute to global warming? in some ways it’s an apples-and-oranges debate, but here are our thoughts. oK: plain-old store brand. we give this an “ok” rating instead of “good” because it will do in a pinch, until better options become available in your area. But remember, money talks—the way you spend your food dollars affects what is available. Better: we think a fair-trade product is worth buying when it’s a must-have but isn’t grown in your area, like coffee. for such splurges, the benefits, like helping farmers in developing countries, probably outweigh the drawbacks. But if the choice is between local and fair-trade goods, we prefer local, which brings us to … Best: local. local foods just have so much going for them: fresher, tastier produce; supporting the local economy; connecting communities with their farmers; reconnecting to seasonal food (see fresher, tastier). Need we say more? Index,” that evaluates foods by weighing their good qualities, like fiber, vitamins and fatty acids, against their bad qualities, like fat, sugar and salt. the result is a number, from 1 to 100, ranking the overall nutritional value. So broccoli rates 100; brown rice scores an 82; prunes, 45; popsicles, 1. though not yet deemed official by the u.S. Department of agriculture, the ratings system is already appearing in grocery stores. at the very least, it’s food for thought. Find out more at www.nuval.com. 8 m arch / ap r i l 2 0 09 | world ark www.he i f e r .o r g http://www.nuval.com
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