Green/Simple Living

Abolitionist Wendell Phillips once said, "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty." But, it turns out, it's also the price of truly green living.

That's because, to live a legitimately green, environmentally responsible lifestyle, you have to be continually aware of the implications and effects of everything you do and everything you buy. Without awareness and vigilance, it's far too easy to fall prey to greenwashers and opportunistic green wanna-bes.

Case in point: on a recent grocery shopping trip, I stopped in the preserves and jellies section to pick up a jar of raspberry preserves. After a moment or two scanning the shelves, I picked up the one marked "Natural," and turned it around to read the label.

There, right after "raspberries," was the second ingredient: "high-fructose corn syrup." The all-pervasive sweetener was the second-most dominant ingredient in the "natural" preserves.

Now, I know high-fructose corn syrup, for all its bad rep, is really no better or worse than sugar. But I've made a point of trying to choose foods that are as natural, as unadulterated as possible, and I'm trying to keep high-fructose corn syrup and other industrial food additives out of the equation. So I put the preserves back on the shelf.

I think, when the raspberries are in season this year, I'm stocking up and making my own preserves.