Information Overload?

No matter how interesting or intriguing a subject may be, too much information about any topic can be overwhelming. Not only are we likely to develop a headache from trying to absorb and comprehend as many facts as possible, but chances are that some sources will directly contradict others, making it difficult (if not impossible) for the seeker of the information to discern between truth and myth. My desire to know all there is to know about organic foods and eco-friendly products has prompted me to borrow no fewer than a dozen books from my local library. In fact, I’ve been to the library so often in the past few weeks that when the librarian sees me walking towards the circulation desk, she smiles and immediately goes to the ‘holds’ shelf to gather the most recent books waiting to be added to my impressively lengthy list of checked-out volumes (if there is a limit on the number of books a library patron can have checked out at one time, I am sure that I am rapidly approaching that number). And being no stranger to academic research and conflicting theories, I was fully expecting a fair amount of head-butting between texts. I had decided at the outset that I would assemble my data, pick out the parts that made sense to me, and go from there. My one hope was that I wouldn’t become discouraged and overwhelmed, either by an overload of scientific jargon or by inflexible demands that I throw away everything I own, tear down the toxic dump otherwise known as my house, and start living off the land.

To my immense surprise (and relief), all of the books I have consulted thus far have offered nothing but some gentle advice, a fair amount of common sense, and a great deal of information that is astonishingly consistent. Even the books written or edited by people from different countries—most often the U.S. and Britain—agree on virtually everything, from recipes for concocting all-purpose cleaning products from vinegar and baking soda to the best tasting heirloom tomatoes to the detrimental effects genetically-modified crops have globally on both the environment and the survival of small farms. What started out as intellectual research quickly became pleasure reading: books bearing titles such as The Gardener’s A-Z Guide to Growing Organic Food vie for space on my bedside table with Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love, a rather bizarre yet engrossing novel called The Wind-up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and, of course, Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. Knowing that I only have until next Tuesday to read freely without guilt—after which I will still probably be reading just as much even though I should be focusing my brain power on French vocabulary and verb conjugation—I have been cramming my brain with far more information about organic and eco-friendly products than it can possibly ever hope to retain. But that’s okay, because despite the overload of information, I get it. I understand what it takes to grow vegetables without the use of chemicals—it’s not rocket science. People were growing food this way long before rockets were invented, just as they were keeping their houses clean using little more than, well, vinegar and baking soda. And while it might seem like a waste of time to read a slew of books that all say pretty much the same thing, for me, just the opposite is true. I find it reassuring to know that no matter which text I consult, the facts remain the same, and I am free to enjoy the anecdotes or personal experiences of the author (which are often more informative than the facts themselves). Being a life-long lover of reading and books in general, there is no greater satisfaction than to finish a book feeling enlightened and entertained, and the books I have recently read on organic and eco-friendly living have not disappointed me.

If you are interested in finding out more about organic and eco-friendly living, I urge you to check out your local library before heading to the bookstore—you’ll save yourself some cash (unless you’re like me and never remember to return the books by their due dates even though the library sends out friendly email reminders in advance. Hey, maybe that’s why the librarian smiles when she sees me come in; she’s thinking “Hey, there’s the girl who bought us five new books last month with all her late fees. With all those books she has checked out now, we should be able to buy a new set of encyclopedias!”) Oh, and you’ll save some trees, too—not that I’m a treehugger or anything.

Kate
The Ordinary Organic