Keep your questions coming! Here are some of the questions asked this week.
"I
found Rhubarb on a list of vegetables that have the least amount of
pesticides used on them. Why do we only have organic? The organic are
more expensive and sometimes there are none."
You
will find Strawberries on the list of fruits that have the most
pesticides used on them. We try to buy only organic Strawberries for
that reason. It doesn't make sense to me to have one item organic, and
one not, when they are so often used in combination. Many members are
familiar with lists of what to only buy organic, or what may be
relatively safe to not buy organic. Many members do not, or will never
buy produce unless it is organic. We hope that this decision serves most
members well. At this point in the season, the supplies are increasing,
and now that most of our Rhubarb is local, we are starting to see lower
prices as well.
"I
cut open a Melon and it was green inside. I was upset that it wasn't
orange, because I wanted vitamin A. What happened to my Melon?"
This
member bought a Galia Melon, which slightly resembles a Cantaloupe. It
is green on the inside, a color which wouldn't surprise a Honeydew
eater. (Although we occasionally carry orange flesh Honeydews.) She
wanted me to warn people what color fruits are on the inside, and I
replied that I could not do that, although we do identify all Watermelon
by color. If you are concerned about the color of each fruit, google
them before you shop. You can find our daily produce selection updated Monday through Friday at: click here
As
far as the vitamins go, I leave that up to you. I am the produce buyer,
not the vitamin buyer. I think that you can't go very wrong when you
eat any fruit in place of another. By the way, galias are very high in
Vitamin A. She did say that it was delicious, and you can find out for
yourself when they return to our shelves next Friday.
"How
can hydroponic produce also be organic? I know that stuff is added to
the water. How can you add stuff to the water and still claim that the
produce is organic?"
It is not the coop that makes the claim that something is
organic. A farmer or producer may make that claim after they have been
inspected and certified by an independent party (such as CCOF or NOFA).
All produce sold as organic at the coop has been certified by
an independent party. Many nutrients, fertilizers and various chemicals
may be added to the water for hydroponically grown organic produce. Many
nutrients, fertilizers and various chemicals may be added to the soil
for field grown or hot house grown soil based organic produce. The
National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances may be seen at: click here Organic
doesn't mean "free of chemicals". Anything added to the soil or water
must be considered benign, safe for consumption, and will be described
in the USDA National Organic Program.
"How can I know which produce items are locally grown?"
We
only identify items as locally grown when 100% of that item is sourced
locally. For the last few weeks, a great deal of the Lettuces and Kales
were locally grown, but we were not able to supply all of our needs for
the item locally. Now that we are starting to have access to more and
more local produce, there are three easy ways to identify the source of
each item.
Go to our daily menu (click here)
and click on the column "Origin". The origin of each item is also on
the shelf price sign of each item. If you would like to see all of the local
items at a glance, see the green highlighted lists, updated Monday through Friday, at the front and rear of the produce aisle.
Allen Zimmerman - Produce Buyer - General Coordinator
