Let's Talk Produce

The topic of fresh fruits and vegetables is one that I've researched the most, so let's start with that.  Feeding a family in this country has become so complicated!  I hear people all the time talking about diets, "really healthy" fruits and vegetables, organic this and that, food supplements, blah blah blah.  Really!?  When did it get this difficult to just buy food and eat it?

The worst thing I hear is this: I found <insert any food product here> for SO CHEAP at <insert any massive grocery store>.  Again, since when did we care more about how cheap we could get food rather than the QUALITY of the food we're eating?  Because let's be honest, it's kind of a huge deal!  We literally are what we eat.  Our bodies do not function well if we eat junk all the time or if we avoid the foods that are good for us.  I think we all know this, but it gets pretty confusing when marketing, really really bad magazine articles and fad food diets start circulating.  Here are a few books that I've resonated with:

Omnivore's Dilemma or In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan
Good Calories, Bad Calories, Gary Taubes

For me, it really just comes down to eating mostly GOOD fruits and vegetables.  That means eating seasonally and as locally as possible.  If you eat seasonally, you are eating a huge variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year and you're eating them at their peak!  They look and taste amazing (as opposed to eating nasty tomatoes in the middle of winter).  I'm not going to lie, transitioning to this way of life was not easy at first.  You get used to buying whatever you want, whenever you want and it's hard to turn away from that.  BUT, eating that way means that you are voting like this with your money:

YES I like to buy produce not produced in this country.
YES I support chemical ripening, enhancements and preservation of my food so it looks edible by the time it arrives at my grocery store.
YES I like food that has been shipped at improper temperatures so it loses taste
YES I support farms and companies that have lax food safety regulation
YES I support countries that have no regulation on clear cutting forests for farm land.

And the list goes on and on.  Can any of us look at that list and be excited about our voting record?  I think not.  Now, this doesn't mean that you can never buy produce at the grocery store - shipping produce from other places isn't all bad and some stores even make efforts to purchase locally or at least within the US (stop by for my next post on grocery stores).  Here is a blurb from www.realfooduniversity.com

Who Supplies Our Produce?

I was unable to find any information on which companies are providing the majority of our produce. I’d guess lots of it is centered in the hands of the major corporations under various labels.

According to the USDA, only about 1/3 of our fruit and nuts and 1/8 of our vegetables are imported. About two-thirds of those imports occur during the months of December to April, showing a strong seasonal component to it. Basically, we want what we want even if it’s only available 5,000 miles away.

Mexico is far and away our biggest supplier of fruits and vegetables, taking the top spot in both categories by about a 2-to-1 margin over 2nd place. Canada takes 2nd place in vegetables with China a distant third. (Note that these are in dollar figures, not volume, but the relationships should hold when converted.) In the fruit category, most of it comes from Central and South America, with only China (4th) to break up the Top 6 of Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Ecuador.

Interestingly enough, this site noticed that the FDA says that 2/3 of our produce is imported (conflicting with the USDA stat)...hmmm.  Really, as consumers, we are NOT getting the information we need to make good informed decisions.

Because of this, my family has decided to buy as much as possible from sources that we DO know.  That means the farmers market or CSA's and our own home garden.  Many people have made the comment that it must be really expensive to eat that way...well, it is and it isn't.  My grocery budget is lower than most people I know with similar family size.  I think that's because even though we might be spending more on fruits and vegetables, we are eating MORE fruits and vegetables and less meat.  Meat is way more expensive than produce, yes, even that cheap meat you found at the store last week!  We go through a CSA, so May-October we pay $24 a week for fresh, farm grown veggies.  I usually don't have to step in a grocery store more than once a month during those months (which means I'm saving even MORE money getting rid of impulse buys).  To find a good CSA, farmer's market or local farm, go here: http://www.localharvest.org/.

The next comment I get is "I don't have time to pick up my food".  Well....yes you do.  You just don't WANT to pick up your food.  See above for all of the reasons why you should now want to pick up your food!  We found some friends that do our CSA with us, so we only pick up once a month.  It's only about a 25 min. drive for us and totally easy.  If you don't know anyone doing pick ups, chat with your CSA provider and they will usually have a number of people that you can contact to set up a swap.  Originally, that's exactly what I did and now we have enough people to run two swaps!

And the last comment is (drumroll please) "my kids and husband just won't eat that many or those types of fruits and vegetables".  Again, hate to disagree, but if that's all they are offered, they WILL actually eat it.  Surprisingly, kids and husbands get really hungry when they don't eat a meal!  I know that there are many other issues that make this a sensitive topic and I don't mean to make light of it, but here's how I see it:

• We as a family need to be responsible with our money votes.
• As the primary cooker/preparer of food, I am responsible for feeding my family good, sustaining food that will help them feel the best they can.
• As a mother in the home, I am also responsible for teaching my children how to make good choices.  What am I teaching them if I say "yes, fruits and vegetables are really important" but then never serve them?  Or if I say "I don't like the decisions the government is making", but then make those same decisions when I'm given a vote?  I need to walk the walk.

So, that covers May - October here in Colorado.  Some Americans are lucky enough to be able to buy local, fresh produce all year long, but what do WE do when that's not an option?  My next post will examine some of the biggest stores in the US to see if we can find a way to make responsible produce choices even when it's freezing outside :).