From: Judith Mabel, RD, PhD NutritionBoston.com
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Farmer's Markets
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Some of the produce will say
"organic", "natural", or "integrated pest management
(IPM)". What do these terms mean? Organic means that the food has been
grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. These foods tend to
contain the least amount of toxic metals and unwanted chemicals. Because the
yield is a bit smaller and the labor hours are larger, organic foods tend to
be more expensive. However, the more we can support organic farmers, the less
this price gap will become.
There is one other item that
increases the cost of organic food and that is that the organic farmers have
to pay for their own testing to prove that they have followed the proper
protocols. Some local farmers choose not to do that so instead they label
their crops IPM. Other farmers find that doing one chemical spraying is
necessary to secure the crop. This is also labeled as IPM. These foods have
less chemicals than produce that is conventionally grown. Ask and they will
tell you.
Conventionally grown food
found in farmer's markers are usually fresher than the food grown in the
supermarket. They will have varying degrees of chemical or fertilizer
exposure.
Find your nearest
farmer's market ....
No matter what you buy, you
know your food dollars are going to support local small farmers and other
local food producers!
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