Local Tomatoes are safe to eat?
With gas prices rising and most of our produce coming from California, I expect more people will be turning to our local farmers’ markets to save some money. Make sure you ask lots of questions when you go. I’ve been buying tomatoes at the Botanical Garden Farmers’ Market on Thursday mornings. They have wonderful heirloom varieties that taste great. Last week, I noticed milky, blue dots on a couple of the tomatoes. I asked about it today when I noticed more blue dots on some of the tomatoes being sold. The nice young man told me that it was a combination of Miracle Grow and pesticide and that it washed off really easy.
Don’t get me wrong… I’ll eat locally grown produce that isn’t organically grown. I don’t expect all farmers to become organically certified. For many, it would be a waste of time and money. However, I think many people who buy from local farmers expect a “naturally” grown product. I wish that farmers would list the pesticides used and how many times each had been applied. Like it was something to be proud of. And when a customer asked questions, I wished the answers wouldn’t be, “I’ve eaten tomatoes that I haven’t washed, and I’m okay.” As if cancer blooms overnight from a single does of chemical.
I asked this polite young man if the farm had considered going organic. The answers from local farmers are always the same, it’s too expensive. But farmer’s don’t seem to understand that organic isn’t only a label from the USDA - it’s a way of farming. If you know a farmer who’s interested in switching, have them contact the Texas Organic Farmers and Growers Association.
And for those who believe that Miracle Grow is organic - it’s not. It’s derived from petrochemicals, so expect the prices to rise. Reasonably priced organic substitutes are Terracyle, which is made from worm castings, and Alaska Fish Emulsion, made from real fish.
For more information about tomatoes, including heirlooms, and what kind of pesticides are being used on those tomato crops, check out Biodiversity 303 from Earlham College in Indiana.
Filed under: Local food
