For years I haven't looked at the weekly ads that clog my mailbox week after week; tri- folding pages of overly processed foods that we never consume anyway, why bother. Lately though I'm drawn to the produce displays because despite knowing that nectarines are chronically in the dirty dozen list, 59 cents a pound, for beautifully rounded and firmly fleshed nectarines are getting harder and harder to resist. I find them at the farmers market for $4/pound so we just don't consume them that much.
Cherries are another Summer favorite. I pay up to $10/pound at the farmers market and I see ads running for $.99/pound. I keep reminding myself that I buy more than the fruit, I buy health for our bodies and the environment, not to mention the health of the farm workers. Do you know how many chemicals are applied to these fruits? It varies by the year and the variety, but dozens, hundreds at times. Some chemicals are so poisonous they require face masks and special warnings for their application. But then what? Where does the chemical cocktail go? Some of it is absorbed in the plant and the fruit we consume, but most of it seeps into the soil, runs into our water systems and ends up contaminating bodies of water that people depend upon for survival. Some may even run into the ocean and cause massive fish killings (dead zones in the ocean) amongst other problems. Other chemicals are airborne and cause respiratory problems for those living in nearby communities.
How does this concern us? It doesn't have to, 59 cents a pound is too hard to resist. Go ahead and indulge.
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