... which may help solve another one.
Long story short: I finally found a fantastic, cheap, and very accessible source of good produce this weekend. It was right under my nose, but no one told me, so I didn't know! It's a huge farmer's market that's held on the weekends in Boston. I knew about it, but didn't realize it was so cheap... dirt cheap. For $20 I got a huge stash of great fruits and vegetables that (I figured it out) would have cost $50+ in Cambridge. I'll be buying my produce there from now on, and it's ongoing (all year round), not just seasonal.

(Ha ha, I didn't really shorten the story, did I?!)

Anyway, the reason it helps me solve another issue: I've been anxious and neurotic about the food supply and food costs over the past few years, and that seems to, curiously, lead to OVEREATING. (Ironic, I know, lol.) I now can afford just about any danged thing I want to buy, food-wise, so I'm already noticing I'm feeling calmer and happier, and tonight, for instance, my mind just wasn't on food at all after dinner, and Jonathan had to remind me to make some fruit for us before we go to bed.

Yes, I'm quite sure my appetite has already decreased. :-) Yay!!!

Sharrhan:


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yea hoarding and snarfing seem to go hand in hand lol i know what you mean

...Jodi, the banana eating buddhist

That's great Kwan!

kwan,

Did you happen to ask them if the produce is sprayed? I live in PA, and all of the farmers markets & roadside stands sell sprayed produce. The other day I asked a market stand owner if the peaches were sprayed, & he said; "Yes, we spray to keep out canker". I thought to myself "spray to keep out canker & put in cancer..."

I was going to tell him that, but I held my tongue. Anyway, I was surprised that ALL the stands/markets offer only "chemically induced" produce. I thought I could find one clean source, but no. I have one natural store in my area that I shop at, they assure it is clean, but who knows, really...

peaches are one of the most heavily sprayed crops around. They top the "dirty dozen" list in fact. Here's a wallet sized list to print and cut out [www.rawfoodnation.org]

as for other fruits and veg, a soak in a white vinegar and water solution has been shown effective at removing surface pesticides. At the very worst, peel things. It won't get out deep pesticides (like in peaches) but for things not on the dirty dozen list it's enough.

Glad to hear you found a farmer's market Kwan. I love the little roadside stands around here, just looking at the summer bounty makes me happy.

juicerkatz--
jodi-- 'hoarding and snarfing'-- haha!, that's it, exactly.
No, I didn't ask, but I know they're selling commercial produce. Next time I go, when I have more time (I was in a bit of a hurry the first time) I will scout out the organics. There are so many stands there, I'm guessing there is some organic produce to be had. However, I do not eat 100% organic, by any means. I can't find enough of it here, and so I eat it when it's affordable, and otherwise I avoid the dirty dozen (hardly ever eat peaches, for instance), and just do my best. I tend to eat more of the things that have thick skins that get peeled off, so that probably helps.

Strawberries are probably not a good pick either, but at $4 a pint most places, I have to deal with the economic realities or just skip them altogether.

coco--
Yep, peaches are really sprayed a lot. I've been avoiding them, even though I love the taste; something doesn't seem quite right, and I always end up not wanting them, probably because my tastebuds know they're toxic.
My sense is that sweet peppers are the worst offenders, so I try to find them organic.
Another goal of mine is to start eating organic tomatoes, if i can just find some that aren't $4. a lb.

Sharrhan:


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Once I bought some peaches at an old man's fruit stand. I asked him if any of the fruit at his stand was organic. I knew it wasn't, but I just wanted to spread the word about customers wanting organic produce.

He said, "No, dang it! Ever since we started planting only grafted trees instead of trees from seed, the trees are so weak that the bugs get into all the fruit, and everything has to be sprayed. If we still had trees from seed, we wouldn't have to spray 'em!

It shocked me that the old guy was so savvy. A couple hundred miles down the road was an old abandoned peach orchard, all ungrafted trees from seed, where I'd spent many a happy lunch break. All organic (out of sheer neglect), and not a single bug in the fruit. Hadn't even been fertilized - organic or otherwise - for many years.

Land is so scarce and expensive that farmers want to make sure they get what they want when they plant. They plant grafted trees, because grafted trees are clones from the mother tree. Orchards full of cloned trees are a tree species' immune system nightmare.

If only we had more fruit trees from seed. Trees would be healthier, and organic fruit would be a lot cheaper. Kinda scary.

suncloud,

Did you ask the farmer if he would do things differently if he could go back in time and decide anew? I'd be curious to know what he'd say. I love talking to old farmers; theirs is a wisdom of the ages that, once lost, demeans us all.

Hi Tamukha,

I didn't ask him, but he definitely gave me the very strong impression that he thought grafting the trees was far from worth it. Yes, how sad that we could lose the wisdom of the old-time farmers!