The other night I was talking to a lot of other students about what I want to do- explaining everything involved with this blog, sustainable agriculture, the slow food movement, organic, etc. One of the girls says (paraphrase), "my roommate is all into organic; everything has to be organic for her. She was so excited when I got organic apples." So of course I ask, oh you bought them recently? Yes, she says. WHAT! That defeats the whole purpose; apples aren't in season for more than 6 months! Does it matter if they're organic if the apples are from friggin' Chile????
I truly do not understand people like this. I guess organic does lack the chemicals though (even though regulations in other countries are as trustworthy as Bernie Madoff). But, I really don't see the point of being all organic without being all local and all seasonal. This trifecta is a puzzle- without one piece there is no meaningful picture. It's spring people--still time to scope out local apple orchards near you!!!!
I do love apples. At the moment, I have my eye on berries and stone fruits, but apple season is always worth looking forward to. Up at school we would go apple picking in Rhinebeck and it was awesome. They would give you one of those tools even and it was all up to you. Definitely some great and delicious times. We would have apples in our dorms for weeks.
Apples originated in Asia Minor, but spread to Europe during prehistoric times where they grew wild. There are an estimated 15,000 varieties (half American) and are generally divided into 3 categories- cider apples (cider), crab apples (gelling), and dessert apples (dessert). They grow pretty much everywhere and they are the most widely cultivated fruit trees in the world.
With such demand, comes an incredible sacrifice as discussed in Pollan's In Defense of Food: Because industrial agriculture has bred plants to produce Quantity, not Quality, apples have suffered greatly. Today, the average apple contains a third of the nutrients of an apple from the 1940's. In other words, you have what can certainly be considered nutritional inflation; so, now, thanks to savvy science we have to eat 3 apples to get the same nutritional intake as some 65 years ago.
I truly do not understand people like this. I guess organic does lack the chemicals though (even though regulations in other countries are as trustworthy as Bernie Madoff). But, I really don't see the point of being all organic without being all local and all seasonal. This trifecta is a puzzle- without one piece there is no meaningful picture. It's spring people--still time to scope out local apple orchards near you!!!!
I do love apples. At the moment, I have my eye on berries and stone fruits, but apple season is always worth looking forward to. Up at school we would go apple picking in Rhinebeck and it was awesome. They would give you one of those tools even and it was all up to you. Definitely some great and delicious times. We would have apples in our dorms for weeks.
Apples originated in Asia Minor, but spread to Europe during prehistoric times where they grew wild. There are an estimated 15,000 varieties (half American) and are generally divided into 3 categories- cider apples (cider), crab apples (gelling), and dessert apples (dessert). They grow pretty much everywhere and they are the most widely cultivated fruit trees in the world.
With such demand, comes an incredible sacrifice as discussed in Pollan's In Defense of Food: Because industrial agriculture has bred plants to produce Quantity, not Quality, apples have suffered greatly. Today, the average apple contains a third of the nutrients of an apple from the 1940's. In other words, you have what can certainly be considered nutritional inflation; so, now, thanks to savvy science we have to eat 3 apples to get the same nutritional intake as some 65 years ago.
So I guess, 3 apples a day keeps the doctor away?
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