When I decided to clean up my diet by eating more fruits and vegetables, I just wanted to feel better. I wanted to feel more energetic, more clear-headed and like I could better power through the day. And, I figured, it wouldn't hurt to have a little extra room in my clothes.
I had always been an ominivore. And, I'd always tried to incorporate colors into my meals. (I'm a creative sort and attended art school among other ventures). I mean, why not make every day meals, beautiful, right?
So, when I kicked off my fruit and vegetable mission, I shopped for produce at my local grocery store as I had always done. Over a short time though, I noticed that the store over-watered the fresh greens (such as kale, swiss chard) rendering them soggy. The tomatoes were tasteless. Some melons, pineapples, grapes and other fruits were moldy or way over-ripe. The quality was routinely disappointing.
I kept thinking, if the function of the supermarket is to sell us food, why are they consistently selling us food that is of poor quality?
Why is "Fresh" Supermarket Produce Disappointing?
At least that store made an effort to sell some local produce. That was more than I can say for the national chain supermarkets. Their selection was noticeably smaller and more conventional. Four varieties of apples, two varieties of oranges, et cetera down the line. The quality was still marginal. And the flavors seemed muted to me.
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When I reasearched it, I learned that most supermarket produce is grown in season in various locations around the globe and picked before it has had a chance to ripen (and develop flavor) on the vine. Then, it's loaded into refrigerated trucks and railroad cars, shipped, sometimes thousands of miles, to centralized climate-controlled distribution warehouses where artificial methods1 are used to prevent them from ripening, sometimes for long periods. Later, when the fruits and vegetables are ready to be sold, chemicals are used to artificially ripen them.
The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) makes recommendations for how long fruits and vegetables can be stored. Apples may be stored for 1-6 months before they make it to the shelves. Carrots may be stored for 9 months. You get the picture.
Grocery Produce is Not Bred for Nutrients or Flavor
As I noted above, fruits and vegetables that are picked before they ripen on the vine, forego the chemical reactions that develop and express their unique and mature flavors. A tomato picked when green can be made to ripen and turn red, but it will still lack flavor and it's nutrients may decrease over extended time in cold storage. It will however, resist insects, travel over long distances without bruising and look perfect on the shelf. All industrial produce has shifted over the years to be bred for productivity and efficiency, not for nutrients or flavor.
Alternatives to Supermarket "Fresh"
- Canned produce. Canned fruits and vegetables have been found to be comparable in nutrients to fresh, and in cases where fresh vegetables are stored in a home refrigerator for longer than 5 days, during which time nutrients can be lost, canned produce may fare better.
However, processing fresh produce into fresh-cut products increases the risk of bacterial growth and contamination by breaking the natural exterior barrier of the produce. The processing and subsequent canning also changes their texture, which means you can't enjoy or use them in the same way you would use raw and fresh. I prefer the crunch and succulence of fresh, but canned is an option. - Frozen produce. Frozen vegetables are picked, washed, blanched (to halt various enzymatic actions) and then and cut before freezing. They are a nutritient-dense option for vegetables you plan to cook. This is because freezing also changes the delicate textures of vegetables, adding moisture. That said, they fare better when cooked with a dry method like stir-frying or sauteeing vs boiling, microwaving or steaming to preserve the texture that remains.
Frozen fruits are also flash frozen when fresh to preserve nutrients. Their textures are also changed, however. The new textures are still great for smoothies, baked desserts and other cooked preparations. Frozen offers another good option to supermarket produce, but is doesn't provide the same flavor, experience and enjoyment as raw and fresh. - Your local Farmer's Market. Years ago, after too many negative experiences with supermarket produce, I started searching for other local markets and I came across theh Farmer's Markets. At the time, I had never been to one so I didn't know what they were all about.
What I found was a local park that had been transformed into a community of interested shoppers by the layout of white-tented "stands" that housed 50+ farmers and vendors displaying the fruits and vegetables they grew, products they made, or dishes they cooked. The tents were laid out along the perimeter of the park, and in the middle, people were sitting, picnicking, or just talking with coffee or nibbling on an item just purchased. It was a meeting place like-minded people in the neighborhood and had great energy. It was fun to be there.
The Freshest Produce is at the local Farmer's Market
The Farmer's Market offers so many fruits and vegetables, the ones that I look forward to, but many that I'd never seen before - and all at peak freshness. Because it's so different from a supermarket, it takes some effort and time to learn how to navigate a market that is less a self-serve model of efficiency, and more an opportunity to learn from the farmers and artisans who grow the fruits, vegetables, flowers and the products made from them.
According to a study by The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), among countries across the world, Americans spend the least time eating and suffer the highest rates of non-communicable (chronic) diseases. Maybe if we slowed down and focused less on efficiency and more on quality and community, we could change that.
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