Why Organic Strawberries?

I've really been enjoying this seasons strawberries, every week they seem to be getting sweeter and more full of flavour.

If you are living near to Enniscorthy don't miss out on the chance to visit the Wexford Strawberry Festival next weekend. It kicks off on Wednesday the 25th with a Strawberry Ball and goes on until the 29th of June. It would be worth going just on the chance of being able to sample the Organic Strawberries produced locally at the Wexford Organic Centre. 

So why should we choose organic strawberries? 

Thankfully one of the most devastating chemicals used in Strawberry production, Methyl Bromide was phased out in 2005. According to the Environmental Protection Agency the chemical was used as a pesticide both to sterilise the land before planting and after harvesting. Apart from the obvious concerns of chemical residue on the fruit itself it was found that Methyl Bromide was having a devastating effect on the ozone layer. It is also sited in the Environmental Protection Agencies Draft Guidance Note for Ozone Depleting Substances as being responsible for the deaths of some pesticide appliers. 

Unfortunately Methyl Bromide was only one of 50 chemicals that is listed by the Pesticides Action Network as being routinely used on Strawberry crops. I picked two at random from their list: Methomyl which when taken orally, inhaled or absorbed through the skin can cause symptoms which:

may include weakness, blurred vision, headache, nausea, abdominal cramps, chest discomfort, constriction of pupils, sweating, muscle tremors, and decreased pulse. If there is severe poisoning, symptoms of twitching, giddiness, confusion, muscle incoordination, slurred speech, low blood pressure, heart irregularities, and loss of reflexes may also be experienced - source extoxnet

And Thiophanate-methyl which although not anywhere near as toxic as Methomyl does cause skin and eye irritation.

So if you aren't lucky enough to be able to source organic strawberries on your doorstep try to buy from a small local supplier who is less likely to have used the full spectrum of chemicals and will be able to tell you exactly how they are grown.

Better still, why not try and grow your own next year!

In The News This Week

I can't let the week slip by without drawing attention to two big news stories about organic food.

I'm a bit late with the first one which is an Irish story. Trevor Sargent, former Green Party leader has left me with very little to complain about since they have been in government. I was delighted to read that he is pushing forward plans to massively increase the amount of land given over to organic production in the next 5 years. If these ambitious targets are met we can look forward to a lot more organic foods of all kinds; on our shelves, in our restaurants and in my hampers!... I am quivering with anticipation.

If you want to avoid pesticide residues in your food and you are living in the UK it seems that, unless go completely organic, you will have to live on a diet of carrots and cucumbers! Scientists working on behalf of the British governments Pesticide Residues Committee found that 70% of the free fruit and veg supplied to schoolchildren contained residues. Although some foods tested contained more that one residue, there were none found in carrots or cucumbers. Slightly less worrying, but still of concern, is that out of 220 organic samples tested 5 were found to contain chemical traces.