All About Apricots

Apricots! The sound of this delectable fruit reminds me of California summers. After all, California grows 94% of all apricots grown in the United States. Available for a short harvesting season, apricots are often the star piece of produce at markets during their growing season (May-August). The velvety outside and sweet and tart inside of this fruit is fulfilling not just in taste, but in nutritional quality as well.

There are over ten different varieties of apricots, the most common to California being the Blenheim variety. Like many crops, apricots thrive in California because of the ideal temperate climate here.

When selecting apricots, look for the following two important factors: color and firmness. The darker the orange color (or even red tinge) and firmer, the better. If your apricots are too unripe, they can be easily ripened in a paper bag at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. Apricots are classified as stone fruits (drupes) because of the pit inside. I personally like the smallest apricots (about the size of a golf ball). I think they are the tastiest because they often have the least amount of exposure to overwatering (and pesticides) in the growing process. Apricots are best preserved in a container placed inside a refrigerator. They will remain fresh for up to one week stored in this manner. A perfectly ripe apricot should actually twist open to break it in half, exposing the pit on one side. Note that unripe apricots will not ripen in the refrigerator.

Photo credit: diplomatickitchen

Apricots make a wonderful addition to oatmeal, breakfast cereal, ice cream, or even salads. They can be preserved for long-term use as jams, jellies, and chutneys. Popular desserts include cobblers or poached apricots. But, apricots can also star as the main course dish when prepared as a Moroccan chicken stew with olives or served as apricot glazed chicken. Dried apricots are often dehydrated. Best to seek out those preserved naturally (without sulfur).

Farmers Market 101: What is a GMO?

There is plenty of talk about GMO’s lately, especially in relation to states trying to pass laws requiring labeling of them. Struggling with understanding GMOs? Here is a quick 5-point primer for you.

 1. What does GMO stand for?
Genetically Modified Organism

2. What does Genetically Modified mean?
This means a plant or animal has been genetically engineered using DNA from bacteria, viruses or other plants and animals (important to note that these are changes that could not happen in nature, which differentiate GMOs from traditional crossbreeding). For example, GMO scientists inserted DNA from an Artic fish into the DNA of a tomato giving the tomato an improved tolerance to cold temperature.

3. How did GMOs come about?
GMOs came about from chemical companies desire to sell more pesticides/herbicides to farmers by eliminating the fear of killing crops during application. Therefore, they engineered the crops to tolerate the direct application of herbicides and pesticides.

4. Why should I care about GMOs?
Health concerns. More than 60 countries have restricted or banned GMOs due to health concerns. There are no long-term health studies indicating their safety while growing evidence supports the connection between GMOs and health problems such as autoimmune diseases and cancer. The food industry (in the US) says otherwise but keep in mind that our FDA allows our food to be modified based on testing done by the same corporations creating them (huge conflict of interest).

5. How can I avoid GMOs?
It’s very difficult. Chances are when eating out at a restaurant, your plate is filled with GMO ingredients. The most common GMOs in the US are corn, canola, soy, sugar beets and cotton. In the US, GMOs are used in about 70% of conventional processed foods. Since labeling is note required, it makes it very difficult to avoid them. To date, every State ballot initiative to label GMOs has been defeated thanks to the financial backing from corporations benefiting from GMOs.

Practical Takeaways.
Although it may be time consuming, doing research is key. Labels such as Organic and the voluntary “Non-GMO” will let you know its GMO free. Otherwise, it’s best to buy from local farmers’ markets and small local companies. Eating local, organic vegetables and organic, grass-fed meat and poultry will keep you on the right track. We know that things can get expensive, so we always suggest to do the best you can within your means.

If you’re interested in even more reading and joining the Non-GMO Project, click here.

Farmers Market 101: What Does "Organic" Mean?

Organic here, organic there, organic everywhere! The Certified Organic label is everywhere you look these days. Did you know it was only first implemented in 2002? Today, you can stroll down any aisle (whether it’s Whole Foods, or a conventional supermarket) and find something that’s organic. Even WalMart is now a huge player in organics. But what does that label really mean? We already know what a GMO is, so here are some main things about the Organic label that you should know.

• Organic standards are developed at the national level (overseen by the USDA).
• The USDA does not perform the certification process itself. Third party certification agencies are used.
• The label is based on farming practices, soil treatment, additives, weed control and pesticides.
• There are 3 breakdowns of the “Organic” label
  • 100% Organic: All ingredients must be certified organic, any processing aids must be organic, and product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel.
  • Organic: All agricultural ingredients must be certified organic, non-organic ingredients up to a combined total of 5% are allowed (excluding salt & water), and product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel.
  • “Made With” Organic: At least 70% of the ingredients used to make the product must be certified organic, product labels must state the name of the certifying agent on the information panel, and any remaining agricultural products are not required to be organically grown, however, they must be non-GMO. These products will not have an organic label on the package.

What about alcohol? Good question! In addition to the USDA organic label, all alcoholic beverages must meet the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau regulations along with sulfite labeling. This means that products with added sulfites can only have a “made with” organic label, not the USDA Organic seal.

We know this may be a lot of information to retain and recall when food shopping, but it is important! And like we always say, it’s easiest (and the least stressful) to shop at a local farmers’ market where you can trust your farmers and ingredients.

Farmer Mark’s Final Thoughts:
A popular misconception is that the Organic label means no “pesticides” have been used, however, that is not the case. There are many non-synthetic pesticides such as need oil, tea tree oil and clove oil that are used in organic growing. Unfortunately, since Organic is a national standard, and big companies mean big lobbying, more and more synthetic chemicals are now being added to the acceptable list.

Organic comes with a premium price, so choose wisely where you spend your money. The EWG publishes an annual list of conventional foods with the most pesticides (Dirty Dozen) and least pesticides (Clean Fifteen). EWG's Dirty Dozen™ list for 2014 included apples, strawberries, grapes, celery, peaches, spinach, sweet bell peppers, imported nectarines, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, imported snap peas and potatoes. EWG's Clean Fifteen™ for 2014 are avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangoes, papayas, kiwis, eggplant, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower and sweet potatoes.

Why is it that “clean” produce needs a label, while “dirty” produce doesn’t? It’s a shame that an Organic grower needs to get annually inspected, pay an annual fee and comply with extra bookkeeping regulations for the right to put an Organic label in its produce. We think it would make more sense for organically grown food to be called “food,” while food grown with synthetic chemicals be required the label. “Chemical” food sounds like an appropriate label to me!

Farmers Market 101: Grass Fed vs Grain Fed

When selecting your preferred cut of beef at the local butcher, have you ever thought about what you are about to eat has eaten? It makes sense that it would matter. After all, it’s ‘garbage in, garbage out’. This philosophy matters all the way down the food chain. Quality inputs result in quality outputs. Unfortunately, we the consumer, aren’t typically informed when the inputs down the food chain are substituted or degrade in quality. We are kept in the dark. Since the health impact of those changes is not immediate, we tend to be slow to respond if we don’t see the direct impact.

Back around the 3rd grade we learned that cows are ruminants (grass eaters). Its eight stomach digestive system converts grasses (including alfalfa, hay, and clovers) into the proper nutrients required for a cow to achieve optimal health. In contrast, our human stomach isn’t designed very well to process grasses directly (which we also might have learned in 3rd grade when we tried eating some of our front lawn). Good news though! We can process it indirectly through the consumption of beef, which our stomach can handle. In doing so, we indirectly get the nutritional benefits of grass via cows. Did you know that most cattle ranchers call themselves dirt farmers? If we keep thinking about quality inputs and look one step further down the food chain we see why. Healthy soil will result in healthy grass. If a rancher promotes a healthy soil, it will result in a cycle of health up the food chain:

Healthy Soil > Healthy Grass > Health Cows > Healthy Humans

Sadly, most Americans do not consume beef from healthy cows. They consume from cows suffering from obesity, disease, infection and illness. To combat these health problems, the cows are pumped full of antibiotics, hormones and steroids. About 80% of all antibiotics sold in the US are used for livestock and poultry. But why are the cows so unhealthy you ask? Their food input was changed. Instead of grass, the overwhelming majority of beef sold in the US now comes from cows fed a diet of corn, soy and grains. Why? Economics.

Less Expensive
Corn, soy and grain are cheaper. From 1997 to 2005, for example, taxpayer-subsidized grain prices saved feedlots and other CAFOs about $35 billion. They are cheaper due to our national Farm Bill subsidies. Most beef prior to 1950 was still grass fed. However, once national subsidies were put in place, ranchers quickly switched over to the cheaper food source. Even after figuring in the additional costs of antibiotics, hormones and steroids, it is still a cheaper alternative for the producer and results in cheaper end product, which makes consumers happy. Unfortunately, not all costs are being considered. If you could factor in the cost of health care and the environmental impact costs, it would be a different picture. However, these indirect costs don’t get the attention they deserve.

Decreased Production Time
Cows ‘fatten up’ quicker on a diet of corn, soy and grain. It takes cows about 4 years to reach slaughter weight when fed grass but only 13 months when fed their new diet. This diet works well with other animals too, like pigs, lamb, chicken and even fish! Yes, underwater species are now fed land dwelling foods. Odds are that tilapia you just bought was fed corn and soy pellets. Makes you think what might happen when humans are primarily fed this type of diet? As you hopefully know by now, that experiment is in already in progress with (obvious) results.

Moving away from grass and head first into grains and soy results in some additional negatives:

Less Nutrients
Significantly less vitamin E, beta-carotene, vitamin C, and fewer health-promoting fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and “conjugated linoleic acid”

Increased Toxins
All those nasty antibiotics, steroids and hormones used to keep the unhealthy cows alive gets passed on through the beef on your plate, and is typically stored in the fat.

We could go on forever with this topic, but will wrap it up here for now. We’ll save our thoughts about the inhumane treatment of non-grass fed cows and the environmental degradation from factory farming for another post.

Practical Takeaways:

• Pay the higher cost for quality grass fed meats. If you can’t afford to get the same quantity as you usually would, spend the same amount to take home a bit less. When cooking beef, simply cook less and add more veggies to your plate instead.
• If you can’t avoid the non-grass fed meat, be sure to trim the fat! Lots of toxins in that fat, so stay clear of it.