There is a mis-perception that Farmer’s Markets are organic produce. Most are not. You have to specifically ask how the produce is grown to know for sure.

Also, there is an excellent book “The Body Restoration Plan” by Dr. Paula Baillie-Hamilton who is an expert in human metabolism. She has studied chemical calories for years and talks about how you can eliminate chemical calories and repair your body’s natural slimming system. The chemicals used to grow crops also grow us. Think about it…chemicals don’t always get washed off or cooked out and so if it’s in the fruit or vegetable it gets into you too. Lettuce and strawberries are two of the biggest culprits. The strawberries that are the size of your palm are hybrids. My grandmother who grew up on a strawberry farm in Missouri can’t believe they grow that big. The strawberries grow that big because of the chemicals. Typical strawberries are about an inch in size.

My interest had been in taste. In that sense, Organic is not necessarily a spectacular improvement. However, what does make for a spectacular improvement is grass fed vs grain fed and free range vs cage fed. If you are ever in the area of Newville, PA, stop of at the farm of Mark and Maryanne Nolt. They are Old Order Mennonite and they follow organic farming practises. The cows are fed on grass from the pasture and sileage and the chicken coops are moved to a new location every day so that the chickens can feast on grass, worms and slugs and other disgusting things. The milk is not pasteurized or homogenized and the egg yolks are a somewhat orange color rather than a pale yellow. The eggs actually have a taste and the milk tastes like another substance altogether compared to the commercial stuff in the supermarket. At this point, they no longer sell milk to the milk truck. Except for the milk that they sell from their farm store, all the milk is used to make their own cheese. I do have a problem with the cheese. It is not aged long enough. They simply sell it out too fast.