organic fruit

Although I spend a lot of my time thinking and writing about good food, I'm pretty inconsistent when it comes to what I actually do. When my (then) three-year-old boy went on a calcium strike, for example, I caved in after about four minutes and made him chocolate milk. When my daughter pouted instead of getting dressed for school, I offered a piece of candy as motivation to speed things up. When I picked the kids up from school, I'd bring lollipops and crackers. When I had a rough day at work, I'd reward myself with a piece of ice cream pie.

I'm writing about these things in the past tense because I'm committed to change. Summer's coming, and my strategy of doling out treats in order to keep people happy needs to change. It will change.

The Enironmental Working Group (EWG) recently released its 2010 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides. (Note: This guide is NOT for shoppers who want to BUY pesticides, but rather for those who want to AVOID them in their food.)

A couple of weeks ago, I spent a day at the largest annual organic farming conference in the US, held just two hours away from the Twin Cities, in LaCrosse, Wisconsin. The Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service (MOSES) conference provided a glimpse into the zeitgeist of today’s organic movement. Although organic food is fully integrated into the marketplace and can be found everywhere from Cub Foods to The Wedge, the small farmers who make up the backbone of the movement don’t lack for revolutionary fervor. They’re still driven by a passion to change the world.

"Sometimes all people should get is a big bunch of blueberries," Everett Myers tells me. "Sometimes the blueberries are so good that everyone should just get those. Twelve pints at a time." I laugh a little bit, letting on that I might not be all that thrilled with such a shipment. "With recipes and information about how to use them, how to store them, things like that," Everett continues. His point is that when blueberries are at their peak, when they exhibit their most complete blueberry-ness, they should be consumed like crazy. Get your fill of blueberries when they're good! What are you waiting for?