I live in the central valley and when I was in school I always remember teachers teaching california's agriculture is what supports the state. I know we grow oranges , grapes, nuts, and all kinds of vegetables right here in my backyard. I've been told it's because of our climate we are able to grow fruits and vegetables year round. So if this is the case should I be concerned that my fruits and vegetables are importedfrom other states or even countries.
This is the articles that raised my suspicions
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/apple-juice-made-america-th...
Thanks Kate I did not know this, I do no that not all the produce in my store is labled because I just went and checked my bell peppers and and tomatoes and I have not one sticker. But I have seen the stickered produce in the bins.
There is a law that all produce needs a sticker saying where it is from. Look for the sticker and see where us from...
When california agriculture is said to support the state, I believe they are referring to, or ought to be referring to financial support. Much of california produce is shipped out of state.
On the farmers market note, some areas have laws or ordinances that if you are selling your products as local, they must BE local. However, a lot don't have these regs and they're impossible to enforce anyway. So if you want to be sure it's local, look the seller in the eye and ask, "Where did this come from?" Here in Indiana, we know you're not gonna get a locally grown ripe tomato in May/early June. Still, people get store produce and try to sell it like it's theirs.
The article is a good one. But if that bothers you, you should read the Environmental Working Group's research that lists the "Dirty Dozen" of conventionally grown produce that exposes you to at least 47 chemicals, even after you wash it. Yuck!
Nope!!!
The same fruit and veg is in the store year round, but fruit and veg grows in different seasons, unless it's forced in hothouses.
Off Season we get most of our fruit/veg from south of the equator where the seasons are reversed, or from the equatorial zone that has 3-4 growing seasons.
Even IN season, supermarkets source their produce in ways that cost them the least. We grow tons and tons of apples here in state (and artichokes etc.) but most stores up here don't carry WA apples, even though most of the rest of the nation does. It's cheaper (bizarrely enough) for the megastores to have their apples shipped in from elsewhere, because they're buying in MASSIVE quantity, and then to distribute to their local stores from a distribution point. In no small part because cost of living is so expensive up here that the marketing gurus have us paying more for our homegrown fruit than just about anywhere else. We're subsidizing the cost for the rest of the nation x_X Things just cost one whole heckuva lot more when sourced locally just because our region is soooooo expensive. ((This isn't true of most places, usually sourcing locally is LESS expensive because there aren't transport costs).
(Hi again :)
NO! Can come from very far. As far away as China. (Yes even Whole Foods imports from China. Go to their website to see read more.) Trader Joe's - I believe - does not import any foods from China. Stickers should say but not always.
Heard a great quote from a chef recently: If you have a choice of buying a non-organic tomato locally vs. an Organic one from another country, choose the non-organic close by. Produce wasn't made to travel!
No, not necessarily. The reason is the U.S. supports other countries and their economic endeavors. An example is the U.S. has given financial aid to Morrocco to help them rehabilitate their olive and almond industry. Good or Bad, this creates competition for California grown products. In the interest of ecology (harder on the environment to ship products further) and the fact I have relatives that grow olives and almonds in the Northern part of the Central valley, I look at labels for olives and almonds to make sure I'm buying California grown products. I don't do this with all products though. It's a tough balance, as I think competition can make everyone sharper and it's good to help another country to grow food.
We have a lot of local produce in our stores here in CA, but if it's off-season, I'll notice on the stickers it's from out of the country. So, the answer is that you'll likely see a mix, depending on the time of year. Just look for the stickers on the produce and you'll be able to tell quickly where it's from.
I don't know that each piece has to be labeled but our stores have the place of origin on the sign next to the price. Look next time you go to the store. Good luck!!!
Kate is right. All produce MUST be labeled with country of origin.
"State of origin"? Nope.
Our market has a lot of signs on locally grown produce with the name of the farm--people seem to like knowing that their beans, corn, etc is from just down the road. Does your market do that? You can always go to a local farm/farm stand/farmer's market for your produce if you want to be sure you are buying only local produce.
Should you be concerned? Depends. On the agriculture practices of other countries (Chi-chi's onions, anyone?) Or just from the buy locally aspect? I buy as much as I can from local sources, but I like to look for USA.
To make sure I support local farmers I shop for produce at their stands as often as possible, Whole Foods Market Only buys locally (or as close to home as possible), and many farms have programs where you pay a "membership" and they deliver or have for pick up your portion of the harvest for that month. This often allows them to get the up front funds to keep going and your food is always fresh and in season.
We own a freight brokerage company and have a fleet of 40+ 18wheelers that we use to ship produce from CA out to ME,MA&NY and i know that sometimes we pick up avocados in TX and bring them to Cali, or we pickup watermelons/melons/bananas from arizona and also bring those to cali. So yeah alot of the produce consumed in CA comes from other states, the only thing i can think of that comes from another country is sometimes bananas, certain times in the year they just need a different climate then we have here. Not only produce get brought in from outer state though, oviously we ship out produce but our trucks have to come back loaded with something so they bring back alot of frozen meats, frozen soups, chocolate (Lindt) and pastries. I don't see why this is a concern though? maybe i need to read the article..
