Dear Sir,
In my quest to remain as healthy as possible, I decided to go “organic.” Off I went to the store to look for organic ingredients to make my new food. Much to my dismay, I found that the few organic ingredients available were so expensive that just to make a loaf of bread would break the bank.
Not to be defeated, I decided to seek out already prepared food and local produce at an “organic market.” What goodies my eyes beheld. The prices were pretty good considering what it would have cost me to prepare the breads, cakes, stuffed grape leaves, tamales and other foods.
So I filled up my bags.
When I got home a few things started to bother me. A lot of the products were packaged in plastic with nary a PET logo in sight. I also noticed there were no labels listing ingredients. I started to research what “organic” means here at Lakeside and in Mexico. Unfortunately, there seem to be no regulations, government or otherwise. Anything, it appears, can be called organic.
Organic livestock feed is not available in Mexico. There are a few organic pet foods, imported at astronomical cost. So, what do these organic chickens eat to lay their organic eggs?
The next week I return to the market with lots of questions for the vendors, in a bid to be reassured that what I had purchased the week before was actually organic.
Bread? “We use regular flour, organic flour is too expensive and hard to find.”
Organic eggs? “The chickens are loose.” What does that mean and what do they eat?
Tomatoes, lettuce? “Grown without pesticides.” Ok, I’ll buy that. Guess I’m eating salads from now on.
Where in Mexico can you get an organic grape leaf? Potatoes? Cheese?
What was I thinking? Oh, I wasn’t. Just kept filling up my bags, giddy with the idea of becoming svelte and healthy.
I also talked to the organizers of the market and was told that to qualify to sell there the products had to be organic. I’d like to find those “qualified vendors,” wherever they are. I’d also like to see a label.
This buyer has become aware that the extra cost of so-called organic products is akin to throwing money into the lake. I’m not going back to Wonder Bread but I’m also not going to be fooled into thinking that just because it’s called a duck, it is a duck.
Marsha McCarthy, Chapala