Try Something New

One of the best things we can do for nature is to encourage diversity. Breeding crops for appearance rather than taste has led us not just to reduce diversity, but also to forego a number of delicious variations for fruits and vegetables. This has led to a host of problems including the need to use more pesticides and even genetically modify foods as these single strains become less blight resistant.

However, with the increase in farmer's markets and organic produce, we have also had an increase in heirloom varieties of produce, that is produce that our great grandparents might recognize like zebra tomatoes or Jonagold apples. So as spring and summer bring us a bounty of produce, you may have an opportunity to try something new. Perhaps you will come across an orange or purple cauliflower, a pink and white striped beet, a peach that looks like a donut or a white eggplant. I encourage you to give them a try.  Not only will you have the opportunity to try something new, but you will be encouraging grocery stores to stock diverse produce, which in turn encourages farmers to grow it.