Perhaps you had a friend like mine. You know the one whose family shopped in the natural market and everything was organic from toothpaste to ice cream? She introduced me to my first taste of seaweed. I loved those salty sheets of algae – still do.
I want to clarify that I wasn’t raised in a house filled with overly processed food. We ate muesli for breakfast since sugar would rot our teeth as my dad often reiterated.
Despite my upbringing, I sensed that organic food had its niche. Left over flower children were raising their children accordingly, and the rest of us brushed that world aside. I remember begging my mom for those fruit leather snacks – I still don’t know why I never succeeded in convincing her to buy them. Instead, I saved my money. If I was lucky I was with my friend on shopping day and we’d head off to the aisles of chemical-free products where I would stock up on ripened raspberry or abundant apricot delight.
I don’t know when the change happened, but all of a sudden organic products are ubiquitous. I mean, even WalMart went organic last year. Perhaps it’s the notion that organic=good. Good for you. Good tasting, as the food’s less processed, treated and fresher. Good for the environment. But organic is not always the best.
I just finished reading a Salon article that speaks about organic wine. I’ve seen bottles labeled organic, and I’ve tasted a few. Eh, they were alright. I never really thought about what goes into (or rather doesn’t go into) organic wine. Read up.
