Are You Like Joni Mitchell?

• by Ronnie Smith
• April 5, 2018

Joni Mitchell once sang:

“Hey farmer farmer, Put away that D.D.T. now
Give me spots on my apples, But leave me the birds and the bees
Please”

Sorry Joni, It seems, in general, most people don’t want spots on their apples.

For fruit to sell in the supermarkets it has to look immaculate, no blemishes whatsoever and perfectly shaped.

Which you might think strange, as really it should be the taste that is most important.

But it’s perfectly natural for us to find the fruit with the least marks, bruises or blemishes as that could be a sign of alien invaders eating into the fruit.

We are very fastidious when it come to our food.  People check their food to make sure their are no little surprises lurking within and many people are obsessed with cleaning their food and their utensils.

This has led to millions of tonnes of fruit being thrown away because it is not the right shape, size or colour.  This despite the fact that in some parts of the world people live in malnutrition and poverty.

Morrisons have just come out to say they will be selling more “wonky” i.e misshapen fruit.

Is this a sign that people are finally accepting that fruit doesn’t have to look perfect to taste great?

If it is, then this is a good thing.  Less fruit will be thrown away and there will be more of an emphasis on taste rather than appearance.  Substance OVER style if you will.

At Fruitfest we always strive to select food based on what tastes best.

That is generally, the fruit which is most in season at that time, hitting peak ripeness and flavour.

Historically, we have not been able to source a 100% organic source of fruit for the festival.  As far as I am aware (correct me if I am wrong) there is no 100% organic wholesaler of fruits and vegetables in the UK.

The closest one I believe is either in Paris or the Netherlands.  Having tried to order organic fruit from Paris in the past I wasn’t impressed by the service, or the inconsistency in what I ordered versus what actually turned up.

If you want more organic fruit to be available, or more wonky fruit, you must choose to vote with your wallet and choose organic.

For me, I must honestly say, I rarely look for the organic sign anymore.  I just look for what looks like it tastes the best.

Maybe that is something I need to work on, but from a health perspective, I know that the benefits of eating raw fruits and vegetables far outweigh the unknown risks of trace amounts of pesticide on our food.

Many people hold fruits and vegetables to a higher standard than other foods.

Let me explain with a story:

I once offered a friend some strawberries.  He looked at them sceptically, and looked up at me asking “are these organic?”

I doubt he asked if the 2 litre bottle of Pepsi he regularly drank was made from all organic ingredients.  Or when he gorged on Indian curries at his local takeaway, I never heard him ask if the food was organic then.

But fruit?

No, that’s dangerous!

The truth is that the foods with the highest concentration are those higher up in the food chain….i.e. animal flesh.  The toxins that the cow takes in from eating corn or soya beans that have been treated with pesticides become concentrated in their flesh.

If pesticides are causing health issues, it is more likely to happen to meat eaters than fruitarians.

Enjoy your fruit without fear!

As for organic fruits and vegetables, I had a look into this as someone said to me “organic fruit gets sprayed EVEN MORE than conventional”.

Some of these myths get bandied about too.

In the UK, a limited list of substances are allowed to be used as pesticides (you can check the list out at the Soil Association site).  Most of these are “natural” pesticides.  For example clove oil can be used as a pesticide.  Whether that is better for our health I don’t quite know but it is better for the environment it would seem.

Joni Mitchell also sang:

“We’ve paved paradise and put up a parking lot”

Parking lots, roads, buildings, cities take up a very small space on our planet.  In reality we have cut down the forests, drained the swamps and dug up the plants to make way for pasture land for cattle or to plan the foods that we feed to the cattle.

By changing the world to vegan and eventually fruitarian we can recreate paradise.

We can plant the trees again and live in more harmony with nature.  Fruit is the most efficient yielding crop, we can reduce the amount of land we require hugely by eating more fruit.

We’ve got a long way to go, but if you want to be part of the movement come along to Fruitfest 2018.

Joni Mitchell once sang: “Hey farmer farmer, Put away that D.D.T. now Give me spots on my apples, But leave me the birds and the bees Please” Sorry Joni, It seems, in general, most people don’t want spots on their apples. For fruit to sell in the supermarkets it has to look immaculate, no blemishes…