One of these things is the wish to live a little healthier. For a long time I have considered trying out organic food. Sure, they have a section in my local super market, but next to the other vegetables and fruits, big, spotless and shiny - the organics always look a bit drab...and so I pick them up, turn them over in my hands and put them down again. The price is always higher than the price for normal greens, and so that is what I end up buying. Simple as that.
It is not as if I do not know, we all do by now, the big, shiny spotless fruits and vegetables all come at a cost. In wonderful, warm and fertile Brazil you can grow almost anything, but in the world we live in everything has to add up to profit. In Brazil that has serious consequences. It is the world´s biggest user of pesticides, and in Brazil many toxic products that have been abandoned in the USA and Europe are still used.
Here is an article from O Globo (in Portuguese) that gives food for thought: http://redeglobo.globo.com/globociencia/noticia/2013/07/brasil-e-o-maior-usuario-de-pesticidas-na-agricultura-do-mundo.html
This year, for the first time even the Governement recognized the problem, releasing a report showing the link between pesticides and cancer: http://www.tsf.pt/PaginaInicial/Vida/Interior.aspx?content_id=4516591
Let´s just say it comes a little late...
But it was an article about workers on the farms in the mountains around Rio de Janeiro that really got to me, many have serious health problems resulting from the manipulation of the pesticides. Do I really want to keep contributing to that? Definitely not! and for some time I have been thinking about "going green".
Living in a mega-city like Rio de Janeiro, there are many options, there are streets fairs with only organic food, like the most famous one at Gloria, it is held every Saturday morning at Rua do Russel. There is even a fair close to my house on Tuesday mornings, but who says I manage to get up early and go?
It was a friend who told me about a group of farmers that have created the option of having a basket delivered home with organic fruits and vegetables every week. They send you a list by e-mail, you write them back saying what you want and they deliver it at your door. So simple that even I could manage to put it into my routine. I have discovered that there are several groups doing this, but I decided to try out Verdi Organicos. They have now delivered fruits and vegetables at my apartment for a month, and it is a completely new experience! Everything is fresh, green, and neatly packed:
The basket itself is not part of the deal! But you can order it, it is made by a cooperative in Vale-do-Café where the produce comes from, it is beautiful and made by hand!
And here is what was in this weeks basket!
Even my cat approved, she just had to check things out!
The experience has been a success at my house. The first thing we all noted was the freshness and the smell of everything in the basket. We had never really noted, but fruits and vegetables from the supermarket have hardly any smell at all. The second thing we are adapting to is the fact that Verdi Organicos only offers what is in season. Every week there is a different basket, and I am having fun discovering recipes for what I have in the fridge, and not doing it the other way around...
If you want to try it out here is the website: www.verdiorganicos.com.br
And now I am off to make a guacamole!
Next week will be number ten! Have a wonderful week!
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