New York is great, Florida is the pits
SARASOTA, FL -- April 29th, 2006
By Judy Pokras
WHEN I lived in New York City -- which, after all, is not exactly farmland -- I had no trouble finding locally grown organic produce, even in winter, when upstate New York farmers brought root vegetables into Union Square's greenmarket.
When I moved to Sarasota, Florida, about three and a half years ago, I thought it would be a paradise for locally grown produce. I couldn't have been more wrong! The local health food stores, which include a few small chains plus Whole Foods Market, rarely sell anything grown in the state of Florida. In fact, most produce (organic and conventional) in health food stores and the supermarkets comes from other countries. Like organic grapes from South Africa. I seem to remember organic grapes coming from California when I lived in New York. Yes, California is 3,000 miles from NYC, not 100 miles. But at least it's the same country.
In answer to my questions, the USDA wrote me that before produce is allowed to be imported into the US, it may be subject to fumigation, irradiation, steaming or dipping in hot water. As a longtime raw vegan (and the founder and editor of rawfoodsnewsmagazine.com), I don't want to eat produce that has been cooked or fumigated or irradiated. Besides, the USDA said there's no way for consumers to know what's been done to the imported produce unless they happen to see the boxes it was shipped in, and even the boxes don't always reveal the whole story.
I live in an apartment, so I don't have land I can use to grow my own. Even if I did, I'd have to drop everything else I'm doing and become a full-time farmer, which isn't practical, and the growing season here doesn't allow for a wide enough variety of produce year-round. All of this makes me want to move to California.
And don't get me started on the lack of raw food restaurants in the entire state of Florida! California has more than 20. California, here I come!
