I’ve always heard that European produce is better for you than ours here in the US because they use less pesticides and preservatives. I’ll never forget the story of my friend, who studied abroad in Madrid, telling me how during their orientation one of their leaders referred to the milk that came in plastic containers and lasted for a week as “suspicious.”
I even remember the food in fast food chain McDonald’s somehow tasting better in Europe. I don’t know why, but it did. Since my travels, I’ve tried to adopt healthier ways of eating. I buy organic or local produce whenever I can. When I heard that organic food from Spain and the rest of the European Nation may soon be available in stores here, I jumped at the good news.
Apparently the U.S. and the E.U. are announcing that they will soon treat each other’s organic standards as equivalent. So, basically, if it’s organic here, it’s organic there and visa-versa. This is really exciting if you’re hoping to get your hands on some delicious organic food from Spain, like I am.
Samuel Fromartz, author of the book Organic, Inc. and editor of the Food and Environment Reporting Network, says that the process for determining “organic” was quite simple:
“You were going to avoid pesticides; you were going to avoid chemical fertilizers; you were going to rely on natural means, enriching the soil through compost.”
One of the things I’m really looking forward to getting organic from Spain is olive oil. I think this will open up a lot of doors for different kind of produce, particularly from the country responsible for some of our cultural heritage and I’m really excited for that. Let's just hope it's not too expensive!
Are you planning to buy organic food from Spain when it becomes available?
Image via jeffk42/flickr
