I Hated Tomatoes and You Might Too
This article was written by staff writer Jenna Bensko. Read about Jenna here.
It was in a small urban garden in Quito, Ecuador in the fall of 2018 that I first enjoyed the juicy, flavorful pop of a cherry tomato. I was walking through a handmade, crooked greenhouse, lost in the maze of tomato vines. The gumball-sized tomatoes glistened in the sun, their deep red hue enhanced by the morning light. I hesitated before I reached for a small, red delicacy off the vine. Tomatoes had previously only offered me the same bland, mushy, lackluster experience, no matter their appearance. Why would this be any different? I popped one of those suckers in my mouth and, dare I say, I enjoyed it. My tastebuds experienced a complex combination of sweet and savory that was entirely new to me. The flesh of the tomato was firm and crisp, but still juicy and refreshing. That first garden tomato was my gateway product into the world of local, seasonal produce. All of my prior experiences eating produce involved those purchased at supercenters like Target or Walmart.
There is an obvious dichotomy between “local, fresh food” and “global, processed food”. Local food typically refers to items purchased at farmers markets or through CSAs, whereas global food refers to food purchased at supercenters such as Walmart and grocery stores like Whole Foods. There are a multitude of sound arguments in favor of local food purchases, but I will highlight one in particular: the nutritional value. While my experience with the tomato in Quito revealed to me that local food tastes better, my research as a nutritionist has allowed me to understand why the delicious flavor of local food corresponds with its nutritional value. Unfortunately, this area of nutritional science is not well researched. The few studies that do exist are outdated and use small sample sizes. Variables such as seasonality and shipping time significantly impact the nutritional value of produce and should be further researched.
When you go to the grocery store, what do you look for when picking out your produce? We are often taught to look for the most clean and “normal” looking items. This method for finding and purchasing produce may be a direct effect of the USDA’s emphasis on appearance when grading food for consumption. The shape, skin and color of produce determines its grade. However, the appearance of produce should not serve as a proxy for the nutritional value as the two are simply not correlated. There are several companies, such as Imperfect Foods and Misfit Market, that cleverly market and repurpose produce that does not pass the beauty test at the grocery store. The appearance of the produce they sell similarly has no effect on it’s nutritional value, but it’s a thoughtful attempt to resell produce that would otherwise be wasted. A better grocery shopping tactic would be to shop in season, as it is hard to track the origins of the produce you are looking at in the store. For instance, as a Bostonian, I am relying heavily on parsnips and peas in my cooking right now, as those are two crops currently in season in this region. Even if I purchase these ingredients at a supermarket like Stop and Shop, the odds of it coming from a more local source are much better, since these crops are being produced locally right now. The nutritional values that are assigned to our produce are based on a very small sample size of crops collected for a study done ten years ago (1). These values inaccurately inform our labeling system and even fitness tracker applications, such as Fitness Pal, that are the cornerstone of diet culture today. The study mentioned was not large enough to account for variability in the nutritional value of each item based on seasonality, packaging of produce, shipping time, soil quality and other impactful factors.
Our current system does not recognize variables that exist within the production and shipping of our produce. Most significantly the seasonality of produce has an impact on the micronutrient and vitamin levels in produce.
“...although the vitamin C content of organically and conventionally labeled broccoli was not significantly different, significant seasonal changes have been observed. The fall values for vitamin C were almost twice as high as those for spring for both varieties (P=0.021 for organic and P=0.012 for conventional). The seasonal changes in vitamin C content are larger than the differences between organically labeled and conventionally grown broccoli” (2).
When a piece of fruit is harvested out of season and then shipped many miles, the nutrient content deteriorates quickly, particularly if they’re subject to poor refrigeration. Buying locally not only provides more flavorful and nutritious food, but allows individuals to experiment with a diversity of local crops. You won’t find out of season produce at the market, but you will find a wide range of lesser-known produce that might be new to you. And by purchasing in season from local farms, your food dollars go directly to farmers, supporting your local economy too. Other factors that may affect nutritional value, but not as significantly as seasonality, include soil quality, seed variety and elevation.
Is there a benefit to the extreme dichotomy, or should we work towards a middle ground? The benefits of supporting the local food economy are endless, but national movement towards this style of consumption is slow. My hope is that further research and education on the nutritional value of seasonal food can further encourage individuals to change existing consumption patterns. However, systemic change is the most effective way to transform our shopping habits in a way that supports local producers and delivers consumers with the most nutritious produce.We may need to work with, and within, supercenters to improve the accessibility and sustainability of our food system.
This article was written by a guest contributor, Jenna Bensko. Read about Jenna here.
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