Neil and I have been receiving Green Earth Organics deliveries for four months. Every Wednesday, we come home to a box of fruit and vegetables for the week’s lunches and dinners. The convenience is unbeatable. The price is quite reasonable. However, the quality and the variety is lacking. It is in our experience that the organics must be consumed within the first few days. Otherwise, mold takes over the fruit and the vegetables become limp and rotten. This is in addition to the often occurrence of bruised fruit. Bruised to the point that it cannot be consumed because of the large mushy dents that turn into rotten holes and mold. We have often received fruit that was past it’s prime ripe period, so it was even on the downward side of quality on the day we opened our box. In addition to the lack of quality, the lack of variety is really starting to wear on us. It’s even worse if we’re not diligent with making substitutions in our order. There are only so many carrots, onions and potatoes that we can eat in a week.

Eating organic has been beneficial for not only our health, but for the flavour that is bursting out of the ripe fruit and vegetables. However, eating organic often meant organic fruit and vegetables shipped into Canada as far down the coast as California, Mexico, or across the ocean, rather than enjoying B.C.’s non-organic fruit. Given that organic fruit and vegetables have a shorter shelf-life, it would be best to shorten their time and distance traveled. With our attempts to live greener lifestyles, shipping organics around the world conflicts with our efforts. We have to outweigh the benefits of eating healthier, organic food over the detriment of shipping organic foods half-way around the world. We’re going to start shopping once again, while trying to add a few more organic choices to our diets.