Bugs are Organic, Too!

I was picking up some groceries for my Mom on Tuesday at the local Calgary Co-op.  Whilst I was perusing the asparagus spears, I overheard a mother scold her 10 year old daughter: "Don't get the organic broccoli, it always has nasty little bugs in it!" That got me thinking on just how sheltered and protected from nature most consumers really are.

So what?

Insects are a part of life. When the number of species in the Phylum Arthropoda outnumbers the species in the Phylum Mammalia on an estimated millions-to-one ratio, there is really not much we can do to avoid them all together, try though we may. However, God forbid a housewife should find a fruit fly in her pears, or small green caterpillars in her lettuce, or little midges in the broccoli. That's a terrible thing. Granted, there are some insects we would rather not have in contact with our food for their reputation of harbouring stowaway bacteria and dirt, like cockroaches and houseflies and such.

Organic is supposed to be better for you. No pesticides, no herbicides, no chemicals (stop rolling your eyes, some consumers believe it is possible). So, if no chemicals are used, pests are allowed to propagate uncontrolled, and what was one cutter worm per lettuce head becomes two dozen. Well, there is no possible way to guarantee that none of those worms would survive harvest and transport. The bugs will make their way into the food supply. And hey, so what?

They never hurt anyone, and they don't eat much...

Being a farm kid, raised around cattle, I am not very dirt shy. Most urban Calgarians would faint at the thought of not washing carrots fully before eating them. I personally find that the dirt in the rings on a carrot give it an excellent flavour. The things I have eaten at cattle shows (where we have an odd attraction to finger food and a strange aversion to hot water and soap) would probably make the health insurance companies run for the hills when I come knocking. As it stands, I am probably mildly resistant to a pretty good dose of E. Coli as a result of nine years  of "brushing the dirt off" at cattle shows before eating my burger, or my sandwich. A speck in my iced tea? Flavour. A spot on my lettuce? Character. A little green worm on my broccoli? A mild annoyance. It's nature, and so are we.


Bottom line is, bugs are everywhere, and so is dirt. It would be considered unreasonable to clean and scrub and de-bug every vegetable and fruit in the grocery store. One is bound to pop up every now and then. When it does, pick it off, wash your fingers if you have too, and carry on. Move on people, they're just bugs. Keep it quiet or everyone will want a fly in their stew...