I was at the grocery store the other day to buy grapefruit and almost accidentally got “organic” ones. I make it a point not to buy so-called organics because I refuse to pay a premium price for something that offers no premium benefit. Let the ad hominem attacks on my character begin.
I noticed in time to avoid the mistake and bought the non-organic grapefruit. Just think about how silly that sounds. The definition of organic is: of, relating to, or derived from living matter. A piece of fruit is organic whether it was lovingly cultivated from a magic seed by a Gaia-loving, Birkenstock-wearing Earth mother or spliced together under a microscope by a deranged, wild-haired scientist. Shockingly the Big Organic marketing machine has actually managed to shift the popular perception of the word. Just try typing “organic” into Google.
In any event, it occurred to me that it has been a long time since I have seen non-pink grapefruit. When I was growing up in the 1970s, grapefruit flesh was almost always off-white. Occasionally, we would see the pink variety, but it was the exception not the rule. And it was a bit of a treat because it was sweeter. Remember cutting white grapefruits in half and putting sugar on them to cut the bitterness?
But preferences change, especially with availability. Now, I can’t remember the last time I saw white grapefruit.
And then there are the red varieties. The vast majority of what is available in stores, at least at the moment, at least here in Saskatchewan, “organic” or non, is red.
I absolutely love red grapefruit because it is the poster child for the hypocrisy and/or ignorance of the anti-GMO movement. If you think it is unfair of me to conflate organic with anti-GMO consider that one of the items on the Organic Consumers Association’s six-point political platform is: “A global moratorium on genetically engineered foods and crops.”
Here is a statement I found on the South Texas Organics web page for “organic” red grapefruit.
“A Texas tradition, our grapefruit is a subtropical citrus tree developed here in the Lone Star State! The best, reddest, sweetest, juiciest, and most popular grapefruit combines the two reddest grapefruit varieties—Rio Red and Star Ruby Grapefruit. Rio Star Grapefruit has an overall blush on the exterior peel with a deep red interior color. Organic makes them even better!”
As an aside, I have to laugh my butt off about the tag line on this site, which is: Organic… Nature’s PickTM. That’s right, it is trademarked, another demonstration the organics industry is just big business in a different suit.
Let’s take a look at the history of grapefruit, shall we?
It didn’t even exist until the 1700s. It is a hybrid (i.e., genetically modified) plant originating in Barbados from the sweet orange (itself a hybrid) and the pomelo, both of which were introduced species of Asian origin. It is not entirely clear whether this genetic modification was cultivated or occurred accidentally, not that it matters since the effect is the same. A new fruit, originally dubbed the “forbidden fruit” and, later, grapefruit, due to the way it clusters, was born.
A pink variety was an early genetic mutation and red flesh was a further mutation first discovered on Texas pink grapefruit trees in 1906.
Farmers and, more pertinently, scientists, spent decades perfecting red grapefruits using… wait for it… ionizing radiation. The Rio Star grapefruit referred to in the organic propaganda referenced above, was created in a, gasp, laboratory and is protected by a patent. Patenting food is another reason GMOs are “bad” according to activists.
Ouch. That has got to hurt if you’re into “organics.”
Everything we eat has been genetically modified. Get over it.
Cease and desist
I came across a disturbing news item recently that must be addressed. Apparently the latest “super food” fad is human breast milk.
Touted as a boon to fitness regimens and a treatment for every chronic illness up to and including cancer, this is stupidity taken to an entirely new level.
I could write an entire column on how the claims are totally unsupported and implausible and how the supply is dangerous, but honestly, if ever there was a case for using common sense, this is it.
I should not have to tell people what a bad idea this is.
Suffice it to say, if you are even thinking about doing this, stop now.
