Sustainable Foods and You! Weekly Garden Update

So this week in the garden we were finally able to harvest and take home some of our vegetables! I was able to take home some green ladybug peppers, four eggplants, two teacup squash and one Joe Parker green pepper. When I got home, I cooked up the eggplant by dicing it and breading and frying the pieces then served with tomato sauce and mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

I have some sick plants that have either been taken over by caterpillars laying their eggs, or have been infected by some disease. But the good news coming outta my garden this week is that i discovered carrots that i had planted which I thought all died!

Class Discussion: Sustainability within Food Crops and Consumers
This week we talked about whether or not we eat organic foods and how likely we would be in the future leraning just what it means when something is "certified organic"or "made from natural products" etc.

I do not go out of my way to eat strictly organic foods, however I am not adverse towards eating any type of food and am very open to what I do choose to eat.

Following below is a description of the four general categories of multi-ingredient packaged organic products:

• 100% Organic = 100% of ingredients are certified organic, excluding salt and water.
• Certified Organic = 95% of ingredients are certified organic, excluding salt and water.
• Made with Organic Ingredients = At least 70% of ingredients are certified organic, excluding salt and water.
• No Label Claims = Less than 70% of ingredients are certified organic.

A major basis for organic gardening is the use of abundant quantities of organic material applied to the soil. Usually, it is in the form of animal manures, plant manures, cover crops, compost, or mixed organic fertilizer. Organic gardening differs from "conventional"gardening mainly in the areas of fertilization and pest control" (Organic Vegetable Gardening

James M. Stephens, page 1 of Fact Sheet EES-327, "Organic Fertilizers and Soil Amendments"). So, organic gardener prefers to use natural and organic materials and methods, and avoids using practices and synthetic chemicals that may be detrimental to his health or environment.