Sourcing Organic Veggies

If you are buying USDA Certified Organic produce it is most likely not genetically modified.   However, unless the seeds are tested, there is not way to know for sure as contamination of crops can occur. Testing the product is not adequate and that is where the Non-GMO Project comes in. If you see this label on your food:
http://www.nongmoproject.org/product-verification/faqs/
It means that the seeds were tested and did not show contamination. If you are eating USDA Certified Organic but unverified seeds, you are still most likely eating non-GMO but there is always the chance that they have been contaminated. I go for the label whenever possible. It is also possible to be non-organic and non-GMO as in the case with many hummus products that you'll see such as Cedar's. I try to go for Heirloom varieties of vegetables when I can find them. We have a wonderful CSA that we belong to here in Durham, CT.  If you have not joined a CSA, I encourage it for a few reasons:

1. You will have more veggies than you will know what to do with and will be forced to eat them all!
2. You will get veggies that you may have never heard of before and can experiment with.
3. You will have no shortage of green leafy stuff to supply lots of Calcium ( for us women).
4. If you bake, you'll have loads of zucchini for breads and muffins.
5. You can often pick your own food and nothing feels better than eating the beans you picked that day.

How it works:

We found an organic farm near us that had different sized shares for sale. When you pay for your CSA there is no way to know what you will get or how much. It depends on all the things that affect farmers such as: weather, bugs and other unpredictables. This year has been good so far for our farm but no tomatoes yet. Although it costs more to pay for your share upfront, you will buy much less in the way of vegetables for all of summer and early fall. At our CSA we pick our own beans and peas and I sit in the field and eat them as I pick. There is nothing like it.

If you have the sunny open area for growing your own garden you are lucky. We would do that if we could, but live in a heavily shaded area surrounded by large trees.

If you are not interested in joining a CSA you can find most of these farmers at your local farmers markets as well and buy your produce there. It supports these small farms and tells the major supermarkets that you are not interested in their artificially colored tomatoes from other countries.

Starlight Gardens
CT Organic Farmers Markets