Bigger Isn't Better: Why Gigantic Produce is a Terrible Value

My girlfriend noticed these giant tomatoes the size of cantaloupes at Harris Teeter the other day. It's a produce-wide trend - softball-sized avocados, strawberries that are no longer bite-sized, apples that are more of a meal than a snack.

Many people look at giant portions and see a bargain, but abnormally large fruits and vegetables are a terrible value. Especially since many fruits and vegetables are sold by weight, you're paying an inflated price for watered-down taste and nutrition:

• Plants give about the same amount of nutrition to each fruit or vegetable no matter its size, so supersizing just dilutes it
• By breeding for size over nutrition & taste, there's evidence conventional produce nutrition & taste has genetically declined over time
• Fruits and vegetables need time to soak up the sun & develop flavor, but they can be robbed of that by artificially accelerated growing processes

Why would anyone buy these monsters? Even if you don't want to spend a little more on the foods that are worth buying organic, I don't understand the appeal of the wide range of imitation food products, from tasteless tomatoes to process cheese loaves to corn-based pancake syrup. Why not buy real food?

Harris Teeters Toward Local Foods

The Harris Teeter in Ballston has recently started highlighting "Fresh off the Farm" fruits & vegetables. Each item is identified with its local farm and the prices are no higher than usual:

So far, so good. But I noticed the blueberries also got a "from your regional neighbor" tag, which is supposed to be for produce shipped six hours or less. They're from "California Giant Berry Farms," which, call me cynical, but sounds suspiciously non-local. On top of that, the blueberries are marked "Product of Canada," so who knows how many passport stamps they've earned:

So while on the whole this is progress, as always, shop smart ... shop S-Mart.

Will the New Safeway Steal My Business from Harris Teeter?

The Green Miles just returned from Virginia's 5th Congressional district, where Rep. Tom Perriello wasn't able to swim against the GOP tide. But our efforts did help make it closer than anyone expected, with Tom losing by just 3 points. In the words of Tom's consolation email to supporters, "I can see last night as a victory for conviction and hard work for the idea that when you fight for the people, the people win."

Upon returning home, the first thing I had to do was ... buy the new NBA Jam for Wii since I spent hundreds of quarters on that game as a kid & needed something to take my mind off politics. But the SECOND thing I had to do was go grocery shopping since I hadn't done that in about a month.

Since I could acquire the coveted Jam at the Target on Route 50 in Falls Church & there's a newly-remodeled Safeway next door, I decided consolidate trips & skip the drive into Ballston to my usual Harris Teeter. My quick green review:

• Many of the Safeway store-brand organic line seem a bit cheaper than their HT counterparts
• Overall organic selection is more limited in scope & in quality than HT (Safeway seemed to have far fewer name-brand organics) 
• Very disappointing that Safeway's small checkout lanes made reusable bags awkward to use. What's the point of remodeling if you're not accommodating modern needs?
• Several items listed as on sale in the aisle didn't ring up at the correct price. Not an environmental thing, I know. But I treat saving money at the grocery store as a competition.

The bottom line: I'll hit Safeway for quick needs, but will stick with Harris Teeter for my main grocery shopping trips.

Oh, and the third thing I did? Sleep for 11 hours.

UPDATE 3/12/2011: Over at GreaterGreaterWashington.org, Steve Offutt points out the Safeway sidewalk's shortcomings.

Video: Local/Organic Grocery Store Coming to Columbia Heights

Ellwood Thompson's plans to open a new location in Columbia Heights in late 2009. I'm jealous they're not coming to Arlington, but I know DC has a much greater need for grocery stores than we do. Are any neighborhoods in Arlington in need of an Ellwood Thompson's? Maybe Columbia Pike? Courthouse?


Ellwood Thompsons // At A Glance from Ellwood Thompson's on Vimeo.