Strawbs..

2024 has not been a
vintage year for strawberries

Day 354 #365DaysWild

We are now harvesting our own home-grown strawberries.

Organically grown, mulched with our own compost and cultivated without digging, they’ve failed to thrive due to the cold weather we’ve had so far this year. They’re a sorry lot this year. Smaller than we’d like and without the sun, not ripening as well as they should.

It may surprise you to learn that they are, however, the best you can get.

Smaller and lower quality - how can they be the best …?

They’re the best because commercially-grown strawberries are (according to government research) amongst the foods that have the highest levels of pesticide residues. They’re included in the so-called ‘dirty dozen’ of foods containing the most pesticides. Samples of UK-grown strawberries tested in 2022 showed 91% contained residues of PFAS pesticides.

PFAS chemicals are a family of 1,000 chemicals causing huge concern to scientists and nutritionists. They’re the ‘forever chemicals’ that accumulate in our tissues and persist in the environment.

There is a growing body of evidence linking PFAS chemicals to serious diseases such as cancer.

UK consumers believe that they are eating healthily when buying fruit - but in so doing are being left with no choice but to ingest these chemicals, some of which may remain in their bodies long into the future.

There is action we can take…

Our crop in a better year …

We should:

✔️be stricter on the pesticides available for use in farms and gardens and provide support for organic growers

✔️as consumers be more cautious in buying fruits and vegetables and apply pressure to supermarkets and government 

✔️take the opportunity wherever we can to grow our own fruit and vegetables.