Why Organic?

Only a few years ago, organic food was expensive, hard to find and less than fresh when you located it. Pioneers like Marlene’s Market & Deli were among the vocal few who from the early 1970s insisted on selling only 100% organically grown produce in our produce department. As study after alarming study reveals the consequences of these deadly poisons, more and more shoppers are turning to Marlene’s Market & Deli for guidance. Today, our produce department still only carries 100% organically grown produce.

Nutritional Content of Organic Food

Growing food in healthy soil not only makes that food taste better – it also provides exponentially more nutrition than conventionally-grown produce. In a well-known study done at Rutgers University, researchers conducted a study of organically-grown versus conventional produce. They compared mineral content in beans, spinach, cabbage, lettuce and tomatoes and were stunned to find that, across the board, mineral levels for the organically grown produce were almost 100% higher than its conventionally-grown counterparts. The researchers went on to discover that many essential “trace” mineral elements – essential for good health - were completely absent from the conventionally grown foods. New studies continue to show the same superior nutrition is found in organically-grown foods.

Farming: Myths vs. Reality

Many people still believe their food comes from a bucolic farm with lazy cattle grazing on green hillsides. We’re happy to report that there is a movement to return to just this sort of agriculture. Sadly, most modern farms have turned away from sustainable farming methods like crop rotation and biodegradable pesticides, and have become chemical facilities where millions of tons of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and pesticides are used every year on the land and crops that grow our food.

History of Chemical Farming

Since the 1940s, when the nitrogen-based farming model we use today was introduced, we’ve learned that many of the chemicals originally used, like DDT, were toxic not just to insects and “pests” but also to humans. DDT was eventually banned in the US, but the chemical brew still being sprayed on our conventional produce is just as harmful. As these chemicals are absorbed by the plant, they are distributed systemically throughout all its parts. Because these contaminants cannot be washed off or removed from food, their accumulation in the body, especially in vulnerable populations like children and elders, are especially dangerous.