by Neal Banks

Created on: July 29, 2008

The answer to that is both Yes and No.

In an ideal world, we would all simply go to the garden when everything we need is ripe and at the peak of freshness and nutrition, and pluck it off the tree, vine or out of the ground. In that case, fresh would be the healthiest and the tastiest. And in some cases, there are those of us who do. But for most for us who live in a world of supermarkets and uber-grocery stores and we cannot afford that luxury.

In that case we have a few alternatives. One is that we can purchase "fresh" produce, either commercially or organically grown at the local supermarket. In this case, the produce (unless locally grown, which is the exception to this rule) has often been grown on large-scale farms, picked green, shipped over great distances (over state and county lines), artificially ripened before displaying on the produce rack and then put out for display. The items in question have most often been shipped green in order to prevent costly loss due to spoilage, since shipping takes time and ripe vegetables bruise easily and spoil quickly when handled improperly. Chances are also good that the produce has been treated with chemicals to prevent spoilage and infestation, blight, pests and what have you. Chances are also good that the vegetables have been grown using some form of chemical enhancement or genetic manipulation of some kind: the US produce industry has been doing that for years. Organic produce is an exception to this practice also, generally speaking.

Farmer's market display locally grown produce, in which case the vegetables are picked when fresh and put out for display. The nature of growth enhancement or chemical pesticide use might be he same as the above example, but in most cases the produce is picked when nearly ripe rather than green. Organic produce generally uses neither, although "organic" can still be grown using more natural varieties of pesticides, and may or may not be locally grown: in which case the vegetables are still picked green prior to shipping.

Canned vegetables are always picked at the peek of freshness and ripeness before canning, at which time the produce is treated and then packaged. This can result in a strange paradigm: that of having a canned vegetable that is technically riper than a fresh vegetable, and possible healthier and better tasting. This is generally not something that is widely known nor understood, nor is the fresh produce industry hollering about it. Having been a chef and in the restaurant

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