Are Organic Strawberries Really Organic?

April 12, 2016 by Debra Lynn Dadd

Question from Jackie

www.realfarmacy.com/dirty-little-secret-organic-strawberries-arent-really-organic

I saw the above on Facebook and they showed a picture of Driscoll's Strawberries with it.

So I wrote to them regarding the above and below is there answer.

You cut through this much better than I do.

What do you think, should we not be buying them???

Thanks

Dear Jackie,

Thank you for taking the time to ask about our growing practices at Driscoll's. Growing conditions vary from farm to farm and among different growing regions around the world. Depending on these conditions, berry farmers may need to take action to protect their crop by using protective materials. Any pesticide that is used must be in compliance with federal and state laws, and must comply with the pesticide registration policies of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and the berries must also be in compliance with legal pesticide tolerances established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA). For additional information on specific pesticides available for use by berry farmers, please refer to the US EPA's website at www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/index.htm

The type of farming method used to grow the berries (organic or non-organic) will also determine what options the farmer has to protect the crop. An organic farmer can only use pesticides that have been approved for certified organic farming by the United State Department of Agriculture's (USDA) National Organic Standards Program. A non-organic farmer can choose to use either an approved organic or a non-organic pesticide. Driscoll’s is also one of the largest suppliers of organic berries with a product line that includes strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries. We are proud to offer consumers a wide assortment of organic and non-organic berries that allows consumers to have a choice when purchasing Driscoll's berries.

Hopefully this information has offered some insight into our growing practices. Please let me know if you have any additional questions that haven't been answered.

Best Regards,

Hannah Hughes

Driscoll's Customer Care Representative

Debra's Answer

Oh this is a difficult question.

If you didn’t click through and read the article, it was making the point that the SEEDLING is treated with methyl bromide, even for organic strawberries.

First of all methyl bromide degrades in the sun in 10 days. So it’s highly likely that as the plant grows there is no residue of methyl bromide by the time the fruit is formed and you eat it. Its the off-gassing of the chemical into the environment after application that is particularly harmful.

Here’s more about fumigation from NPR

California's strawberry growers don't want to take any risk that their crop will fail...

So every year, a month before planting time, fumigation machines move slowly across California's strawberry fields. They inject chemicals into the soil and seal the fumes into the soil with sheets of plastic.

The chemicals kill practically everything in the soil: Insects, weeds, and fungi..

Organic strawberry growers don't fumigate. They stay a step ahead of diseases by moving from field to field. This also means that they only get to grow strawberries on a particular field once every three to five years, or sometimes even longer. Yet even California's organic strawberry growers buy their plants from nurseries that do use fumigation. Nobody wants to run the risk of bringing diseased plants into their fields.

This technology has done wonders for strawberry production. But it's under attack. And it may have to change.

The most powerful fumigant — methyl bromide — is supposed to be phased out gradually because it can eat away at Earth's ozone layer. It's still used under a "critical use exemption" that the Environmental Protection Agency has obtained each year.

But I’m not sure it’s a big deal for the end eater of the organic strawberry.

And I just don’t like being sensational about something so small.

We don’t live in a perfect world and we need to make our choices from what is available while at the same time striving to improve the overall problems.

I would say that an organic strawberry from a methyl bromide treated seedling is far better than a conventional strawberry that would have even more toxic pesticides.

So either choose organic, however flawed, or don’t eat strawberries, or grow your own.

I think Driscoll's response is sufficiently vague as to say nothing. But since they are selling fruit from multiple farms under their brand, they can’t possibly describe the growing conditions for any specific box of strawberries.

That’s why farmer’s markets and gardening are so wonderful!

I just called my local organic nursery and she said organic seedlings sold in nurseries are NEVER treated with methyl bromide or anything else. She said it's different for commercial seedlings.