Mexico Produce page

[Primal Toad]

I live in Michigan and thus all the produce we buy must be imported from other states... or COUNTRIES! I have been paying attention to where are produce is coming from and guess what?! Most of it is from MEXICO!

Tomatoes, avocados, bell peppers, etc. is from Mexico.

How would you feel about eating produce from Mexico? Safe to eat?

We buy from Costco and Meijer - the famous supermarket in the midwest.

[Unamused Mouse]

We eat the Mexican bell peppers that we buy here all the time - nothing wrong with them.

[Melantha]

Weird, almost all the bell peppers we get here are from Israel. Maybe it's just the organic ones.

Personally, I try to avoid things like tomatoes and bell peppers in the winter, and stick to winter squash, hardy greens, and root vegetables. And avocados are always a rare treat because they are never grown locally, though I do tend to eat them more often in the summer (probably because they go so well with tomatoes).

[Adrianag]

Not very local and not "in season" for where you live but not necessarily unsafe.

[Moochy]

Well years ago it was in discussion that in the USA many chemicals were banned from use by federal law....so veggies were imported from mexico and other countries where the banned chemicals have no restrictions.

[MollyCat]

I have been thinking about this as well. Do the same regulations apply to food grown in other countries as the food grown here? Its scary to think food is grown in other countries so they can get away with using chemicals on the plants that cannot be used here in Canada
I live in Calgary AB and not much grows here so most of our produce is imported.

[K.ROB]

We have the same problem up here in Washington. I try to stay in season now and avoid most of those things. I do however buy the avocados. They are organic and from mexico. I just can't give them up. Sometimes they are from California then I buy a few more.

[dragonmamma]

Toad, do you ever read your Costco Connection magazine? They've had articles focusing on specific food items. As I recall, their tomatoes and bell peppers are grown in hot houses in Canada.

[elwyne]

We also try to eat seasonally and locally, but when it comes to things like oranges and avocadoes, Mexico is better than Brazil or New Zealand for freshness, and if it's being sold as organic it's got to meet the same standards as organic in the US.

[Sean_OToole]

I live in central california, near the most productive agricultural area in the country, and still a bunch of our produce comes from Mexico! I find that it is usually non-organic, so it may be best to figure that it is high in pesticide residues: maybe give it an extra good wash, and avoid the foods that retain the most residue. I know peaches, strawberries, peppers, spinach, and celery are said to be high in pesticides. There are more complete lists of foods to buy organic available online.