Ok so a long one this week, but bear with me I guarantee you will want to read this.
We have been blessed, the last two weeks of fine weather have made an enormous impact on our farm work. We are nearly back ontrack, after months of waiting we are back in business. Onions are being planted, outdoor celery is going into the ground today, the first outdoor brassica planting which is only 2 weeks late (not ideal but better than it could have been) also.
The tomatoes are doing incredibly well, and I am quietly confident that we may have our best crop of tomatoes ever this year, they are already flowering, watch this space. We will start harvesting our own farm garlic next week, and we are still bringing in kale, along with tonnes of other Irish produce, from Beechlawn, Joe Kelly, Millhouse farm and many more.
All great stuff, we also have been eternally grateful for the last couple of pallets of Irish apples, well done Richard Galvin from Clashganny farm county Waterford.
In addition to these wonderful apples, we have the very best fruit, and it was on this point I wanted to dwell a little this week. (The next time you are in any supermarket take a look at the packaged Citrus fruits, oranges, lemons, clementines, limes grapefruit, look at the label closely, look at the small print, do it, don’t wait, go to a supermarket website, check it out, much better to see it with your own eyes, or if you want to see some video footage check out my Instagram video this week.)
During the week I was in a supermarket, and I had a look at what looked like an upmarket pack of oranges, here is what was on theses ultra-shiny oranges:
The waxes:
E903 – Carnauba Wax: Derived from a Brazilian palm tree. The most natural of the three, also used in car polish and cosmetics. Considered low risk, but still an industrial coating on our food.
E904 – Shellac: A resin secreted by lac insects. Not vegan. Also used to coat pharmaceutical tablets.
E914 – Oxidised Polyethylene Wax: A synthetic, petroleum-derived plastic wax. Approved by regulators, but this is a product of the petrochemical industry being applied to the skin of your fruit.The fungicides (mixed into the wax and applied post-harvest):
Pyrimethanil: Independent peer-reviewed research has identified endocrine-disrupting effects, a 2024 toxicology review flagged it as a persistent environmental pollutant and is investigating its potential role in Alzheimer’s disease.
Thiabendazole: It is the same compound used as an antiparasitic pharmaceutical drug in humans and animals. The EPA classifies it as likely carcinogenic at doses that disrupt thyroid hormones.
Imazalil: A systemic fungicide. California has classified it as a chemical known to cause cancer. The US EPA classified it as a probable human carcinogen as far back as 1999. Studies show it binds to hormone receptors and alters oestrogen production, making it a confirmed endocrine disruptor.
In the US the EWG testing found imazalil on nearly 90% of non-organic citrus samples, with average concentrations running at roughly 20 times the level EWG scientists consider safe for children.
And to wrap this all up each chemical is assessed individually for safety. Nobody assesses what happens when three fungicides and three synthetic waxes are present simultaneously on the same piece of fruit — which is exactly what you are buying when you buy these oranges, or for that matter most conventional fruit on any supermarket shelf.
Organic citrus tested by the Environmental Working Group showed no detectable levels of any of these fungicides. This is not a marginal difference. It is the complete absence of the entire chemical stack listed above. I know which one I would choose. As always without your support we would not be here, I heard a great quote during the week
“Think about what you want to sustain and who you want to support rather than what you want to boycott. If you buy a product from someone you believe is doing the right thing, your money goes directly to supporting that person, that organisation and that system” Jack Clarke.
This is why 20 years on we are still growing and supporting and supplying only 100% organic fruit and vegetables.
Thank you for helping us get to 20 years!
Kenneth