Locally Grown, Pesticide-Free Vegetables Are Healthy and Tasty
– by Colle and Phyllis Davis
Ready to harvest Tilapia (11″ – 1.25 pounds) in a Portable Farms Aquaponics System. See how clear the water is in the fish tanks? That’s because of our CAD pump that removes the fish waste from the fish tanks TWICE per day (much like flushing a toilet) and leaves the fish tanks and grow trays free of all waste.
Locally grown, pesticide free vegetables are heathy and tasty. Aquaponics systems that grow vegetables and fish together is an automatic guarantee that the food grow in that aquaponics system was grown PESTICIDE FREE or it would have killed the fish in the systems. Aquaponics fish are an excellent indicator that the food in that growing system has been grown without harsh chemicals or pesticides.
Now the real world enters the picture. The number one request from concerned foodies is for ‘locally grown, pesticide free’ produce. Do you see the word ‘organic’ in that request? No. Here is an example that may help illustrate the problem pulled from actual experience. If a Mexican/Israeli farmer can receive $2 per pound for organically labeled tomatoes or $.80 per pound for non organic, which box will they pack first? You have absolutely no assurance the tomato you are purchasing is really organic. You have to trust a whole list of people with your health and your money.
If the local commercial aquaponics company is offering ‘locally grown, pesticide free’ tomatoes, there is a much higher probability that what you are buying is exactly what is advertised because it is locally grown (in many cases you can actually visit the installation) and there are fish in the system to protect their health as well as YOUR health. [Weird to think that fish are protecting you and helping to deliver the best produce you can buy.]
Buying locally grown, pesticide free produce where fish are in the system gives you a much shorter and easily verifiable in the food chain from producer to your table. A local grower has a much greater incentive to provide exactly what they are advertising because the local people will spot a problem or a lie very quickly. Plus, the local producer is a member of the community and in many cases this alone will insure a measure of honesty.
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