Yesterday I mentioned having driven to Orleans for organic strawberries. Of course, I was doing other things as well in the neighboring town, but this choice shows how important it is to me that our guests eat organic. The recommendation is even more urgent for children. I was pleased to learn this morning that the American Academy of Pediatrics has finally spoken out against toxic chemicals in the environment. Indeed, the news was on CNN, which mentioned Senator Frank Lautenberg's Safe Chemicals Act of 2011. Read about it in US News and World Report.Often guests ask, over breakfast, how living in France affected me. Today, if someone had asked, I would have mentioned the presentation of food. The French make food look appetizing. Breakfast is a key meal of the day and crucial for tourists with high-energy plans in mind. We make sure they get organic breakfast options, but I must admit the color of the fruit makes a difference, too. Since I serve a large bowl of fruit every day and obtaining organic fruit is not always a possibility, I try to include pineapples, which have less risk of pesticide residue and stand out in the bowl.
Of course, most berries come in plastic containers but we recycle them. In summer, Hatch's will open on the Town Hall parking lot, and make obtaining organic fruit easier. Usually Hatch's uses cardboard containers.
Tonight, at Town Meeting, one of the issues I care about the most will be up for discussion: the proposal for a by-law that requires bio-degradable packaging and encourages Wellfleet to "sack the bag." How do you feel about this warrant article?
