Berry Suspect

I went to pick up some local blueberries from New Apple Farm the other day, my local green grocer. I want to freeze some berries so that I have plenty for fruit cobblers through the winter. I could only see the California berries, so I just picked up a few other items. When I went to cash out, I asked about local blueberries. The cashier told me the ones in the plastic Driscoll containers were the local ones, they had just recycled the containers. The California strawberries that had been in the plastic boxes were now in green paper boxes in the display outside; those boxes are usually for the local fruit. Although Driscoll’s was written on the sign above the strawberries, I’m sure many people thought they were a late local crop. Sure, local strawberries look different, but not everyone would be aware, neither would they necessarily know that Driscoll’s = California. There was also a tiny sign above the blueberries indicating that they were local, and if you really looked, you would see that there was a “strawberries” label on the package. When I examined the blueberries closely, I could see they were starting to go. It’s harder to see the rotting fruit when it’s encased in plastic. The cashier kept insisting it was all because they wanted to recycle. I wasn’t convinced the reasons were environmental. What do you think?