In my daily trip to Trader Joe’s today, I noticed a packet of organic pop tarts. They were nestled in between the frosted mini wheats, and the organic strawberry corn flakes.
I had come to assume that “organic” means “healthy.” But as someone who is intimately familiar with the hard frosted coating over sweet gelatinous filling that constitutes a pop tart, I know that they are the opposite of healthy.
While living in the UK, I became an accidental organic fan. In our local grocery stores, most food seemed to be organic, whether a shopper was looking for it or not.
So in my first trip to Publix and Kroger here in Atlanta, I was surprised by how little seemed to be organic. I like that Trader Joe’s has a wide array of organic products, so that’s usually where I go. I also enjoy their free samples, and 80s tunes.
But if their organic label includes products like pop tarts, perhaps I don’t understand exactly what organic means. Maybe it’s not synonymous with healthy.
I know that organic food is supposed to contain less preservatives than its non-organic counterparts. But that’s not always a good thing. I got a nasty surprise when I opened a brand new pack of organic English muffins from our local health food store.
Maybe preservatives would have kept the mold at bay on those muffins…
Reverse Culture Shock 