Hybrid Seeds Are Like Airbrushed Models
January seems to be the time we reflect on what we grew last year… what we want to grow… what new items are catching our eye. Picking out each little seed packet and adding it to the collection. It is almost an addiction, right? Just me? Nah. You know the feeling!!
Something that has been bouncing around in my head this week is a conversation I spied in one of my Facebook Groups for Market Growers. First of all, Market Growers are your growers who grow mass quantities and sell their produce at markets, retail, or restaurants. One of the members asked the group if anyone had grown solely heirloom varieties? To me this is fascinating, and I instantly went into stalker mode and started reading the comments!
Guess what?! None! No one! No one grows all heirloom. Here is the kicker. Want to know why? Because consumers, me and you, only will eat perfect looking produce. While consumers think they care about the flavor and health benefits of the produce… they ultimate decide based on what looks good to the eye. We do this all the time, even children do it, they will pick out the prettiest teacher and tell you she is the best. Some people choose their “soul mate” based on appearance. We do the same with our food. It says organic. Must be good for me. Often not true. Shocked? Feeling offended? I know!!! Me too!
Your market growers grow purely hybrid crops. Hybrid crops are not genetically modified (GMO). They are crops where they take two different plants… one maybe had a great root base, and another maybe has high yield, and they cross them to get the hybrid crop. They often breed plants to achieve the perfect appearance as well. They just keep crossing and crossing to get new varieties. Varieties that bare perfect looking fruit, and lots of it. Varieties that are disease resistant. Varieties that repel pests. We are getting farther away from the way produce was intended. Grown organically, absolutely! But still missing the good stuff… nutrients & flavor!
There was one exception. Heirloom tomatoes. Some of the growers said that they had a bit of a demand for heirloom tomatoes but at markets they did get a lot of complaints because the shoulders were green, had an imperfection, or didn’t last as long as the hybrid tomatoes did.
I get all of this!! I promise! I’ve been on the growing side, and I’ve been on the consumer side. I love when I can harvest an item, and it is screaming for its picture to be taken. I’ve been angry when I bring a load of produce in, and I can’t get to it right away and now it is bad. I’ve bought the organic, amazing looking mini cucumbers only to find out that they have zero taste. I’ve even been on the selling side and had consumers come in and try to get “deals” because of imperfections.
Have you ever made a decision based on appearances, only to find out later it wasn’t what you expected or wasn’t good for you. You kept seeing this beautiful dress advertised on your socials and after a week you finally cave and purchase it… to only receive the dress to discover it was see-through!! (Ask me how I know! I might still have the dress and added a pair of pants to the pile of shame.) We’re drawn to what the eye craves. We’re drawn to convenience, but are we sacrificing something?
Haven’t were learned from the airbrushed and photoshopped models? We are a culture of appearances, creating unrealistic expectations that rob us of reality, and our food is no different. We’ve switched out the airbrushed models for real woman. Remember when the Dove brand implemented a global marketing campaign that featured real woman instead of models in its ads? Shouldn’t we do the same with our food.
Where do we go from here? What should we do? For me, it is just being aware. Know this, all the research shows that heirloom plants have more nutrients that your body can absorb than anything altered by man. If getting the best out of your food and getting as many nutrients as possible is high on your priority list… grab the heirloom seeds this year. You don’t have to fill your whole garden with them. Try one. Try two. It’s not about perfection or an all or nothing approach.
I promise you - you will notice a difference. We sent out lots of heirloom tomatoes this year that people cooked into sauce and multiple times they reached back out to me and said, “these tomatoes are so naturally sweet we didn’t need to sweeten our sauces”!! They notice a difference in our carrots and cucumbers. I hear often, “These taste just like the cucumbers my grandma grew.”
Our 2025 seed catalog is now available for you to take a little virtual walk in our gardens. See and read about what we grew last year. We can’t wait to share these seeds with you!
