The Inorganic Truth about Organic Strawberries.

    I bet you feel really good about your decision of spending the extra few dollars for those organic strawberries, don't you? Well there is an ugly dirty little secret about those strawberries that was not mentioned.
   Although they may have been grown on an organic farm, most likely the started their little fruit life in a nursery. Just about all nurseries treat their little younglings with chemicals, such as methyl iodide. Methyl iodide is a cancer-causing pesticide used specifically on strawberries.

"National regulations require that organic produce is grown for three years without synthetic pesticides."-The New York Times

Virtually all plants before the begin bearing fruit are treated with fumigants and other synthetic pesticides. The state of California has no organic nurseries. The Pesticide Action Network is trying to get the government to tighten the rules regarding the use of pesticides at nurseries to "spur innovation." They are also working to encourage both nurseries and farmers to convert to practicing new green techniques.
   Even though chemicals were used during the first two years, once using organic practices the fruit will be considered chemical-free. Would you consider a fruit that was once treated with harmful chemicals in its early stages but has grown three years without chemicals, organic?