Why choose seasonal products

Today we can choose to eat all types of fruits and vegetables we want, whatever the season and from any provenance. In fact, some products, such as tomatoes, lettuce, apples, grapes, are available on supermarket shelves all the year long.

Only 50 years ago the things were not so and the products for sale followed their natural season.

Instead today we can have a continuity of supply due to the following factors:

• The creation of new early and late varieties : the research has created new varieties of plants which prolongs the time of cultivation.

• The cultivation in protected places: the cultivation in greenhouses has extended the time of cultivation becouse the plants are protected from the elements and, if these structures are heated, allow the growth of vegetables out of season.

• Preservation techniques: the best known is refrigeration: the low temperature slows the plant degeneration. There is also the possibility to control the gases present in the places of storage, subtracting oxygen and replacing it with inert gases, in order to slow down the maturation of plants. Furthermore the plants are chemically treated against mold.

• The modernization of transport: now you can move goods faster and in refrigerated transportation. Thus we find in our stores products from countries where they cost less or where the harvesting coincides with our winter.

Follow the season and eat food from natural production is important and healty to us. Let us see why:

• The nature in every season offers us the best food, not only to feed but also to meet the conditions of the moment. In the cold months we have compact and sulphurous vegetables (cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli, etc..), and in the warm months fruit and vegetables that protect us from high temperatures.

• Plants of the season have a better nutritional value and a taste, smell and color richer.

• Fruits and vegetables in greenhouses, because of forced cultivation, contained high amounts of nitrates, which in our body become toxic nitrite.

• The accelerated growth cycle makes plants more vulnerable, thus easy prey for pests and diseases that require treatment with pesticide of wich the residues persist even after the harvest and those foods are treated with chemical preservatives.

• The long-distance transport involves high energy costs and CO2 emissions are harmful to the environment. Buying seasonal produce is therefore an ecological choice and a way to save money.

• It is important to respect the times of abstinence, which coincide with those of seasonal production, to not facilitate the emergence of food allergies. Interrupt for example during the winter and the spring the consumption of tomatoes and eggplant, stop also the intake of allergens present in these vegetables, avoiding the risk of dangerous intolerance.

It is clear that the non-seasonal products are inevitably of lower quality, less healthy and anti-ecological. So is better not to use them or use only occasionally, preferring organic foods that, just because are biological, respect the natural seasonality and are in harmony with our natural and seasonal needs.