A very old-fashioned saying, "Cheap is dear' means that buying the cheapest item will cost much more in the long run.
This is what has happened to berries for at-home consumption over the past several years. Unless you are buying fruit directly from the farm, you are almost certainly getting hydroponically grown berries from 'factories' in Mexico.
And worse, because of big agriculture's lobbying, the USDA is allowing these berries to be labeled 'Organic'. Canada, the UK, and Mexico as well as every country in the EU do not allow this certification.
So shoppers in the US now buy berries at very low prices that are mass-produced by low-paid workers. US farmers like Lisa and Hugh Kent at King Grove Organic Farm in Florida have been forced out of mass distribution.
From Hugh: "When the hydroponic takeover of USDA Organic started, blueberries were one of the very first crops affected. And now the takeover (at least in our market window) is nearly complete, as soil-grown organic blueberries harvested in Springtime have been virtually eliminated in this country; replaced by plastic container-grown, ”certified organic” imports. "
Even if the blueberries from King Grove may be the very best on the market, this family farm founded in 1874 is being driven out of business. The ability of factory farms to deliver at super low prices feeds into our mistaken tendency in the US to 'buy cheap'. But real and good food is not cheap and Real Organic food is better for you, your family, family farmers and their workers, and the Earth we all share.
So if you can, buy blueberries and other fruit and produce from local organic farms - or online from King Grove. And the next time you shop remember, 'Cheap is Dear'. If we 'eaters' do not support real and good food we will all pay in the long run.