Local Grown...

The locally grown Hawaiian oranges on the left look all beat up and discolored. Only because we are so used to bright oranges carefully modified through selective breeding to give people an artificial sense of healthy eating of beautiful flawless fruits and vegetables. This is the same reason they wax apples. FD&C Red No. 32 and FD&C Orange No. 2 were regularly utilized to color Florida oranges until they were delisted by the Food and Drug Administration. According to the FDA: Historically, it has been the policy of the Food and Drug Administration to allow the artificial coloring of the skins of mature oranges. It is a common practice to color the skins of oranges in two ways. 1. Adding a color to the skin of the orange, Citrus Red No. 2 (21 CFR 74-302(c) or 2. Subjecting the orange to ethylene gas by a commercial process. Hmmmm...Red dye and Ethylene gas...sounds yummy. I think I will stick with the ugly horrid looking Hawaiian oranges to support local growers and eat healthier. Besides, they remind me of the oranges on my Grandmother's tree. And we know that Grandmother's know best...