Screenshot of milehighorganics.org.
Words like “free range,” “cage free,” “fair trade,” “renewable” and “organic” are showing up more and more frequently on food items in the grocery store. Some people do it for the obvious health benefits; others go for the superior ethos offered by the items that have some of these words on their labels.
Michael Joseph, the chief foodie of Mile High Organics and a recent CU MBA graduate, said he thinks otherwise.
“I think what’s interesting is that people are looking for a better connection with their food,” Joseph said.
Mile High Organics delivers small and large packages of a mixed variety of fruit and vegetables to customers’ door. The small and large packages cost $25 and $40 respectively. The contents of the boxes vary depending on supply and season. Bananas, apples, spinach, carrots, celery and zucchini are just a few of the items in the boxes this week.
The produce is good quality and comes in freshly-picked condition. The carrots come with the stalks intact; thin green grass-like leaves grew from the top of the orange vegetable. This gives the carrots a more holistic quality to them, miles away from the bagged, cut, and rounded mini-carrots in the grocery store. The sweet potatoes do not reign supremely on the sweetness level but possess a flavor that is present and strong. This food is less processed and seems close to nature.
‘Organic’ is the one word that holds true with all of the foods that Mile High Organics delivers. Organic, in the most basic way, means no synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, more natural pesticides and fertilizers are used instead.
“I just don’t really want to eat petroleum,” Joseph said, explaining why he preferred organic to conventional produce.
Organic food uses more natural pesticides and fertilizers, but it does so in the way that conventional crops are grown. Organic is not the way that the food grows in nature, but that does not mean that it isn’t somehow superior than some alternatives, Joseph said.
However, organic is not for everyone. It does offer the possibility of better health for the individual and planet, but to what extent is unclear and a subject of debate.
“I think it’s a great idea, I just hate paying more for it in the grocery store,” said Anna Morin, a 19-year-old sophomore environmental studies major.
College kids don’t always have the funds to go for the organic products. It is not unheard of for organic items to be at equal, or even lower, prices than conventional items on occasion, and it is worth keeping an eye out for when that happens.
Mile High Organics is not focused on low prices, but rather customer convenience. The prices are not drastically different from mainstream grocers like “Whole Foods,” but the delivery service is what sets it apart.
Steven Van Buskirk, a 19-year-old junior chemical engineering major, said he likes organic food, but is hesitant to sign up for a service that delivers boxes of produce to a door-step.
Van Buskirk advocates the grocery store over Mile High Organic’s services.
“You have the browsing option [in grocery stores],” Van Buskirk said. “You never know what you want.”
The ability to choose the specific flavor of your next meal from a cornucopia of easily accessible produce is an appealing aspect of the in-store shopping experience.
Grocery shopping and home delivery, conventional and organic, the options of how people get their food, and where it comes from, are increasing by the day. Preferences range from in-store shopping to delivery services like Mile High Organics.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Seth Gitner at Seth.gitner@colorado.edu.
