My Buddy's Organic Fruit Stand In Costa Rica and What It Could Mean For New Urbanism

So this is my buddy's simple little organic fruit stand that I help to grow fruits and vegetables for at the beach here where I am typing from in Uvita, Costa Rica.  In my opinion, this is exactly what we need to be seeing more of in New Urbanist communities in more developed countries such as the United States.  This is because the food is being provided locally, which eliminates transportation costs and CO2 emissions, it is being produced organically with minimal impact on the environment such as from synthetic/ chemical pesticides and fertilizers running into local waterways, it would be providing employment for residents of the community, and it is the healthiest way of eating.

Sounds pretty simple right?  Here's the catch- most of the time a customer would pay a little bit more at an organic fruit stand such as this than in a regular grocery store.   This is because large chain grocery stores can sell their produce at a lower cost because their fruits and vegetables are produced on large-scale factory farms that require minimal care and tending of the plants (man hours) due to the use of synthetic/chemical pesticides and fertilizers that do this work instead, and then the produce is sold in bulk which also makes it cheaper.  This is what makes a business such as a small organic fruit stand so difficult to be successful in a developed country where large chain grocery stores abound, such as in the United States.  For something such as this to be successful, it would really take a community of like-minded people that understand and have an appreciation for the amount of work and effort that the organic farmer has to put into producing these fruits and vegetables while using organic methods.  In order to run and tend an organic fruit stand such as this, every plant that the farmer is growing must require utmost care, attention, and work in order to keep the pests away, and the plant growing healthy and producing quality fruits and vegetables (unlike in the large-scale factory farms where synthetic/chemical pesticides and fertilizers are doing this work instead).

Your body will definitely thank you if you do purchase and eat the foods from an organic fruit stand such as this.  Not only will your body not be ingesting known carcinogens such as synthetic/chemical pesticides and genetically modified foods, but organic fruits and vegetables that are cared for properly are also higher in nutrients and nutritional value than those that come from large-scale factory farms and large chain grocery stores.  It is no wonder that so many people are dying of cancer in developed countries such as the United States.  This is largely due to diet and ingesting known carcinogens such as pesticides and genetically modified foods that are usually purchased at large chain grocery stores.  In fact, some of the fruits that you see here in the photo such as the guanabana (green fruit in the foreground) have been scientifically proven to contain cancer fighting agents.  These foods at this organic fruit stand actually fight cancer, rather than give you cancer.

Simple organic fruit stands such as this also create a friendly social atmosphere in a community where residents can meet, gather, talk, and generally socialize while purchasing and eating their favorite farm fresh produce.  The next step up from running the organic fruit stand would be to have an organic farmer's market with many different vendors, and then a top-quality organic restaurant that combines all of the local organic farmer's fresh foods in a culmination of the finest freshest cuisine in the region.  This has been a personal goal of mine for quite some time now.

Check out some more pics of my organic fruit stand here-  http://twitpic.com/photos/SustainablDylan  <-- this link did not come up clickable so you would have to cut and paste it into your browser.

Also see my Blog titled Wouldn't It Be Neat If Thid Golfcourse Was Permaculture Design Instead: Windsor, FL vs. Serenbe, Ga by clicking on Dylan's Blog below.

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