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labeled “organic.” This can be confusing, because not long ago, the term “organic” implied that a food came from a small farm where few, if any, pesticides were used, and farming was conducted with the goal of being good to the land as well as profitable. Since then the volume of food labeled “organic” has increased dramatically, yet food packaging depicting bucolic settings would have us believe that it still comes from those same small farms. The truth is that in order to supply enough goods to superstores like Wal-Mart, organic has gone corporate, and most food labeled as such is grown as a monocrop on vast industrial farms and transported long distances, while soil erosion results from the intense demands made on the land to grow crops in large volume year round.

There are approximately two million farms in this country—that’s down from the roughly five million we had in the 1930s. At that rate of closure, I want to do what I can to help small farms stay afloat, even if they are not certified organic. Their products are more interesting than mass-produced organic goods as well. Even if purple fingerling potatoes or garlic ramps aren’t on everyone’s shopping list, they have a following at the farmers’ market, and that’s enough to sustain the business of the small producers who grow them. If we were limited to buying only certified organic foods, we would no longer have access to all of the eclectic, colorful choices that make American cuisine what it is today.

Must-buy organics

In an ideal world, every item in every market would be organic in the best and broadest sense of the term. Truly organic food—free of pesticides, hormones, additives, and genetically modified organisms and produced without harmful environmental practices, unsafe working conditions, or mistreatment of animals—would be the only choice, and it wouldn’t be outrageously priced. It’s a lofty goal, but as people speak up, a more transparent and healthy food supply is taking shape. For now, though, it’s too inconvenient and costly for most of us to buy only organic, and we often have to sacrifice our ideals. In my own life, there are certain foods that I would rather not eat if I can’t find them with an “organic” or other specialized food label. The following foods are the ones I won’t compromise on.

FAIR-TRADE ORGANIC BANANAS

One of our favorite fruits, the banana, has a bruised and spotty history of environmental pollution and unethical labor practices. Most that we see on U.S. store shelves come from plantations in Central America where workers may make as little as $2 a day and are exposed to toxic pesticides and fertilizers. Not only do these chemicals harm workers, but they also endanger surrounding wildlife, particularly the North American songbirds that winter there. In contrast, bananas labeled “fair trade” are produced with the restricted use of agrochemicals and the workers are paid fair wages; growers deal directly with U.S. importers, cutting out the middlemen who take a large percentage of the sale. If you can’t find fair-trade bananas, try to buy organic rather than conventional. Sure, organic bananas are more expensive, but if you eat one or two fewer per week, the cost ultimately evens out.

Sadly, we may not have bananas around much longer. A half century ago, the Gros Michel variety was the Western world’s most popular banana, reputedly sweeter and richer than the Cavendish kind that we eat today. Like the Cavendish, the Gros Michel was grown as a monocrop. Lacking genetic diversity, it was vulnerable to blight and was wiped out by the fungus called Panama disease (for more on the importance of plant biodiversity, see the section on heirlooms). In recent years, a new strain of the fungus has decimated banana production in Asia, and it may only be a matter of time before the rest of the world’s plantations are attacked. Botanists are working to develop new breeds in case the Cavendish disappears, but it may be time to develop a taste for plantains and other banana varieties. For dessert and drink recipes that call for bananas,