The Happy organic carrot invited the sad convetional carrot back for some beetroot juice

I was reading that age old story of the town mouse meets the country mouse last night to my two daughters. The story ends with each mouse appreciating their own place very well after having sampled the other's home.

I wanted to adapt the story slightly for the organic carrot meets the conventional carrot! And I think it would go something like this:

The secret life of the conventional (and emotional) carrot

The happy organic carrot was out for a stroll one day and he bumped into a sad conventional carrot, they struck up a most friendly conversation and so the conventional carrot invited the organic carrot back to his home. The organic carrot shortly after arriving decided he didn't like it there very much.  

Firstly a big spraying machine came along and sprayed the organic carrot, and this happened several times. "What is that stuff asked the organic carrot?" "that is pesticide, it is used to kill the carrot root fly, they spray that up to 3 times in a season, that other one is herbicide that is sprayed once before we are planted and a couple of times while we are in the ground, that other one is in case we get a fungal infection and that can be sprayed up to 3 times in a season too, isn't it wonderful!" At this the organic carrot was feeling very unwell and couldn't really walk or see properly, and he deftly decided he didn't want to live in the conventional carrots home.

"Come and visit my home" said the organic carrot, so the conventional carrot went and visited the organic carrot's home.

"This is different and so nice I feel a little happier already" he said, "you get a roof over your head why is that?" "We don't get sprayed with any of the horrible nasty chemical stuff that you get, but the farmer here covers us with a fleece, it helps us grow a little quicker and keeps the carrot root fly away" said the organic carrot.

"so you never get sprayed? How come you don't get sick?" "Well the farmer gives us nice natural manure, and he never puts us in the same field two years in a row, we are always moved around, this means the diseases rarely catch up with us." "So you really don't get any of those chemicals put on you?" "No never! And that means all the other good insects like the bees are much, much happier too!"

No Nasty Chemicals here

"The farmer comes and takes out the weeds with a flame burner before we come out of the ground then he has little machines that help with the weeds and he has loads of people come and pull the weeds by hand!"

"Wow said the conventional carrot can you keep a secret?, I think I am going to stay here I feel better already, no more chemicals for me, and the ground here feels richer and sweeter too!"

And that's the story it doesn't have the same ending as the book I read last night! But I think the conventional carrot was right to stay, do you?

We are currently getting new season carrots from Nicolo in Italy they are amazing and sweet. Our own carrots are just being planted now and there is no Irish organic carrots available as most of last year's crops are now finished.

Have a great healthy week. 

Kenneth