Strawberries are plants from the Rosaceae family, with the fruit from which today's strawberry varieties developed originating from a cross between two different related species, created by a French farmer from Brittany in the mid-18th century.
I said 'fruit', but from a technical botanical perspective, it's actually a type of thickened stem. In any case, this 'fruit' became popular and beloved, adopted worldwide.
I wrote 'worldwide', but for a long period, only a few could afford strawberries, and even today, strawberries are considered an aristocratic food – see their classic pairing with cream and champagne. Thanks to modern agriculture, strawberries, in season, have become much more accessible.
But there was a price for this and still is. Strawberries, as their name suggests, grow close to the ground. We're talking about a fruit without a protective peel, sweet and inviting, growing near the soil. For pests, this is a gift from heaven. Try for a moment to look at it from a hungry caterpillar's perspective – suddenly seeing this sweet bomb sticking out its red tongue.
This is exactly why wild strawberries are much smaller and sourer. If they were larger and sweeter, they would have become extinct because between them, caterpillars, aphids, and birds, there's no defense mechanism or distraction.
But, as I mentioned, strawberries are cultivated plants that humans have bred to be as large and sweet as possible – our side of the deal is providing protection from pests. Or in the case of industrialized modern agriculture, through copious spraying.
The paradox only grows when considering the starting conditions – a fruit without a peel that grows exposed and close to the ground, with an inevitable result: almost all strawberries from conventional agriculture come into direct contact with pesticides.
The assumption is that in this category, it's the most problematic fruit. There's no pleasant way to say this: when you eat those large red strawberries you buy at the market, you're eating poisoned fruits.
While I personally insist on eating only organic fruits and vegetables, still, if you make sure to wash the apple you bought at the market, nothing bad will happen to you.
But when I see strawberries at the supermarket, I immediately think of the apple Snow White ate. Fortunately, organic agriculture knows how to address this problem through less dense cultivation, biological pest control, and natural pest repellent methods.
So yes, organic strawberries are more expensive, but they are also healthier and safer to consume. We're entering the final stretch of winter, and our organic strawberries are now at their peak – and they're simply delicious to death.
