Thanks for the update Feline, I haven't followed maple sugar stuff since the 70s. From what I understood at the time, the Americans mostly used the plugs and the Canadians didn't. I was quite concerned over the use of pesticides and the amounts of residue in prepared foods, cottonseed oil was a big offender.

I've always believed in growing what I can, and eating as local as I can (not that many choices growing up in Alaska...) as well as eating seasonally. Mostly we eat fresh foods now, and we try to buy within 200 miles from us, our milk for example is local. Since hubby has gone Keto and lost so much weight (200 pounds!) he is more interested in where his food comes from and we will be switching to locally produced meat. Will be a large financial hit at first, we will have to buy a freezer among other things. I'm a former vegetarian but have adjusted to life as an omnivore, however the modern factory farming of pigs particularly bothers my moral senses.

Today is my small group day and Farmer's Market day, our market is in the afternoon so work people can come, runs from 3-7 PM and so most of the produce is indeed picked that morning or the day before. We have new vendors this year including an egg guy and a meat guy. True free range farm chicken eggs are $8.00 a dozen, we can probably buy for $6 if we travel to the farms. Fresh eggs are a marvelous thing and have flavor! Hubby has been really enjoying a couple other new vendors this year, a micro greens lady (not sprouts, they are cut off at the roots) and the mushroom lady. She has several varieties of mushrooms, hubby loves the Lions Mane.

I have noticed a brand of tuna that adds soy protein, probably as a filler. Not sure if it is in stores, I saw it in the food shelf where I volunteer. We also have started carrying a brand of peanut butter that boasts on the label "90% peanuts!!" Really?

It's the labor involved that drives the prices higher. It is more costly than the pesticides and their application to kill the bugs. To be organic is more hands on than using machinery.

These comments are cracking me up! Bear and Silly Susan;) Bwahaha!

Recently I read something from a customer service person at a big box store. Customer returned a bag of topsoil because there was dirt on it.

I know years ago the Canadian government did not allow the little popup tabs on a turkey for roasting. Friends from Canada would come here to buy turkeys for the holidays. I live close enough to the boarder for occasional visits. I personally don't make the trip any more but send friends. They will pick up any number of items the other side of the boarder that we cannot get here. As far as fruits and veggies I purchase while in season at our County Farmer's Market where I get locally grown produce. I can my own fruits and veggies for the off seasons.
There is so much work involved in making Maple syrup. I had no idea that some harvest with additives that are dangerous!! I would have never thought this possible?

You can make your own peanut butter at home with a food processor....just peanuts, no additives, no extra oil, of sugar. Taste the same as what you buy in the store, only without anything added. Of course you can buy organic peanut butter at the store that may be 100% peanuts, but it costs you more.

Another paragraph that was on the sugar bag:

"Less can be more - especially when it comes to food. That's why we've removed unnecessary additives from many Hy-vee products. Just look for the Clean Honest Ingredients (TM) logo."

It does make me wonder - - - -

Ice,

I like how you shop.

I buy beef from a local farmer who has his beef, cut and wrapped and I can choose which cuts I want to buy. I do not have to buy a side or a quarter. They also sell duck and hens eggs for less than the $8 you have ot pay at the market. If baking one duck egg and one small hen's egg equals about 2 large hens eggs.

Having said that I do have two deep freezers and buy 1/2 a pig each year. plus locally raised chickens and turkey. One freezer is almost full of frozen berries. I freeze a couple hundred pounds of various berries to enjoy all winter when fruit prices are much higher.

One tip when you are freezer shopping, an upright freezer is much easier to manage, stuff does not fall to the bottom, but chest freezers are often available second hand at great prices. I have one of each.

That made me think of an observation I saw on Pinterest to the effect that today, lemonade is made with artificial ingredients, and furniture polish is made with real lemons.

Leslie

My husband is a food chemist and he told me there is all kinds of misinformation on labels. They have clever ways of making you think something is one thing when it's really quite another!