Heather Heying sent me this lovely essay about summer fruits and berries. I got hungry while reading it! It is so relevant to the health messages I write about, so here it is.
"Fruit is food.
By this I mean that the plant that produces it does so with the intention that the fruit be eaten. Leaves are not meant to be eaten—they are photosynthetic surfaces, where sunlight is converted to sugar, the sugar providing raw energy for the plant. Roots are not meant to be eaten—they draw water and nutrients up from the soil, and merge with fungus in mycorrhizal networks. Seeds are not meant to be eaten—they are the plant’s reproductive future, their children. No plant wins, evolutionarily, by having its leaves, roots, or seeds eaten. Fruit, though. Fruit wants to be eaten."
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