What's in What You Eat?It is said you are what you eat, from your head to your feet. So why not know… What's in what you eat?

Many local citizens of Seattle have likely seen, shopped, or at least heard of the Rising Sun Farms produce market located on 65th and 15th Ave. N.E.

From the design of the place, it very much resembles that of a farmers market which also implies that it has the same quality as such. Another thing you may notice is the ridiculously cheap prices. How is this possible? I asked an employee.

It turns out Rising Sun Farms has absolutely zero quality standards and their only focus is providing produce as cheap as possible. The employee said they stock hardly any organic items and would bet that most of the products are sprayed with pesticides and likely are genetically modified.

If your concern is cheap fruits and vegetables, this may be a place for you. If you are looking for local, sustainable, organic, pure produce, I would suggest looking elsewhere (the place is located 2 blocks away from Whole Foods and 5 minutes from the Saturday University Farmer’s Market).

I spoke with an employee at Whole Foods in Roosevelt Square today and he said he knew for a fact the beef served in their salad bar, deli, etc was not grass fed.

He did not know what it was fed, only that it was not grass (likely corn or grain).

I was quite surprised at this and because of it, I would suggest to seriously moderate your intake.

Edit: To clarify, it is just the prepared foods section I am talking about. Whole Foods still sells 100% organic grass-fed meat in their raw section and is some of the finest beef available. Additionally, the beef in the prepared foods area, while not 100% grass-fed is still fed grass up to 2/3rds of the animal’s life and then finished on grains. It is still completely hormone and antibiotic free and is in no way “cheap” beef. Also, the poultry and other items in the Whole Foods prepared foods section is extremely high quality and does not have any negative attributes.

Whole Foods still holds my vote for the highest quality grocery store in the country.