APPLES

Apple (Malus Domestica) is another food crop that comes from Central Asia. The mountain forests around Almaty, in Kazakhstan, are where the original came from. Animals carried seeds along the Silk roads where apples ended up growing in Syria. The Romans started grafting the trees they found in Syria and eventually brought it to Britain.

They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away and research confirms this. People that eat apple regularly live longer. The Healthy Edibles database, from Chris Dixon (For Educational Purposes Only) says this about how apples can be used as medicine:

Apple (with its skin on): aids the strength of bones, smooth skin, brain function, heart & lung health, weight loss (especially around the abdomen) & the elimination of toxic lead from the body; is a remedy for enlarged veins; helps prevention of a stroke & eye cataracts which impair vision; helps treat frequent bladder infections, respiratory disease & cancer; slows down aging;helps manage blood sugar, cholesterol & high blood pressure levels (3 apples a day helps lower blood pressure); reduces swelling/water retention in feet, legs, hands & breast …

Apples are one of the only foods in Canada that you can get certified organic (BC grown) right across the country, almost any time of the year. Most other Canadian grown and handled and processed foods run out well before the new crop is available. I did organic inspections on these facilities, two years in a row and they are impressive organic infrastructure, owned by private enterprises.

This essential fruit could serve in a national school food program, giving K – 12 students an organic, Canadian grown apple-a-day, for health and happiness (free, rather paid for at the federal government level ).

Canadians eat around 23 pounds of Apples a year, mostly imported from the USA. They keep well in the fridge but have some in a bowl on the kitchen counter to encourage people to eat as a snack.