How organic uruguay is with their food

Don't forget that most people use a pozo negro for sewage.  This is not a septic tank and field but simply a tank in the ground that seeps water into the surrounding ground and solid waste collects in the bottom and you get a truck to pump it out when full.

I would not drink the water except for the regular OSE which is treated.  We do have a well but it is only for watering the garden or washing the car.

Perhaps if you are far from any neighbours and do not have livestock near your well you could drink it but many wells are just dug wells and not very deep. There are frequent heavy rains and I would worry about run off and contamination.

I do not think there is a lot of organic food here although you will find some in the supermarkets and the local street markets. It is difficult to grow things here due to the insects especially ants that will strip plants in hours, fungi, bird damage , weeds  etc etc. and most farmers will use something in order to harvest their crop.

Hi Janway:

Wow, very quick response, thank you.

Okay, bugs, ants etc. are there any farmers markets (not stores) that sell their home grown organic produce. Hopefully, these people will have found a way to grow and harvest without the poisons.

Water, okay I understand. we have a dug well and a drilled well here but we have no neighbors or cattle to pollute so we have cool clear wonderful drinking water (water and organic food are huge.) 

I would hope there must be some areas in uruguay where fresh water can be had, you are perfectly right, run off could be a serious problem for wells.

We have a septic, always have, I never heard of a pozo negro but it sounds fairly good.

Have you lived in Uruguay for a long time?

Hi

I think food is quiet tasty and natural in Uruguay if I compare with europe for example. A tomato still taste like a tomato in Switwerland it taste like mineral water.

There are three interesting cities: Montevideo, Punta del Este (very expensive) and Piriapolis, the other cities sleep.... I suggest to settle somewhere near this cities. There is also the very quiet Colonia.

Concerning clean water, i am not up to date, just now that the not so clean water and problems are in regions where they treat leather.

Marc

We have lived here two years.  The farmers market near us sometimes has one or two organic sellers with a very small selection of plants and food items but they do not do much business.

I believe most of the produce is grown more in the north of the country and sold through a central market in Montevideo to the resellers who sell at the local ferias in each town.

I have read stories of schools being sprayed by crop dusters and you can find research papers on chemical use in farming in Uruguay with big increases in chemicals now being used and the seeming ignorance of people who apply it. here is one

www6.rel-uita.org/agricultura/agrotoxicos/modelo_agroexportador_plaguicidas-eng.htm

Many people seem to think everything here is natural and healthy but if you don't speak the language it is easy to live in blissful ignorance.  I do find though that fruits and vegetables taste better but tend to spoil faster.

Hi again, before I shut down for today:

Fruit and vegetable that spoil fast are normal, untreated with stuff. Yippes, I am getting so disappointed, I guess I am so naive thinking Uruguanian people are into pure natural living. I am left wondering if there is any place left that has not been polluted and all the people asleep not knowing about things that are real and meaningful in life. There must be a group somewhere that is like minded.

Whisperwind

Some people in Switzerland, organic costs double

Good Morning:

Yes, here in Canada organic costs double, the reason behind
the additional cost, I think, can be attributed to the loss by bugs, weather, wind, deer and other animals, as well as the actual hands on method rather than huge machinery. I will gladly do without other things and pay the extra for the pure natural food.

I myself am not a good gardener so I depend on those that are, mind you, if it came to either eat or don't eat I could manage to do it.

Hi Whisperwind,

Welcome to Expat.com!

A new topic has been created with your post on the Uruguay forum.

Thank you,
Christine
Expat.com team

Thank you Christine: I will be checking out as many areas as possible through this forum.

Whisperwind