Health Hotline Magazine | September 2026

ORGANIC PRODUCE HEADQUARTERS ®

Like a sea made of a million vibrant red orbs glistening in the water, a cranberry bog is a remarkable sight at harvest time. These little berries are pretty remarkable on their own too! Typically associated with fall and winter holidays, cranberries bring cheer and a tart burst of flavor in every bite, and they are jam-packed with antioxidants that support cardiovascular health, urinary tract health, and even help prevent tooth decay! These bog berries, with a taste as bright as their colors, deserve a spot on our plates in every season. By Morgaine Lee FOR THE LOVE OF ORGANICS: CRANBERRIES A Unique Way to Grow Contrary to popular belief, cranberries don’t grow in the water. They actually grow on low-lying vines in sandy bogs that get flooded at harvest time. The berries float to the top of the water for easier harvesting. This unique way of growing and harvesting with water presents certain challenges when it comes to pest management. Insects, weeds, and pathogenic fungi thrive in the boggy, wet environment, leading conventional farms to use large amounts of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Once the harvesting is over, the water is released into local waterways, carrying with it any pesticides and other problematic synthetic inputs used. Unfortunately, most cranberry farms in the U.S. are not organic; if you combined all the organic cranberry farmland in America, it would only be about one-third the size of New York City’s Central Park. Poison and Pollution In 1972, the Environmental Protection Agency established the Clean Water Act to regulate industrial pollution discharged into our waterways, creating quality standards for surface waters. However, the way the Clean Water Act was written left a massive loophole that does not protect waters from agricultural runoff. A 2024 court case proved that cranberry farms were causing excess phosphorus runoff into Lac Courte Oreilles in Wisconsin, leaving the lake with algal blooms that endangered aquatic life. Yet because of this loophole, they could not legally be held accountable or prevented from polluting the lake. Between

the loophole, the flood-harvesting method, and the prevalence of synthetic inputs, algal blooms have become commonplace in the wake of conventional cranberry farms. Organic = Vitality for All Healthy soils and clean water are vital for all life on Earth— protecting them is essential. Though it may seem like a small act, every time you choose organic, you are supporting all the farm workers, the pollinators, the microbes, and fungi which all work to build healthier soils, boost biodiversity, and protect waterways from toxic runoff.

For references, please visit: naturalgrocers.com/issue-110

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