In Search of Organic Cranberries? Good Luck

Kristin Appenbrink
Kristin Appenbrink
Kristin is the co-founder of Part Time Vegan and Silent Book Club. As a former editor at Real Simple, she is compulsively organized and loves solving people's problems. She has a weakness for desserts, especially ice cream.
published Dec 10, 2015
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(Image credit: Massachusetts Travel & Tourism)

Cranberries seem pretty ubiquitous this time of year. From cranberry sauce at Thanksgiving to cranberries strung on the Christmas tree, they are in high demand.

But if you want organic cranberries, be prepared to hunt for them and, possibly, pay a premium.

Why are organic cranberries so hard to find? It all comes down to the bog.

Because of the way cranberries are grown — on vines in sunken beds that farmers flood before the harvest — they are susceptible to pests, fungus, and weeds that aren’t really able to be controlled by organic treatments.

To put things in perspective, all the organic cranberry bogs in existence take up less space than Central Park in New York City. But if demand for cranberries, and specifically organic cranberries, continues to grow as nutritionists tout their health benefits, we just might see some innovation in the cranberry business.

→ Read more: Why Organic Cranberries Are So Hard to Find from Yahoo! Food

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