So you decided to scan the barcode. Looks like you take your veggies seriously. And why shouldn’t you? You eat them on a daily basis, or at least you should (okay, maybe not tinda).
So, in addition to actually delivering fruits and vegetables to your doorstep, allow us to now deliver information on the same; how they are grown with the healthiest, most natural techniques. This is to ensure that what you eat is among the best, most sustainable produce money can buy.
Know Your Veggies
In addition to regular fruits and vegetables that you get at the marketplace, Swiggy Instamart also brings you two distinct categories of produce; Hydroponic and Organic.
Hydroponic Produce:
If you split the word hydroponic, it comes from the words hydro, meaning water and ponics meaning work or labour. Which roughly translates to water works (which incidentally also describes your mood when you were asked to have your greens as a kid). The Hydroponic Farming System is a method of growing crops without soil, often referred to as soilless farming. We know what you’re thinking. How is that even possible? Let us explain.
In the hydroponic system, instead of soil, the plant roots grow in a liquid nutrient solution. The liquid nutrient solution is a mixture of essential plant nutrients in the water which supply all the necessary ingredients (much like Instamart) to the crops. The plant roots are either suspended in a static liquid solution or in a continuously flowing nutrient mixture.
And what are the advantages of using this practice? Quite a few. This is one of the more sustainable forms of farming as explained below:
- Without the use of soil, the crops can be stacked in vertical columns and hence give much higher yield within a relatively smaller area.
- The lack of soil also means farmers who don’t have much land and/or are worried about its fertility through the year can employ this practice to make a living.
- Even though this is a water-based farming practice, it utilizes only 10% of the total water used in traditional practices, primarily because it reuses the water that is used and doesn’t need irrigation.
Overall, this practice ensures the fruits and vegetables that you eat do not take a toll on the Earth and the environment. A tiny carbon footprint for you. A giant leap for mankind.
Organic Produce:
Everyone wants a piece of organic food, don’t they? We all know it’s good, but few know what’s so good about it. We’re going to try and break it down for you. So that the next time you order your favourite organic fruits and veggies from Swiggy Instamart, you can serve your delicacies with a side of wisdom.
The Green Revolution brought about the use of fertilizers and pesticides, which helped increase yield in order to feed the growing population of our country. However, with time, and to meet the growing supply of food, chemical variants of the same were developed and used on crops. This led to high yields at the cost of soil fertility, loss of topsoil, and surface and groundwater contamination. The chemicals used on each crop gradually accumulated in our everyday food leading to various health issues.
Organic farming avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, etc. It relies as much as possible on healthier, more natural practices such as crop rotations, use of crop residues, animal manures, etc. to maintain soil productivity.
While this is slightly more time consuming, over time it helps increase farm productivity and helps repair decades of environmental damage. Moreover, it helps knit small farm families into more sustainable distribution networks leading to improved food security. And just in case, you’re worried about the time consuming bit, we more than make up for it with our instant delivery.
If you’ve read so far, you’re more informed on your fruits and veggies than the average Joe or Josephine. If you’ve enjoyed it, share it with others. We hope that you’ll share the link but recommend you just share the knowledge. Makes you cooler in an instant. And that’s what we’re all about.
