Baby Cut Carrots: What They Really Cost You is Nutrition

Less Nutrition, Higher Cost

Baby carrots are big fat lie. Baby carrots are not baby carrots at all. They are one way to market a prettier and cuter vegetable to the public. They are also less nutritious and more expensive than regular carrots. With a knife, a vegetable peeler and a little time you too can make your own nutritious "baby carrot" snack, without the extra cost and the extra food waste.

Baby Carrots or Baby-Cut Carrots

There are real baby carrots which are a gourmet and pricey produce item. The pre-packaged baby cut carrots you find in the produce section are the not the same as these real baby carrots.

Baby Carrots are not a baby variety of carrots. They are just make to look that way. Call it a food illusion, or genius food marketing. Full-sized carrots are cut and peeled by machines and then packaged.

Unattractive Produce in the Supermarket

One reason that the baby carrot was developed into a marketing concept is because regular carrots, which are often irregularly-shaped and funny-looking were not selling.

Personally, I like a natural-looking and natural-tasting vegetable. I would rather have a vegetable with full nutrients, that looked like it was just plucked from the ground, than a perfect and pristine and less healthy vegetable.

Vegetables that look like they could be found at the local road-side fruit and vegetable stand are more natural. A pretty vegetable does not make it a tastier or a healthier vegetable.

Consider what happened to the tomato. How many people remember the taste of a real, garden-grown tomato? Now we have over-bred tomatoes in the supermarket with bright colors and little bruising that last longer, but they are lacking in flavor.

The same way that tomatoes have been bred for the supermarket, preparation techniques have changed the way we buy carrots.

Better for Farmers, More Costly for Consumers

The upside is that carrot farmers are enjoying more profits. One on hand, it is hard to argue against profits for farmers, but as an everyday consumer I won't spend twice as much money on a food product simply because it is more convenient.

Convenience at a Health Cost