How Our Food Systems Prevent Us From Eating Seasonally (Which Is Exactly Why We Should)

I never thought broccoli would get me so excited

My local organic market. Image courtesy of author

I never thought purple sprouting broccoli would get me so excited.

But there it was, winking at me in a box outside my local frutaría — Portuguese greengrocers — and friends, I’m not exaggerating, I nearly wept.

Because I’d not had this treat in a year. And a treat it was, because the next time I visited the shop, the well was dry. No more purple sprouting broc for me.

For food-obsessed souls, seasonal eating can be as exciting as Christmas. One week you’re drowning in gochujang-laced purple-sprouting broccoli, the next it’s new-season asparagus. One replaces the other, the former not to be seen for another 12 months.

I’m not the only one who loves it. 70% of Brits say they want to eat more seasonally. Social media is flooded with big-name content creators showing you how to do it. You only have to visit Britain in March to see how wild garlic (ramps) takes over the psyche of restaurants, TikTokers and, before I moved abroad, me.

Yet still, supermarkets are filled with out-of-season, poor-quality imports. Kiwis from Chile. Oranges from Morocco. Few of us know which fruits and vegetables are…