I et a Stinkbug yesterday.

That’s an exaggeration. I chomped down on a stinkbug by accident and spit it out.

The thing is, I wasn’t fazed by this, and for a second I was separating out the bits of stinkbug from the bits of mulberry in my mouth (because that’s what the stinkbug and I were both trying to eat), before I said “Aw now, come on, Daisy, just give up the one mulberry and spit the whole thing out.”

My brother was over here one day and was sampling a few mulberries at my invitation when I warned him to check the Berries for stinkbugs before he ate them (see how good I am at following my own directions) and he said, “Now you tell me,” and he was a bit put off of the whole idea of eating berries that might have had stinkbugs crawling around on them previously.

Given we are related and were raised in the same house by the same parents, etc., I got to wondering whether I was unusual in my complete lack of concern about bugs crawling on my berries, or other yard produce. Unless it has dirt/sand/debris on it, I don’t Wash what I grow. I often eat it right there the moment I pick it.

Even if I just flicked a bug off of it.

It’s one of the pleasures of growing your own food.

On the other hand, if it comes from the store, I regard it as in need of a good wash and often a soak in vinegar water before it goes near my mouth.

I’m aware that there are contaminants in the dust and splash up from the soil, and I do wash greens that have dirt on them, but I’m overall very lax about washing.

What camp do you fall in?