Photo by eylon on Flickr
Juicy amber papayas, succulent pineapples, and sweet ripe bananas are just a few of the tasty produce options you’ll find within an arm’s reach in Panama. There’s really nothing quite like tasting it close to the source. Who needs Whole Foods when you can find a bounty of fresh organic fruits and vegetables at your doorstep? The temperate climate makes cultivating a home garden easy, and you can pick your afternoon snack straight from the tree outside your home. And even when dining out, Panama’s wholesome harvest makes its way into your meal.
At Volcan’s Valley of the Moon, a BeyondOrganic teaching kitchen, restaurant and café, you can enjoy gourmet cuisine and shade-grown organic Panamanian coffee, all prepared with love by people who seriously care about food. The coffee gets rave reviews, and the menu changes every day. Show up for breakfast, lunch, or dinner to sample delectable dishes – crab, shrimp, lobster, chicken and fish entrees delicately enhanced with herbs and spices – as well as a bevy of scrumptious salads, tasty quiches, and tantalizing desserts. The restaurant offers raw, vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and unrestricted options at every meal. All ingredients are organic, GMO-free and toxin-free.
Photo by eylon on Flickr
Valley of the Moon strives to go the extra mile, committed to a food philosophy called “BeyondOrganic.” This approach is a reaction to what Valley of the Moon perceives as a deterioration in the standards governing the certification of foods as organic. As the organization says on its website, “The Organic Products Board, an agency of the USDA, has consistently succumbed to the pressures of commercial producers who make increased profits by using the USDA label and lowering their standards to increase the distance between the cost of production (down) and the cost of the product (up).” The company cites several examples of how the designation has become virtually meaningless. For instance, a farmer could previously not grow conventional and organic crops on the same land; now, however, pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides can be applied on the same land using the same water – all without windbreaks, distance parameters or other protection.
Photo by eylon on Flickr
Other bonuses (besides the delicious food)
Free wi-fi; plug in while you dig in
Al fresco dining on the thatched-roof Water Wall Patio
Elegant indoor dining in the Art Gallery Dining Room
Visitors to Isla Palenque will be enjoying the best produce from the resorts’ organic farm every day of their stay, but for a delicious meal after an excursion on the Chiriqui mainland, stop by Valley of the Moon.
TAGS: Must Read Organic Farming Panama Do & See Panama Food & Drink Sustainability
