This weekend was the annual Georgia Apple Festival [1]. The Appalachian Mountains, about 1.5 hours north of Atlanta, are home to some of the best apple orchards in the country... in fact, Georgia apple producers like to brag that their apples beat out Washington state apples in a blind taste test.

This year, we weren't so sure there would even be an apple festival [2]. A freeze around Easter destroyed between 50 and 75 percent of this year's crop. And as it turns out, even though this year's crop was decimated, the freeze was actually a godsend-Georgia has also experienced a crippling drought this year, and if the trees and been fully fruited, they likely would have died in the drought.

I went to the apple festival last year and while I enjoyed the bad festival food (corn dogs, Italian sausages and, natch, caramel apples) and the tacky crafts (think barnwood signs saying things like "Happy Halloween, y'all!"), my favorite part of the day was the side trip to one of the many apple houses [3] that line the highways. Last year I bought 2 pecks of apples, not to mention various apple-based paraphernalia like apple butter, fried pies, applesauce and cider.

Despite the shortage, this year's festival went on anyway, although I couldn't help but notice telltale signs of the apple losses. Most orchards weren't offering "U-pick" options. And at the festival itself, located in the fairgrounds in Ellijay, Ga., I didn't even see the big bins of apples for sale. A trip to Mercier Orchard, my favorite apple house, showed that although they had apples, there were only a fraction of the selection that I remembered from last year. Rumor has it that some apple houses even brought in apples from other states to sell.

The apple shortage is just the latest instance that is making me more aware of how tenuous our food supply is. Orange juice prices [4] are outrageous, thanks to hurricanes, droughts and citrus diseases that wiped out much of Florida's crop. I recently read that milk prices [5] could rise to as much as $5 a gallon this fall; again, drought conditions are to blame, as is a shortage in Europe.

It's easy to blame Mother Nature for droughts and hurricanes and diseases that make it difficult for us to buy foodstuffs that we normally take for granted. But I'm certain that if we'd taken better care of the environment, we wouldn't be experiencing such severe weather conditions.

There's not much more I can do than cough up an extra few dollars for milk or hope that the Avian Flu never makes it to the U.S. But I'd like to hope that the little eco-conscious steps I'm taking, from bringing my own tote bags to the store, to buying more local foods, to making sure all of the lights are turned off when I leave the house, will somehow translate into making this world a healthier place.

And in the meantime, I'll enjoy the Crispin and Winesap apples that did survive the frost... they make excellent baked apples [5].


In My Kitchen
Every week, I tally my grocery bill, and give you a peek at what's on the dinner table at our house.

Groceries: $57.03

• Spicy Grilled Chicken, Grilled Cauliflower, Rice Pilaf
• Pasta with Italian Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Tomato Sauce
• Bean and Cheese Burritos