Why I Don't Buy Baby Carrots

I choose to buy full size organic carrots for our family and guinea pigs.

If you follow my facebook page, you've probably seen my daily "Today on the Menu" posts that include the variety of veggies and fruits I feed my guinea pigs.  Guinea pigs love carrots and are commonly fed them for that reason.

We love our carrots!

 It's important for guinea pigs not to have too many carrots - you can find more information about vegetables to feed here.  Since guinea pigs should not be fed large amounts of carrots, I frequently see it recommended to feed baby carrots.  I don't recommend baby carrots - for people or pets.  Here's why:

1.  You're paying a higher price for a "fancy" product that is all about marketing without any real benefit.  The baby carrots you see on the supermarket shelves are thin regular carrots that are cut in half and peeled down into what you see in the package.

2.  These carrots cut into baby sizes are washed in a stronger bleach solution to preserve them since they have had the protective skin removed - while it's still within levels deemed safe, I don't see it necessary when normal carrots work just as well.

3.  When these carrots are peeled, they are losing valuable nutrition within the skin.  Carrot skins contain phenolic compounds, which may help prevent cancer among other health benefits.

Here are some informative sources on the benefits of carrots and about the process of making baby carrots:

http://www.thekitchn.com/where-do-baby-carrots-come-from-a-field-to-table-baby-carrot-harvest-with-grimmway-farms-180386

http://www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/nutrition.html

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/articles/512165/20131008/carrots-flu-drug-cancer-cardiovascular-neurodegenerative-diseases.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20043255