Fresh perspective. (snapshots).(keeping up with Mark Mulcahy)(Interview)

Organic produce consultant Mark Mulcahy is the first to admit he can be a little eccentric.

Mulcahy, 46, a native of the San Francisco Bay area, approaches his role as organic consultant in an off-beat way--sometimes incorporating humor, stage props and invented characters. At a 2001 presentation at the natural product industry's Expo West in Anaheim, California, he entertained the crowd as if he were conducting a live call-in radio show called "The Organic Romantic." "How about cool Galia melon slices while soaking in a hot bath?" he suggested to his "listeners," offering tips on how to spice up their love lives. "If we promoted the romance behind produce more often, I think people would be a little more eager to eat five servings a day. Retailers can come up with all kinds of ways to get their customers excited about fresh-food romance," he explained to the crowd.

Once, he interviewed a banana, or--to be more precise--someone dressed in a large, banana-shaped suit. "What's your favorite song?" Mulcahy asked the fruit. "I like Beethoven's Fifth Symphony," it replied. "Ba-na-na-naaaah!"

All kidding aside, Mulcahy takes the work he does for his consulting firm, Organic Options, seriously. He expects anyone working in the produce department of a natural foods store to be able to tell consumers where the produce was grown, when its peak season is and the taste of one variety compared to another.

"That could mean the difference between liking and not liking a fruit or vegetable. The sign in the average produce section just says, `Peaches,' but it doesn't specify if they're ...