Buying Local Vs. Buying Organic -- xposted in Nutrition & Good Eating

[streuselmama]

This question touches both on healthy eating and green living...I'm trying to decide whether I should go to a local (conventional) u-pick for strawberries, and thus use less fossil fuel to get the fruit OR drive 2+ hours each way to the organic u-pick or buy organic at the store, which have been trucked across the country.

There are no organic u-picks closeby (just the 2 hour one), no Wild Oats/Whole Foods, and the one HFS has a very small produce section...rarely any berries.

WWYD? I don't want to eat pesticide, or serve it to my family; however, I cringe at the thought of how much fuel is used when I don't eat locally.

Thanks!

[Rhiannon Feimorgan]

I think it depends on what your local farms are like. Most small scale produce farms or market gardens aren't going to be using cemicals on the same scale as the bigger industrial farms. Many are nearly organic but haven't gone through the certification process. (that can be expensive and take a long time).

Local avoids the environmental and economic costs of shipping long distances. Less gas used ect.

Food also starts to loose nutriants as soon as it's picked. So if a tomato is picked the morning before it goes to the farmers market, it's going to be higher quality than one that spent days in a truck traveling from California (or wherever).

So I would check out the farm, but unless you know it has really bad practices, I would go local over organic. (I would probably consider the one 2 hours away "local enough" though)

And it doesn't get much more local than growing your own. Put a few plants into pots. Strawberries are easy to grow.

[pixiewytch]

I sometimes struggle with this question as well but for me it is more a question of price difference than availability. It just doesn't make sense for me to buy organic apples from Chile that are half rotten when I could buy something local that is fresh.

As the PP said, I think it depends on where you are buying the local produce from. If it is a farmer's market of sorts it is probably unlikely that a lot of chemicals have been used. If it is at a supermarket I suppose it is anyone's guess. I don't know. I'm interested in other replies myself because this can be a tough dilemma. I am a huge tomato person for instance but the organic tomatoes in my area are always rotten and shipped from afar. So do I buy the rotten organic tomatoes or the local tomatoes which have probably been sprayed with pesticides? Decisions, decisions...:

[sabrinat]

I try and buy local, but not necessarily organics. I live in an area that does have it fair share of store (WF, Earthfare, TJ's) , but I still can't wrap my mind around the whole organic thing. That's just me though.

[Naturalyst]

This issue has come-up for me recently too.

I do buy from small, local, non-organic, farms under the circumstances and for the reasons mentioned in the pp. And, I avoid organic farms run outside the U.S. because I am not comfortable that enforcement outside the U.S. is sufficient. In the end, if there is doubt - I just choose a different fruit or vegetable.

I've had more trouble when deciding about non-produce items - dairy and meat - and would like to hear how others decide on such items. As an example, this past weekend at the supermarket I had to choose between milk from a local dairy or organic milk trucked over several state lines. I stared at the refrigerated case a long while, weighing concerns, before picking the organic milk. Antibiotic and hormone use trumped concerns about fossil fuel pollution. Meat selections often present similar concerns. WWYD?

[lucyem]

For me it depends on the store I am in. If I am at the co-op store they are filled with natural and organic foods and meats and bakery items all from local farms. Its fabulous. If I am at the regular food store I will take the organic milk or the natural meat over local non organic. Actually I refuse to buy any non organic meat or milk. But in general I only go to the regular supermarket for caned or boxed type foods since the co-op cannot be beat. I like to go to the local farmers market and pick your own type farms. But once again I pay attention to how they produce their product. Though these days it is rare for me to see a local farm not touting its "organic" or "natural" status.

[pixiewytch]

I agree with PP. Our local supermarket and health food stores carry their own organic brands so when it comes to meat and dairy I am usually able to get both local and organic.