The debate over which local vs. organic food is wide, divided, and pretty muddled depending on who you ask. There are pros of both local food and organic food as well as cons. In the end you simply have to weigh all the arguments and make a choice based on your own ethics and health considerations.
Benefits of local food:
- Less fossil fuels used for transport.
- Supporting the local economy and often smaller scale farmers.
- Preservation of local green spaces.
- Better nutrients. After being picked fruits and veggies lose nutritional value quickly. Produce on an extra long shipment transport lose the most nutrients.
- Cost can be considerably less expensive than shipped-in organic food. Although, it’s my personal opinion that anyone who can afford groceries can also afford organics which makes cost a moot point.
Benefits of non-local organic food:
- More variety and a wider range of choices.
- Food that’s got zero pesticides, zero weird drugs like those found in non-organic meats and eggs and zero chemicals that can harm you, the land, the water or air.
- Support for organic farmers – if we don’t buy it, why should people grow it?
- Food that has not been genetically modified.
- Organic food is healthier for your family and kids.
- Because organic gardening or farming is more time and hands-on intensive more jobs can be created.
Personally I try to go with organic AND local when possible. When it’s not possible I go with organic. For me, keeping icky pesticides out of my son’s body matters more than supporting local farms who refuse to go organic or feeling guilty over shipping fuel used. I want my son exposed to as few pesticides as possible and while I can’t limit all pesticides my son may run into, I can control buying organic over non-organic local.
In case you want some other opinions on this heavy debate check out the following links…
- Eating Better Than Organic
- Treehugger thinks that There’s No Such Thing as Local vs. Organic Food – which I don’t totally agree with, although I do agree with many of their points.
- Grist appears to feel the same way as Treehugger – Local or organic? It’s a false choice
- Eating local vs organic
- Organic vs. Local vs. Your Sanity…
- Spoiled: Organic and Local Is So 2008
What do you think is a better choice? Local non-organic or non-local organic?
[image via stock.xchng]
Post from: Blisstree