It's been in the news a lot lately.
Now that "organic" groceries have become "mainstream", more and more companies are busy slapping the organic label on their products. A lot of the time, those same products come in conveniently pre-portioned pre-wrapped pre-packaged portions; let's also not forget that they come from thousands of kilometers away too.
As much as I disdain the "100 mile diet", the authors have a good point, one that I still think Nabhan is better at making, that you should know where your food comes from.
It makes no sense to buy "organic" strawberries from Mexico, when conventionally grown local ones are available.
Here's something the pro-organics movement doesn't want you to know - farmers hate using pesticides. You know why? Because it's expensive. Even when they do spray, they use as little as possible to keep expenses down.
My local farmer's market had a survey last summer and people overwhelmingly said they wanted to see more organic produce at the market. I don't. I want to see stuff I can't get at Safeway, and stuff that's fresh. Organic doesn't really matter to me.
So here's a radical idea - buy local produce. Don't worry about the organic label (but hey, if you prefer and can afford "organic", great - go for it).
The truth is that if it's local fresh and seasonal, it'll taste better than that imported from Mexico organic stuff.
Bon Vivant: n. A person with refined taste, especially one who enjoys superb food and drink.
About Me
- "L'état, c’est moi."
- A gastronome and philosopher, stuck in a high tech universe.
2 comments:
Didn't you and I have a similar debate online a few weeks back? Tracey and I get many of our veggies from SPUD (Small Potatoes Urban Delivery). They don't just focus on organic (although I would say that's a great majority of what they do), but they also focus on sustainable and local produce. In fact, they reward you (by entering you in a draw) if you keep your average delivery distance below a certain level. So if you you want strawberries and the only place you can get them is Mexico, you better make darn sure that you buy those local potatoes or tomatoes. It's not a perfect system, but it's a start.
But overall I agree, a lot of people in the organic and buy local movements seem to be working at cross purposes.
Post a Comment