I've been paying the extra bucks and feeding my kids organically-grown foods for years now, because like many parents, I believe that pesticide-free food is better for small developing bodies that are less likely to be able to effectively assimilate chemicals. I know, too, that eating locally is also "better": not only does it help support your local economy via mostly small family farmers, but energetically it's preferable as well (stay with me here: this is macrobiotic theory), as your body can better use the energy from foods from your climactic and geographical region.
But how to balance the two? Typically, the organic produce I see in, say, Whole Foods isn't local (nor, mostly, is the other stuff, but that's beside the point). So, is it a big deal? Why yes, it is, actually, if part of your reason for eating organically also has to do with the environment and the chemicals released through large-farm production. Because guess what? The environmental cost for organically-grown produce may actually be higher than conventionally-grown produce. Grown without pesticides and herbicides, organically-grown produce is more labor-intensive (think about all those weeds in your own garden), and the cheapest labor is the farthest away, at least if you live in North America.
Yikes! Makes you think, doesn't it? It does me. Right now is a good time, seasonally speaking, to be thinking about making changes, as there are in most areas plentiful options that are local, and in most cases, cheaper: farmer's markets, CSAs, local family farms. But what about the rest of the year? Unless you have your own space for gardening and grow enough to put up the excess for the winter, it's a quandary. I guess it's time to decide how much that kiwi and that mango means to you in January, let alone those strawberries.
[original article pointed by Karen Rani guesting at The Zero Boss]
