Organic vs Locally Grown Food

April 10, 2007...12:01 pm

Organic vs Locally Grown Food

About a month ago, we shopped at Organza Market, a grocery store which specializes in organic and natural foods. We bought a few things, and for the most part we were pleased with what we got.

One of the items we purchased was Annie’s Cheddar Bunnies. They were great-tasting, and completely suitable replacements for Pepperidge Farm’s Goldfish Crackers. I was a bit amused, however, that the box proudly proclaimed that the bunny crackers were “75% organic!” A shopper wonders: what about the other 25%? Isn’t making a claim like this sort of like a meat producer saying, “Our beef is 75% mad cow free”? Annie’s FAQ explains the difference in labelling options for organic foods: “Made with organic” on the label means that the food is made with at least 70% organic ingredients.

Ok, ok, so I realize that it could be difficult for a food producer to make food that’s 100% organic. What about produce? Surely that’s a lot easier.

Last night’s visit to our local big-box grocery store (in this case, the large Superstore on St. James) proved that buying organic still presents some challenges. Three different kinds of produce showed us three different problems with buying only organic veggies, and wanting to support sustainable, local agriculture while still shopping at the very-convenient large stores.

First there were the sugar snap peas. The first package I picked up was grown in China. I frowned, and put it back. Then I picked up a bag of organic snap peas grown in Mexico. Decisions: non-organic from China, or organic from Mexico? I selected the organic, Mexican peas.

Then I needed green onions. There were organic green onions from Mexico, and non-organic green onions from the US. The non-organic ones were shipped less distance (and were $1.50 cheaper), so I selected the non-organic onions from the US.

Apples? My choices were non-organic apples from California, or organic apples from Canada (probably BC?). I picked the Canadian, organic apples.

Now… Part of the issue is that I was buying produce out of season. Peak of the Market, a Manitoba-grown vegetable supplier, has a neat toy on their site to show what veggies are in season. At the beginning of April, the pickings are slim: we’re at the end of beet and carrot season, and we can get locally-grown onions, parsnips and potatoes… and that’s it. This was discovered by Lindsay Wiebe, a Winnipeg Free Press reporter, when she tried out the 100-mile diet in November.

But let’s assume that all the produce I wanted was in season. Chances are, most of the locally-grown product won’t be 100% organic, while I could still buy organic product grown in the US or Mexico. Which should I choose? The argument goes six one way, half a dozen the other, with intelligent, strident supporters on both sides. Organic means putting less pesticides into the environment; eating local means putting less carbon into the atmosphere. Organic produce may be healthier for you; local produce may be healthier for the local economy.

Personally, I prefer local to organic when I have to make a choice, for several reasons. Of course, local organic food trumps all!

Try eating local this summer, just to try it out. You might like it.

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Filed under Eat Local, Food Ethics, Food Safety