Local vs. Organic, the complexities are immense!?

Question

We all know that locally produced, organic food is the best choice for a person who is working towards a sustainable society/world. However, in most places it is very difficult to create a complete diet with locally produced organic food, and in many places (take my home state of Montana for example) it is essentially impossible. In some of the larger cities here in Montana, a person can find a Good Food Store, a Real Food Store, or something of the like. However, although they sell a few local organic products, the stores themselves are very seldom local businesses; most in fact are owned by large corporations in big cities somewhere else. Most the products for these stores are shipped thousands of miles to get to Montana. On the other hand, locally grown produce can be found at farmer's markets from spring to fall, but not all (in fact few) of those products are organic. If a person had the choice between non-organic local produce and non-organic produce from some far away

Answer 1

Personally I chose local over organic but I have been buying/growing/eating locally raised foods for over a decade plus I an a small commercial grower who used to be certified organic so I probably have a better handle on this subject because I live my life around it.



First off buying local is not easy and demands that you think about food differently. If you want to eat in the winter you start planning in the spring. Ideally you will be growing quite a bit of your own food and buying the rest via farmers market and individual farmers who may not go to farmers markets. Especially if you are not finding locally owned stores with locally raised food. http://www.localharvest.org should help you find and connect with local growers in your area (there are many sustainable and organic growers in Montana but it is a big place so I can see where it would be hard to find who you need to buy from)



You need to put up food by canning, freezing, fermentation, dehydration during the growing season for use during the off season. And create a root cellar for foods like garlic, onions, carrots, turnips, winter squash to be store in. This is what people used to do before WWII and the modern, processed food, grocery chain.



The book Root Cellaring by Mike and Nancy Bubel is an excellent title on the subject. they explain how anyone can do this even people living in apartments in the city.



The other thing to do is if you are gardener yourself learn about season extension. I know people who grow most of the year in Minn and S Dakota using simple unheated hoop houses. Eliot Coleman has several excellent title on season extension, he lives and gardens year round in Maine. I know of a couple of farms in MT that use geothermal hot springs to heat greenhouses for year round growing in your state so it can certainly be done.



Keep on educating yourself and good luck. I believe you can and will become a full fledged Montanan locavore.

Answer 2

There is an excellent article in this weeks (last weeks?) New Yorker that actually challenges some of these assumptions. It does not get into organic food, but it does deal with the idea of "food miles."



Many farms in the US use far more fertilizers and fossil burning machinery than in other countries. If food is shipped by boat, rather than by plane, it can actually be "greener" (have a lower carbon footprint) to purchase food shipped from far away than to use food that is grown closer to home.



I've provided a link to the article. You may find it interesting. I don't think that it will answer your question. I actually think that it will muddy the water even more for you. Sorry about that.

Answer 3

I think that you distort many scenarios under a false portend! You cant have your cake and eat it to! You are the reason why true love has no chance to succeed! You must address the real issues with real concerns and real fixes! Organic fixation is a ploy of the unscrupulous! Do not fall into this venue of falsehood! Reality is a real challenge when they have you questioning your roots!