Comments on: Which Is Better For the Environment – Organic or Locally Grown Foods?

By: dooberheim

dooberheim — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:36:01 +0000

veronica, without knowing what they spray, you can’t conclude if it’s “bad for you” or not. Organic farmers are permitted to use sprays such as rotenone and nicotine, as well as less toxic sprays such as calcium disulfide (lime-sulfur).

Learn something about toxicology, and you’ll eat and feel better.

By: veronica

veronica — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:03:00 +0000

Once a person starts buy more and more organic until that is ALL you would purchase–you will find that you will not even consider something that is not organic–unless of course, you KNOW that the local items are NOT sprayed and that would probably not be too many farmers as most feel they MUST spary to get a nice crop.

If Monsanto gets its way it is we will be very fortunate if we can count on truly organic–I say make a bumber sticker and put it on your car saying, ‘”SAY NO TO ‘GMO’–DOWN WITH MONSANTO”

By: veronica

veronica — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:55:32 +0000

Why would you knowingly buy genetically modified–Perhaps you might want to research what genetically modified food is—

I find that people who say–I can’t afford to buy organic all the time or at all usually if you check they were honest they would admit to buying soda, chips, cookies and they buy from the fast food places also–If they would throw out the chips, soda and junk foods and not buy from the fast food places they would find a lot of money to spend on organic food and avoid putting all the pesticides in their and their families bodies. It is much better to eat the organic food at home than patronize McDonalds, Toco Bell ect. ect.

Also you would find you will not have to spend money or time at the Doctors. Of course, exercise, drinking good water and getting a good nights sleep adds to ones health.

Just my opinion.

By: veronica

veronica — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 18:34:40 +0000

I do not buy local from my farmer’s market from most of the farmers as most of them tell me they spary. There are one or two people who do not spray and I will buy form them. I would rather buy organic even if it comes from miles and miles away rather than the local farmer who feels he must spray in order to have a good crop.

By: Terry

Terry — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 04:26:07 +0000

why do you pass on the organic food from overseas?
do you think it is better to buy regular produce from the chain stores instead?
I know organic produce from overseas is old and probably different laws on pesticides….
oh, What is a mother to do?……….
We do have a garden and grow lots, but throughout the winter we have to shop chain stores
Thank you!

By: green living

green living — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:20:38 +0000

It can be so confusing, organic or local, good to see you are clearing up the issue!

By: Katie

Katie — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 20:12:05 +0000

It’s also critical to keep in mind that many local farmers practice sustainable farming practices or are at least making efforts to keep pesticide use to a minimum. Furthermore, there are many local farmers growing organic foods but do not have the time or resources to go through the lengthy government process to become certified organic. The best way to find out is to ask the farmer – in my experience, they are always happy to tell you how they grow/raise their food (unlike many corporate farms out there, including corporate organic farms!).

By: Natural Health Therapies

Natural Health Therapies — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 15:10:23 +0000

Organic is definitely the way to go, unless you enjoy eating poisons via pesticides and growth hormones. One thing to remember is that the USDA is not really protecting the integrity of “certified organic”, but is modifying that label to allow for certain synthetics. Check out the USDA site for more info. In my opinion, that sort of leeway defeats the purpose of organic purity. Make sure you read the labels.

By: Diane at Lose-weight-for-life.com

Diane at Lose-weight-for-life.com — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 04:27:10 +0000

Love the detail about which foods are particularly susceptible to heavy metals and pesticides and need to be organic, and those that are less important. I find that sometimes the variety of organic produce is limited, so it’s helpful to know which non-organic produce is the least likely to be harmful.

By: Gina

Gina — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 22:12:24 +0000

Great article – you’ve presented both sides of the debate in a reader-friendly way and really leave it up to them to make decisions. We grow what we can in our organic garden, and try to buy organic local whenever possible. We know a lot about the methods used for many of our growers here in Oregon which makes purchase decisions a littler easier when we’re at the farmers market or local grocery store. Most disappointing is visiting the national chains that might sell organic produce from south america – we pass on that!