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

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!

By: Natalie of BMore Natural

Natalie of BMore Natural — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 17:15:01 +0000

Great article! I’ve been a fan of organic fruit and veg for a few years now and last year managed to get an allotment close to home so we now grow most of our own. There is nothing to beat the taste of home grown tomatoes, strawberries and sweetcorn in particular and you don’t need a huge amount of space – before getting the allotment I used to grow things in tubs on the patio and there is always room for herbs on the windowsill. To pick what you’ve grown from seed and have in on your dinner plate within minutes is just the most amazing thing, I can’t recommend it highly enough.

i also find spending time working on the allotment extremely relaxing and can happily lose hours up there absorbed in the work – it’s the best way to connect with the earth, the seasons and your mind and body.

By: B.B. Martin

B.B. Martin — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:00:36 +0000

Thanks for such an educational and useful article! It answered questions I had about the health factor of locally grown foods. Now I know what questions to ask about at local farmers’ markets and request at other markets I frequent.

It’s good to understand your choices when organic food is either not available or too expensive. Knowledge and understanding are powerful tools in decision making!

The more we know what to ask for (demand) the more producers will provide it (supply).

Cheers,
BB

By: Bran

Bran — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 17:03:26 +0000

I personally try to buy from a local farmer’s market whenever I can, despite whether or not it’s organic or genetically modified. If they don’t have what I want, then I buy organic from the grocery store.

Unfortunately, there are not any organic farmers markets in my area.

By: natrummur

natrummur — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 20:20:36 +0000

Very good article! But I don’t agree that some fruits doesn’t need to be organic, for example, the ones with thick skin. Organic vegetables and fruits are better than the other ones also because their content on minerals and vitamins is higher, not only for the pesticides.

By: Gary Archer

Gary Archer — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:50:12 +0000

It is my opinion that anything grown organically without the use of pesticides and caustic chemicals is far and away better then super market produce. Don’t put foreign material into your body and you’ll be a much healthier person.
Thank for a great article!