LOCAL ORGANIC Y'ALL
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Is local-organic worth it?

A few years ago we sat down and wrote out a list of all the advantages of local and organic foods. We got to about thirty-eight reasons and ran out of room on the pad. These days we see a lot of straw man arguments where one benefit of local or organic is brought out and doubts are raised. One example is the Stanford study proposing that there is as yet no firm proof that organic food is healthier. Whether or not this is true, it is no reason to abandon organic. Or someone talks about heated greenhouses in the winter in Minnesota to say that local foods don't help with global warming. Of course not, but that is not the heart of local foods. And what about a legal pad busting list of benefits? Here are thirty-six in a table. And here is a one page list.

 

farmer

health

 

preserved

traditions

beautiful

landscapes

not breeding superweeds

higher profit margins

connection to the seasons

inspired

chefs

 

farmworker

health

groundwater

quality

more food freshness

drought resistant

more rural independence

better soil health

 

strong biodiversity

reverses Gulf dead zone

 

climate friendly

avenue for transparency

intellectual capital builder

food variety

pollinator

health

farmland

preservation

culturally

rich

good farm neighbor

 

little gov’ment subsidy

humane to animals

 

less pesticide residue

more local jobs

better food flavor

engages young people

educates urbanites

builds community

 

protects drinking water

keeps dollars local

saves aquatic animals

facillitates gleaning

allows food w/ cosmetic flaws

 


 

 

We are convinced. Local and organic do so much to benefit the planet and people. We want it.

Which leads to a second and very big issue: AFFORDABILITY.

​Is local-organic affordable, is it worth it for the average, non-wealthy family? This is a tough and important question, especially when we are talking about food sold at retail in a store and not direct at a farmers market.


Advocates have five responses and all five make sense to us.

First, local/organic at the store is not always more expensive that conventional or California organic. Buying what's in season is key here. Local-organic squash at the supermarket in the middle of summer may the exact same price as its conventional or out of state rival, or even cheaper, for example.

Second, if we learn to cook more and smarter, we can stay on budget, even with higher-priced ingredients. See Linda Watson's excellent book and website: Cook for Good. Linda and others like Leanne Brown are teaching folks to eat well on a budget.

Third, we should pay more for our food, to support farmers and their families. Wages need to go up to support more folks buying good food. This is a bigger struggle.

Fourth, when faced with high prices, families have choices week to week about which items they buy local and organic -- no one expects us to buy only local-organic or even mostly local-organic. That said, we can certainly benefit from buying a lot more local-organic than we have in the past. For information on which produce really should be eaten organic, check out Consumer Reports' "Pesticides in Produce." Or Environmental Working Group's Dirty Dozen report.

Finally, local organic food is often worth more than the alternative -- fresher, better taste and nutrition density -- so paying more does make sense. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples!

​What do you think?

Copyright 2022

Local Organic Y'ALL

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  • Home
  • blog
  • Why?
    • Thirty Benefits of Local
    • local CHOICES
  • best practices
    • Case studies
  • Grocers
    • Supermarket slideshow
    • 2018 Supermarket Report Card
    • Losing Local? report (2018)
    • Losing Local? press release
    • Many Miles To Go report (2016)
    • Many Miles To Go press release
    • Supermarket Leaders
  • take action+donate
  • kids
  • Links
  • About
  • Contact