Organic Vs Local

[Rouge]

You have choice. You must pick one. Do you reach for locally grown or organic? Why?

[Teeki]

Where I'm from, locally grown generally is organic. There's a very strong community mindset here (or there, it's half an hour away and I don't shop there anymore) so I would generally go locally grown. I like the idea of supporting local businesses and jobs, and helping get the regions name out there. The fact that it's also usually organic is a bonus, because I think if I didn't care about the community I'd choose the organic for health/environmental reasons.

[Rouge]

No no. I'm serious. What is more important. If you had to choose one or the other what would you pick? And you can't say both

[Astrid]

Local. Surrounded by farmers here. I know them in varying capacity. One of the major factories supports the local school and kinder. I "see" where my money is going.
Yes, it is tough at times, I would prefer some of them would look at more organic farming practices, but then my "food miles" are quite low when purchasing local, so offsets some of that.

[LimeSlice]

Local. The way I see it, if I can choose only one, then the more I support local business, the easier and more cost effective it will be for them to institute organic practices. No idea if that is actually logical or simply wishful thinking though! LOL

[Teeki]

Haha ok, I cheated I think I'd still go local though. Supporting the local community is important to me, especially when it's small.

[Jellyfish]

It would have to be a case by case basis. What is the local practise, is it at least largely ethical, what pollutants are we talking? And how much further is the organic travelling, what's its footprint? Are we talking east coast to west coast, overseas? Are the locals receptive to change, planning it in the future at all or strongly against going organic? I don't know if I could support someone with no view to change...

Can I just grow my own lol.

[AnyDream]

I would go local, preferring freshness, cost & ease of acquisition over organic. It's reasonably difficult to get organic produce where I live & if I was relying on that we would be eating such a limited diet that it would be counterproductive, nutrient wise. At least if its fresh & nice everyone eats it. I'm talking fruit & veg.

[Jennifer13]

It becomes so complex when you look into it, doesn't it, Rouge?

I take heart from the fact that there are at least so many people who at least consider so many of these aspects when it comes to their purchasing decisions.

[briggsy's girl]

I'm a bit like teeki! Both options apply. Farmers market when it's on for local fresh produce, and tend to gravitate to organic stands.

Out here its relatively easy to source local produce if we aren't growing it ourselves. Meat we get direct from the farm where we can (ok, it's not entirely local but it comes from dd's godfather and they bring it when they are coming to visit anyway, so no extra transport costs!). Just the way it works for us.

I tend to be wary of organic at the supermarket, but I trust it at the farmers market (which is less verifiable. Go figure lol)

[Rouge]

I don't buy organic because I prefer local for a few reasons. The labelling of organic these days is pretty liberal. And if purchasing from a supermarket organic (which is pretty much my only option) it can still be (not always and depending on the produce) stored for longer periods before being available and that's not including transport time.

Ultimately I'd prefer to grow my own too. But in the meantime I will always support local over organic. Especially when dealing with major chains.

[Peekaboo]

Definitely local. Supermarket organic is my only option as well, and it's such a limited selection!

[chody47]

If given the choice I think I'd go local.

[Livinthedream]

I would go local.

Like LS said, I would then hope that the extra $ earned by the farmer could be put to instituting better practices.

I also believe in the economies of scale and think that although having little organic farms dotting the countryside is lovely, it's not always environmentally "best practice".
are we not better off having one farm of 100 acres, with 1 house, 1 road 1 lot of farm machinery etc and leaving the rest of the country side undeveloped than having 20 farms of 10 acres, miles of road, extra houses, cars, building a shop, putting in a petrol station etc.
The more I think about it the more I believe that the future health of our land, infrastructure and economy, especially being such a vast country, is dependant on us becoming more high density living minded.
I think it is a sounder model, keep people and nature separated. That way you can much more effectively maintain both.
Sorry, gone totally OT, and a bit ranty

[Phteven]

Organic.
Because of the bees.
Bees are dying all over the world. It's terrifying. Without bees we will simply lose a half our fruit and vege varieties. We can possibly grow the same weight of food but variety is also important.
Organic farming helps the bees. Whilst not all non-organic farming is responsible for bee die-off there are certainly chemicals in use that are.
And Monsanto - Monsanto chemicals and GM crops are increasingly part of the non-organic landscape.

[~Kim~]

Does it have to be real or can it be preferred?
I don't buy organic for the reasons exactly that you've listed.
However, there is nothing (no word of a lie) local here. Even the tonnes of beef actually grown here gets shipped to Indo. Every. last. beast.

[Rowellen]

Ultimately I'd prefer to grow my own too. But in the meantime I will always support local over organic. Especially when dealing with major chains.

This is me exactly. DH has a little vege patch but it is sadly neglected due to lack of time. We mainly grow our own coriander, basil, chillies & spring onions. We've tried a few others unsuccessfully due to pests/insufficient time.

We have a local fruit & vege shop that also grows their own (not everything but a good selection). They generally source most things locally and are priced on a par with coles/woolies and often cheaper. Very little is imported and if it is, it's usually because it's out of season here and is clearly labelled. Organic is hard to find and limited. It would be nice to buy organic everything but not practical or cost effective where I live. We buy basics only at the supermarket.

[Bloom]

Local all the way. We are lucky enough to have fortnightly markets two suburbs away that sell a lot of local produce.