Organic Vs Local

[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.

[luna moth]

I do do both. <300km and organic or organic in conversion. And I don't deal with the major chains. I really couldn't choose!