Organic Vs Local

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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.

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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.

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

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!

Depends on what it is and where it's from. Most fruit and veg is local anyway, so choosing an organic variety is just a subset (I know you said you can't choose both, but still ;)). On the other hand, I refuse to buy any 'fresh' fruit and veg that is imported, regardless of it's organic credentials. I have a skepticism of overseas organic certification credentials that are not readily identifiable/credible. Plus, food miles!!

As for canned/manufactured goods, I choose local over imported organic. Security of local food supply and food miles are both important to me. Tinned tomatoes are a key example, there's only one brand in the supermarkets not made from imported ingredients. If that goes, I'll start bottling my own rather than buy tomatoes that come all the way from Italy, organic or not! Plus, protectionism of some overseas farmers and specific crops is leading to both overproduction and unsustainable levels of waste of some foods in those markets. It makes no sense. I read the labels on everything to see whether it's made from local or imported ingredients and choose local.

Our local butcher has his own farm and supplies a lot of the meat from that. I've had extensive conversations with him about sustainable farming. Anything he has to buy in, he personally goes and checks out the supplier, esp interstate. I trust his stuff more than any organic stamp.

And the ethical struggle I have with purchasing any organic packaged food due to the use of palm oil on the machinery. It's the only "organic" grease that can be used when manufacturing these items. And unfortunately Australia is way behind when it comes to certified sustainable palm oil labelling.

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.

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)

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And the ethical struggle I have with purchasing any organic packaged food due to the use of palm oil on the machinery. It's the only "organic" grease that can be used when manufacturing these items. And unfortunately Australia is way behind when it comes to certified sustainable palm oil labelling.

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I hate this. I was using Earth Choice for cleaning products, then realised they use palm oil. I doubt the earth would choose that :(

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I hate this. I was using Earth Choice for cleaning products, then realised they use palm oil. I doubt the earth would choose that :(

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That is true - but there are some ways of using palm oil that are better than others (see statement in bold below) - and at least Earth Choice tell you they are using palm oil - many don't. The following is from the Natures Organics (who make Earth Choice website about Palm Oil. I think it is a better alternative than many other things.

(Always local over organic - anything that is overpackaged organic or not I won't buy, I wouldn't buy something that is local and heavily packaged over something from a little further afield (although rule out from another country) that is un-packaged.

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We are constantly posed with the question ‘How come other companies can claim they are palm oil free?’

The simple answer is if a company is claiming to be palm free they are instead using other forms of oil; coconut or petroleum.

Natures Organics has had many emails and phone calls from our customers and we are well aware of the environmental issues surrounding the production and use of palm oil. We voluntarily label palm oil on our products even though we are not required to disclose this information.

Natures Organics, along with other personal care and household cleaning product manufacturers started using palm oil many years ago in order to move away from a reliance on petrochemicals and animal derived ingredients. Palm oil fulfilled the requirements needed to produce these types of products as this oil had a composition which closely resembled that of crude oil, yet was from a sustainable, plant based source. As the cleaning and personal care industries were the main users of palm based ingredients at that time, the supply and demand for this oil was stable and the existing plantations were able to keep up with global demand without the need to encroach on the fragile and unique ecosystems coexisting alongside.

Technological advances over the last 10-20 years revealed that palm oil was a cheap and renewable alternative for many other industries including food and biofuel production. The rapid escalation in demand for this oil from these two industries (they currently use over 90% of palm oil produced worldwide) has led to the destruction of irreplaceable rainforest to open up land for palm plantations. Both the food and biofuel industries can utilise other plant derived oils, the only alternative we have at this time is coconut. Many organisations, individuals and even some manufacturers tout this as a highly desirable substitute but unfortunately this isn’t the case; coconut can only yield fruit in the same areas as palm, but coconut requires up to four times the area of land as palm to yield the same amount of oil. Currently it may be perceived as a more sustainable oil, but to put it simply it isn’t, and will only lead to greater deforestation.

Natures Organics is actively working toward minimising our reliance on palm as much as technology allows at this time. We have already managed to source corn and sugar derived ingredients to replace some of the palm derived ones and we have been researching and trialling ingredients derived from straw; a by-product of the wheat industry. We have made great progress with these but in order to use the quantities we would require to replace all our palm based ingredients, extensive toxicology/animal testing is required to be performed (by regulatory departments) as they are new ingredients. This puts us in a difficult position because these tests will compromise our CCF accreditation.

We banned all palm oil which had been grown in Borneo or Indonesia some time ago due to the significant environmental issues in these areas. We have now managed to secure a sole supply of palm oil from a well-established (30 plus years old) plantation in peninsular Malaysia where no orang-utans live (or ever have). The plantation owner is a founding member of the RSPO who voluntarily submitted themselves for auditing, achieving accreditation in 2008.

Natures Organics proudly sponsor The Orangutan Project, an Australian based organisation which is involved in the protection and rehabilitation of many threatened species in the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra. We currently fund a four man protection team which patrol one of their animal sanctuaries preventing illegal logging and poaching.

We support the lobby for all palm oil to be labelled in Australia as it will encourage research for alternatives and push for complete sustainability.

All of us at Natures Organics are sickened by the devastation occurring in South East Asia and as such we are doing everything in our power to minimise our impact. We will continue trying to find viable alternatives.

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