Are Local Foods Better than Organic?
The organic vs. conventional debate rages. And now the "local" movement has entered the picture.
Local? Organic? Conventional?
What's the best option?
Do you buy organic foods? Leave a comment — let us know!
Is organic farming BETTER than conventional – do the foods have more nutrients? More flavor? Less pesticides?
And, at the end of the day, are they better for us?
We always try to remind everyone that at the end of the day, the goal is to simply eat MORE vegetables and fruits.
And in our opinion, more important than organic foods, is their proximity to where you live … meaning, were they picked close to when you're buying/eating them? Or were they picked in another country, shipped across the world, and now at your grocery store several weeks later…and significantly lower in flavor and nutrients?
An organic food that was shipped 3000+ miles from another country is not close to as good as a conventional food grown a short distance from where you live and delivered/eaten soon after it was picked.
To help reduce this issue ourselves, we joined a local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA). You can find one near you by search this website and typing in your zip code. We're fortunate that we have about 10 or so to choose from where we live…
…this year we chose one that was 100% organic. That's getting the best of both worlds so we're fortunate that is offered near us.
Basically buying into a CSA Share means you buy a piece of the farm … you, along with the other "members" all pay a fee (they usually range from $500-$700ish) for a weekly delivery of fresh produce from May – November.
The pros:
- The food is all local (ours assures nothing is picked earlier than the morning you get it)
- You support the local farmers
- Your produce is higher in nutrients
- It has more flavor
- It may be organic
- It's often less expensive than buying produce at the grocery store (particularly organic produce)
The cons:
- You are given the weekly produce and don't pick, as it's dependent on what's in season in your area
- The amount varies from week to week — early on you won't get as much as you do during the summer months.
In our opinion, both of those "cons" are far outweighed by the pros … in fact, we love the weekly surprises as we get to experiment with different produce we normally may not get when shopping ourselves.
Do your body a favor and check out a local CSA.
Have you tried a CSA? Let us know…
April 20th, 2010 at 10:05 am
The CSA link
http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
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Chris and Kara Mohr Reply:
April 20th, 2010 at 10:17 am
I appreciate that direct link and I made that edit in the piece too. Chris
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April 20th, 2010 at 10:40 am
We signed up for a CSA for the first time this coming summer. Not only are we able to get fresh fruit and veg, but eggs cheeses, meats and fish, but there is also a "payment plan" so we can budget this out over several months. I was so excited about this! We chose to go with a package that includes, fruit, veg, eggs, and milk…for 26 weeks. I am a person who loves suprises…and I love to try new foods and recipes, so this will be like a little bit of Christmas every week! They are also includung preparation ideas for "unusual" things they may send us…I haven't been able to come up with a down side to CSA's yet!
-Carrie
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April 20th, 2010 at 10:48 am
I love your bit about the CSA. I have joined an all natural CSA which uses the same farming procedures as organic but isn't certified organic. One of the many things that I love about my CSA is that there is a newsletter with recipes relating to the items I receive for the week. The recipes are very helpful in my weekly meal planning.
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April 20th, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Try different CSA's on different years – they vary so much. It took me a few years before I found one I really love!
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April 22nd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
This marks our 3rd year with our CSA. I look forward to my weekly box of goodies the way a little kid fantasizes about her birthday. Going with the flow of what's abundant means learning new techniques, trying new recipes, and flexing your creativity in new ways. With our farmer, last summer was the Year of the Carrot, and the season before was the Year of the Beet. I learned that my dog will do somersaults for carrot trimmings, and that Chocolate-Beet Muffins are pretty tasty, especially with a dab of cream cheese.
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April 22nd, 2010 at 2:51 pm
<p>This marks our 3rd year with our CSA. I look forward to my weekly box of goodies the way a little kid fantasizes about her birthday. Going with the flow of what's abundant means learning new techniques, trying new recipes, and flexing your creativity in new ways. With our farmer, last summer was the Year of the Carrot, and the season before was the Year of the Beet. I learned that my dog will do somersaults for carrot trimmings, and that Chocolate-Beet Muffins are pretty tasty, especially with a dab of cream cheese.</p>
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April 29th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Thank you for this guys…didn't even know they existed! I have already checked into a few and they are plenty affordable. I always get my best info from the Mohr's…and I have a lot of information coming in!!
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