Organic Foods or Local — which is best?
Organic is hot — everything from produce to cereal, energy bars to oats are labeled “organic” these days.
That’s a debate in and of itself, though…but truly more important than organic, is local. A vegetable picked from a farm down the road from you is going to offer more flavor and nutrients than organic produce that has been shipped across the world.
That is where Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) comes into play. In a nutshell, this means you buy a share of a local farm, get a weekly (or sometimes monthly, depending on the farm), delivery of the farms crops for around $450-500 for 6 months (about $20/week).
Most guarantee nothing is picked more than 24 hours prior to when you get it, meaning it tastes the best, the nutrients are highest, and you’re supporting your local farm. A true win win all around.
For those in Louisville, check out all the local options by clicking HERE. For those outside of Louisville, go to localharvest.org/csa to find a CSA near you.
July 26th, 2009 at 11:29 am
I agree 100%
As an example, take blueberries which are often not very sweet. I\’ve bought some from the local \"fruiterie\" this week (twice) and they are really tasty and sweet! The local corn was so sweet, it tasted as if I\’d boiled the cobs in sweetened water! (I did not of course). The tomatoes have … tomato taste rather than seeming like coloured water.
To compare this with organic for the sake of organic … I was tempted by some chocolate (once a month, it hits me!) and checked the one that said \"organic\" … the fat content was 55% Trans Fats!! In that case, who cares if the actual cocoa bean was organic to start with?!
Shop smart. Just as fashion in clothes isn\’t always what suits your body, fashion in foods isn\’t always your best bet either!
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July 26th, 2009 at 5:21 pm
Sometimes healthy eating isn’t always clear cut. Remember from your botany class that plants produce toxins to protect itself from herbivores. Thus, when pesticides are applied some plants have the ability to lower the amount of toxin produced. However, when grown organically, plants up the production of toxins. The classic example for this phenomenon is celery. This stalk produces psoralen that is known to damage DNA and cause sunlight sensitivity in humans (that is reason enough to eat celery in moderation regardless if it is organic or not). The celery’s response to organic farming is to substantially increase the amount of psoralen which is needed to ward off insects and fungi. For most people, consuming celery is a good habit, however, the point of this tidbit is that there is usually 2 sides to a story. As a person who comes from a farming background and is now a biologist I find these compromises quite interesting.
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July 27th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
This is the first year my family bought into a CSA- and we LOVE it! At first I was worried 1) we would have too much food, 2)I would’t know what to do with it (as you do not decide what ends up in your box each week). But it has been a great experience, the produce is fantastic and the whole concept has ‘forced’ us to try new foods and recipes. Plus I love knowing that we are contributing to the local farming community.
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