Local vs. Organic: Which Is More Sustainable?

Grocery shopping stresses me out — I'm terrible at making decisions, I don't like being in enclosed spaces with lots of people, and my love of quality ingredients is constantly at odds with my anxiety about what I can afford.

I love food and I love to cook, but I find the availability of an "infinite variety of insane things"  that Change blogger Katherine Gustafson wrote about this week overwhelming. Still, a recent grocery adventure had me feeling calm and perhaps a little smug — I'd chosen the local mom and pop grocery over Whole Foods or Safeway or Trader Joe's, and I was humming happily along the produce aisle until I was stopped in my tracks by two avocado options: dark green beauties proudly displaying a "locally-grown" sticker under the image of a California flag, and lighter, smoother skinned "organic" avocados. Obviously, I was dealing with two different varieties, but my heart palpitations were caused by those pesky stickers. Did that mean the California avocados were grown with pesticides? How many miles had the organic fruits traveled?  Was one choice more environmentally friendly? Which option had better flavor? My favorite section of the grocery store was taunting me!

As the local food movement gathers momentum and the organic market expands, it's increasingly difficult to navigate the intricacies of being a responsible consumer. The definitions of both "local" and "organic" are constantly up for debate, and you can now find both options at your local Wal-Mart.

A program of organic standards is crucial — without it, any grower could call his product organic, regardless of what toxins were used in the growing process. The USDA's National Organic Program defines organic as "food produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; or ionizing radiation." That sounds great, but it also notes:

Before a product can be labeled 'organic,' a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards. Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.

Though the current administration seeks increased funding for the NOP, the number of certifiers is notoriously low. Small farmers can wait years to become certified, and the danger of contamination by the middleman is ever-present.

Addktionally, as Greg Plotkin points out, the NOP does allow the use of some synthetic substances, and the "organic arms" of traditional food companies are gobbling much of the market-share of organic products. Of course, as consumer demand for organic products grows and organic farmers gain agency, standards are becoming more precise, and often stricter.

The arguments for local food may essentially be the flipside of the organic coin. As the organic market expands, becomes more strictly regulated and dependent on larger producers, local farmer's markets and small farms spring up like dandelions. But local farmers can't guarantee the quality or even consistency of their products. How realistic is eating local all the time? Parsnips and kale can only entertain the palate for so long, opines the New York Times. Still, the Times admits that "fresh food does taste better."

Ideally, I want to buy my food from the charming guy offering up orange slices at my local farmer's market. The best way to find out about his farming practices is to ask.

But what about the stuff in the produce aisle? Just because there's a bunch of kale with a California flag on it doesn't mean it was harvested by a small farmer. Then again, how far did those organic collards travel? What's with that plastic bag they're in? What's the solution to that?

Ask again. While there are no easy answers for conscious consumers, the more questions we ask, the better able we are to understand how our food reaches us — and that knowledge will allow us each to create our own definitions of what's sustainable.

Photo via Stock.xchng