Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The Organic Myth?

Pastoral ideals are getting trampled as organic food goes mass market

Wow! I have been trying to switch over to organic for as much food as I'm able to get. But this article is certainly eye-opening and not at all how I pictured the organic scene.

I suppose that the answer is to buy local, from people you can get to know and trust. But what if you don't find organic produce locally?

This is all so frustrating!

5 comments:

Jenny said...

That's a really interesting article. It's so difficult trying to keep ahead of the big corporations who seem to be destroying what the essence of organics really is. Still, something in me says that even if organics means shipping organic powdered milk from NZ to make yogurt in NJ, isn't it still better than conventional? I guess all we can do is and pay attention to the input of watchdog groups like Cornucopia. Thanks for posting that link!

Anonymous said...

I know that some grocers are beginning to put signs on their produce stating where it's from.

Gavi said...

You're probably right, Jenny. At the same time, how can we be assured that what is shipped from another country actually is organic? Like in China, if most of the industry is not even inspected, how can we be sure we're not paying high prices for what we believe is better for us and the earth, rather than simply mainstream produce sold as organic? I definitely think you're right that we'll have to pay attention and just do the best we can with what information we have.

Gavi said...

Chasmyn, I haven't seen that yet, but it is a great idea. I'll keep my eyes open at the markets for something like this.

BurdockBoy said...

Our Co-op puts signs on where the produce is from and it makes it easier to buy closer to home.
As far as other foods, I tend to buy mostly organic, but I find a company I am happy with (ethically and quality) and try to support them. Brands like Eden, Organic Valley, Nancy's, Nature's Path, Annies, Amy's are all still pretty good companies (they haven't sold out yet) or local organic companies are even better.
On another note I don't live very far from the mailing address of the Cornucopia Institute. I used to live in Cornucopia-there is nothing there. I guess they run it from their homes. I would like to meet those guys.