Sustainable Food Choices
Should you buy organic or mass-produced?
There is a growing movement towards eating sustainable food which is often more healthy for us.
Large commercial farms produce large quantities of food, which governments worldwide support, due to the requirements of feeding large populations cheaply.
But we and the environment pay the price for this cheap food.
The Price of Cheap Food
In order to gain maximum harvest from the land (so it is more economical), chemical fertilizers and pesticides are applied in large quantities. Eating food sprayed with chemicals causes problems – we are only now beginning to realise the effects of these chemicals on our health. And of course some of those chemicals wash away and end up in our rivers and streams, lakes and dams.
Local Food
Compare this to the food produced for Farmers’ Markets, for example.
- It’s grown in smaller quantities, which means less mechanisation and more human labour.
- Some of it is organic (i.e. grown with more natural fertilizers and pesticides).
- The quality is normally very high. Large-scale farmers often have a guaranteed market (government, large chain supermarkets), but smaller-scale farmers do not. They know they need to maintain high quality in order to sell.
- Food from Farmers’ Markets is generally more eco-friendly because it is often very local, and thus does not involve transportation.
Supermarkets
Fresh food in the supermarkets may be cheaper, and you may get a greater variety, because supermarkets will also sell imported produce which might not be in season locally. Sometimes it is really nice to treat yourself to imported, out-of-season fresh food, but to be eco-friendly you would not want to do this often.
Choices
To be eco-friendly with your food, and make healthier choices for you and your family, it is generally better to buy locally produced, organic fresh fruit and vegetables. This will mean that it will probably be more expensive – what price health and goodness?
Be aware of your fresh food choices. Don’t automatically use the supermarket – you have alternatives!
This video takes a short and simplified look at food production, but also has an interesting take on “professionals”.
Related articles:
Farmers’ Markets Why Farmers’ Markets? Is Local Always Better?
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Its very good to see information like this. We have a local farmers market here in Pahrump that we frequently visit.
Thanks!
And of course best of all is to grow some yourself!! I am lucky to live right now across from a Farmers Market, and when I move to Costa Rica, there is a small fruit and vegetable market a block away.Yes, you pay more, but I find that I waste less with good quality.
Sonya Lenzo
Supporting local growers also helps in an economy like this which makes you green in a couple of ways. If people made eco friendly healthy choices that included sustainable organic foods they would be healthier and so would the economy.
Absolutely!
Hi Green Goddess,
Does the striving to achieve maximum output mean that foods harvested have less nutrition to them? Because the produce brings most of its nutrients from the soil in which it is planted and from which it is harvested.
I learn so much about being ecologically friendly here at your blog!
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
Hi April, maximum output normally means maturing quickly with minimum problems with pests and diseases. Growth hormones, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides etc. sprayed onto our crops and fed to our animals for meat, often outweigh the nutritional value of the produce. As a general rule – yes, I am generalising – the nutritional value of organic, fresh local produce is higher than commercially produced (and often cheaper) food. Thank you so much for your kind comments!
Healthy and organic seem to be the way to go…thanks for the help…
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