René O'Deay gBlog

Review of Eating Better Than Organic
Eating better than Organic --TIME by John Cloud, Time Magazine Article Online: March 2, 2007

".... the organic-vs.-local debate has become one of the liveliest in the food world....

Cloud presents arguments from both sides and his own observations and experience about the pros and cons of organic foods versus locally grown food. He chronicles his personal quest for answers from local stores and farms, farmers markets, and organic stores like Whole Foods.

Answers he found raised more questions. Some organic foods have higher vitamin content and some don't. Locally grown produce can also be organic, but even if they are not, they are fresher, have less food-miles on them, and can be significantly cheaper. Cloud also provided a link to: Find Organic Local Harvest near you: LocalHarvest.org

A related news item on JourneytoForever.org, indicates: Hi-tech crops are bad for the brain:

"High-yielding Green Revolution crops were introduced in poorer countries to overcome famine," the report says. "But these are now blamed for causing intellectual deficits, because they do not take up essential micronutrients." The report is written by Dr Christopher Williams, a research fellow with the Global Environmental Change Programme, who estimates one quarter of the world's population is affected.

JourneytoForever also defines the idea of "Food Miles: How Far has Your Food Traveled" and fuel conservation.

" Imported food releases 90 times as much carbon as locally grown food."

Another consideration for consumers in their food choices.
I do recommend that you explore your own communities' resources for locally grown and organic products. Cloud documents how he did it, and his own personal reasons for some of the answers and decisions he made.

Make your own.