drew moser : : theological riffs, cultural rants, anecdotal quips

The Spiritual Art of Food Buying: Organic vs. Local?

22 January 2007

Bekah and I have been evaluating our food purchasing. It's but one aspect of pursuing lives that promote justice, good health, and environmental stewardship. We believe that buying with a conscience is an important aspect of following Christ. As we've read up on food issues, we've learned a few things:

• Organic is typically healthier. Less artificial chemicals, more natural.
  
• Organic is often (not always) less productive. One of the benefits of those synthetic fertilizers is that they can produce more food with less ground. So there are some trade-offs.
• Organic, especially outside of California and especially in the Midwest (where we reside), usually does not mean local. So all the 'green points' we would earn for buying organic would immediately be canceled out by the transportation impact. Our sheik organic food is so often smothered in oil, which has significant environmental and political implications.
  
• Additionally, organic doesn't necessarily mean 'just'. A company can commit to using organic principles/methods and still oppress their workers. This is why you often see two stamps on a pound of coffee: 'fair trade' and 'organic'. They are independent, unfortunately.
  

In a perfect world, we could purchase fair trade, organic, LOCAL foods, at a decent price. But it's not possible in NW Ohio. So while it may be healthier and trendier to go organic, we've had to weigh the costs/benefits. NW Ohio simply isn't a region that can produce very many organic fruits and vegetables, and the culture doesn't promote or demand organic meat. In order for our family to go 100% organic, we have two not-very-good options:

• We could drive 15 minutes to Wal-Mart, since they are purchasing more organic foods. Again, the environmental impact and the issue of justice to workers factors this out. Plus I have a hard time convincing myself that a head of organic lettuce placed next to my motor oil and shampoo in my shopping cart is a good thing.
  
• Or we could drive 50 minutes to Toledo to a fancy-pants grocer. While the issue of fairness to workers (compared to WalMart) might be removed, the environmental impact is even increased by the commute. Plus, the cost is prohibitive. And our old economy car wouldn't exactly fit in with the other vehicles in the parking lot.
  

So we've opted to purchase locally first, pursuing fair trade and organic if possible (we buy organic/fair trade coffee and tea, since those are always imported anyway). We have a local meat locker that is a small family owned operation, processing from only local farms. Our meat can be sourced, and we are supporting local business and farmers, and not global conglomerates.

We also have just found a tiny local grocer run by a Dunkard Brethren family. It's a one room shop that provides healthy, local, and inexpensive, cheeses, milk, bread, eggs, and other items. Some are organic. Many are not. But there is an emphasis on healthy, natural, local foods.

Beyond this, we're stuck with big chain grocers, and we try to steer clear of the processed, meal-in-a-box type of purchases. How do we choose from the big chains? We try to choose based on how they treat their workers. Beyond that, it's mere convenience.

It's not ideal, but we think it's a step in the right direction. Any other suggestions for our food buying? Any factors that we are forgetting?

Labels: justice, politics

Drew Moser @ 11:05 AM : : permalink : : 2 comments : : links to this post