local but not organic or organic non local??

what would you choose? there is a farmer market near my place and they have fresh produce and fruit BUT it is not organic. I was thinking is it better to buy my vegetables from there instead of going to the Whole Foods and get non local food because it is organic ??

It depends on what you want from your food. If you want it to be organic then you should buy organic. If you want to support your local farmers then you should buy local.

What are the benefits of local anyway? Besides supporting your local economy and saving money? Everyone always talks about it. To me its so I know how my eggs and dairy are raised...but I don't really care how kindly my vegetables were treated...

Conventionally produced fruit and veg has a lot of controls applied regarding residues....  so if you're concerned about health it's still pretty good for you.  Main advantage of your local farmers' market is that the goods will be fresher and they will not have travelled hundreds of miles by road or air.  Because they're fresher the vitamin content will be superior to any imported product, organic or otherwise.   And, if you're at all concerned about the environment, you're offsetting the damage caused by a few pesticides/herbicides with the damage caused by the emissions from a truck or plane.

Safina - I think I remember reading an article a year or two ago that listed which produce you should try to buy organic when possible (the ones that were most likely to have residues that don't wash off easily), and which produce didn't matter as much. You could probably Google it.

danaofdoom - the biggest benefits to buying local (other than the ones you mentioned) is that the food is fresher and more delicious/nutritious, and that it has a much smaller carbon footprint since it hasn't traveled halfway across the world. I buy local when possible, but some things just don't grow in Pennsylvania and I'm not quite ready to give up bananas or citrus fruits just yet.

I am actually talking about which one is healthier?  I don't mind buying all my vegetables organic but they travel from other states. when I see the farmer market, I know their food is fresher but not organic. Since I have digestive problems, I don't know which one would be better.

theyre both healthy. if you have access to a farmers market thats a better choice for a ton of reasons.

I would go with Farmers Market. IMHO Organic is one huge marketing scam.

UD

but organic means chemicals free? :( the vegetables at the farmer market today have brilliant colors. I guess I will go and grab some of this awesome produce. It is local and fresh from NY. instead of buying organic fron California and mexico.

right?

No, it just means certain kind and less. This doesn't mean that your local farmers are going chemical happy on their stuff. Chemicals are expensive.

I go in this order of preference:

1. Local and organic

2. Local, not organic

3. Organic, not local

4. Conventional

it's a clear question of priorities.  for me, transporting produce long distances is more problematic than conventional farming practice.

but where i'm currently living, "local" produce is only possible about 3 months of the year.  unless i take up growing, canning, and freezing my own, i don't often have an option.

it comes dow to which is most important to you.  i choose local, since it polutes less, costs less (if you go to a farmer's market) and a lot of the time you can find organic AND local.  any organic dairy or eggs you buy are always local, FYI.  i don't know where you live, but here in quebec there's a site called "equiterre" through which you can contact a famer who delivers near you and you can get locally produced produce (and meat, but you have to pay more for that) for pretty cheap.  you can share the baskets with a friend so it's cheaper.  it's all seasonal and it's SO delicious.  they even have winter baskets.  yummy.  i assume most places have these kinds of services, so go to your local organic store or even ask when you're at the famer's market and see if they do this.

Thanks everyone. I will go with your recommendations. I used to buy organic from Argentina and chili. I am not doing that anymore. I guess I will go to the local market and buy fresh produce from there.

It is hard to find local AND organic. I live in NYC. I don't know where to go to find local organic produce. All the organic food we get are from Florida or California. 

Original Post by safina1:

but organic means chemicals free? :( the vegetables at the farmer market today have brilliant colors. I guess I will go and grab some of this awesome produce. It is local and fresh from NY. instead of buying organic fron California and mexico.

right?

Brilliant colors are not always the best clue on the nutritional value of produce. Sadly, the method of gassing  our veggies (using C02, usually) for color is all too common.

I grew up on an organic farm and became extremely picky over my produce. I can't always afford to buy everything organically here in the northwest. I'd be spending over $100 a week if I did that. This is what I do:

The good ol' fashioned "sniff check": Don't be embarrassed to smell your produce! If the aroma of your fruits & tomatoes are lacking, then they have been plucked to early and in some cases gassed to produce those lovely colors. I certainly wouldn't want to waste an incredible amount of money on my organic produce to have sub-par taste and nutritional value. The same goes for the non-organic (generally less expensive, but I hate wasting money).

You might want to find a local farmer's coop. Usually these people are delighted to help you learn how to detect that perfect produce from knowing when your tomatoes were plucked a week to early to knowing that the lettuce will be bitter instead of sweet because it has bolted.

Good luck!

- Sunny

It's so easy to find local and organic produce in NYC!  The Union Square Greenmarket is one of the best/largest farmers' markets in the country, and many of the vendors there are organic.  In fact, the produce is so great that I've often seen chefs from nearby high-end restaurants picking up stuff for that evening.  Better yet, it runs all year and is open several days a week.  If you don't live in Manhattan or can't get over to Union Square easily, there are tons of other farmers' markets in all five boroughs.  Check out http://www.cenyc.org/greenmarket.

Original Post by caprette:

It's so easy to find local and organic produce in NYC!  The Union Square Greenmarket is one of the best/largest farmers' markets in the country, and many of the vendors there are organic.  In fact, the produce is so great that I've often seen chefs from nearby high-end restaurants picking up stuff for that evening.  Better yet, it runs all year and is open several days a week.  If you don't live in Manhattan or can't get over to Union Square easily, there are tons of other farmers' markets in all five boroughs.  Check out http://www.cenyc.org/greenmarket.

 Great information. Thanks a lot. Yes, I heard about that market but didn't know it is organic. I hear it is only on Sat and Sun.