Local Vs. Organic Food Essay

Introduction

When it comes to the great debate over whether it is healthier to eat local foods or organic foods, there are arguments to be found on both sides. But at the end of the day, one has to decide what one is really seeking to achieve by choosing one side over the other. Organic foods are typically labeled or certified organic, meaning they are non-GMO and thus are naturally grown. Local foods are typically fresher and seasonal, meaning they are going to have a more authentic and more robust quality and character to them (though there is no guarantee they are raised or grown non-GMO). Nonetheless, consuming local foods comes with the added benefit of supporting local farmers and the local economy. Plus, with local foods, one is more likely to be able to know for sure that one is getting quality foods from quality farmers whom one can inspect with one’s own eyes, get to know on a social level, and be more confident in the quality of foods one is consuming. The same cannot be said for foods that come from halfway around the world, even if they are certified organic. This paper will show why when it comes to the question of whether local vs. organic is better, local should always be the number one preferred choice.

Pro: Why It is Healthier to Eat Local vs. Organic

· Eating local means getting fresher food than eating organic, which is often shipped halfway around the world, spending a few days in transit, before arriving at one’s local grocer, where it may sit on the shelves for another week before being purchased (Heather, 2011).

· Fresher foods are among the healthiest foods a person can eat, so it makes sense from this point of view to always eat local, as it will be farm fresh and straight from the farm to one’s home in a quarter of the time it takes for food from another country or state to make it to one’s house (Healthline, 2018).

· Fresh food from local farms means that fewer hands are involved in processing the food, which means that there are likely to be fewer potential contaminants on the food (Trimarchi, 2018).

· Transported food from other states or countries sometimes has to be treated with chemicals to ensure that it does not get spoiled—but locally grown food does not come with this risk (Healthline, 2018).

· Foods that are frozen (even if they are organic) are often blanched, which means their texture is changed and they may also be treated with ascorbic acid to prevent spoliation (Healthline, 2018).

· Eating locally produced food is actually good for the environment, too, as it reduces the carbon footprint left behind when produce is tracked across the U.S. for thousands of miles just to get to one’s local grocery store: all that fuel spent transporting produce means pollution for the atmosphere, which is damaging for the environment and ultimately poisonous for everyone’s health—including your own (Trimarchi, 2018).

· Locally grown fruits and vegetables can be picked at a riper stage since they are not going to be shipped for thousands of miles and do not need to last for more than a week after they are picked; locally grown foods can be picked when ripest and then taken to market at a local market and sold immediately—and because they are at their ripest when picked, they will be packed full of more nutrients and vitamins…

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…are going to grow food and raise livestock that people will want to eat. Chickens will be free range and no hormones will be pumped into beef. Local growers are thus very likely going to be organic—so there is no reason to wait on organic food sent from thousands of miles away.

Local food is also seasonal which gives the dining and dieting experience a more natural and authentic quality. Seasonal foods are seasonal for a reason—i.e., that is the way they are intended to be eaten by nature. When one’s diet is natural, one feels better and is likely to be of a more able body and mind. Local food is going to be about as healthy and nutritious as food can get and part of that reason is because it is seasonally grown and delivered. That means crops will be rotated in and out of the farm all year long (so no need to have to depend on organic farmers from thousands of miles away and to trust that they are being regulated, which is probably not always going to be the case.

Conclusion

Local foods are best because the local farmers are going to be held accountable by the market—the people who consume their products. They are not at a remove from the community: they are in the community. So they are going to be good growers. It is not the same for growers a thousand miles away: they have no reason to be the best; they may receive a regulator every so often, but it is nothing they are going to feel threatened by. That is why buying local is always going to be the healthiest move a consumer can make: one knows that one is getting high quality…