Local vs. Organic Produce — “The Final Smackdown”
I read Andrew Leonard's wonderful blog today on the media contrived false competition between local vs. organic produce. Here's what he has to say:http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/?last_story=/tech/htww/2007/05/03/slow_organic/Bonehead headline of the day:"Eat local movement competes with organic craze.""Let's nip this in the locally-grown, organically-fertilized, bud, right now. The organic movement and the slow food movement are not at cross purposes. The organic movement is not "losing" followers to a rival. The most you could say is that organic acolytes, distrustful of federal organic standards that are constantly under pressure from agribusiness interests, are striving for a higher standard, one that incorporates organic goals with sustainability and the enrichment of local communities.The ideal solution, I would bet, for most people who are interested in either the slow food lifestyle or the organic movement, would be to eat organic food grown locally. That's the goal. Synergy, not competition."***What? Organic and locally grown produce isn't sexy enough for the media without creating a mud-wrestling match between the two? Astonishing...