In the U.K., consumers are gobbling up organic food by the
bushel. In fact, according to the Organic Centre Wales, "Direct sales of
organic food through box schemes, farmers' markets and farm shops grew by more
than a third to L144 million during 2004." And those numbers have
continued to rise as consumers become increasingly concerned about the
long-term effects of the chemical fertilizers and pesticides used on crops
grown by non-organic farms. While most people agree that organic food is
preferable over non-organic, a debate has begun about the source of organic
foods. For example, is imported organic food as desirable as UK organic food?
Making the Case for Local Organic Food
Those on one side of the debate insist it doesn't matter
where organic food is grown; rather, the crucial factor is that the food meets
stringent standards to ensure that it is truly organic. Those on the other side
of the debate are equally vehement that locally grown organic food is
preferable to imported organic food, both because the fossil fuels used to
transport imported organic food add to global warming and because UK organic
food supports local farmers.
Advocates say that you can find UK organic food at an
organic farm shop, or even arrange for organic food delivery right to your
door. You can even find organic fish, such as organic trout from an organic
fish farm. There, the organic trout may live in 400-year-old spring water and
eat natural shrimp that comes from organic watercress beds.
Those who favour importing organic food point out that an organic farm shop will only have seasonal foods, which severely limit the
choices consumers have when preparing meals. Imported organic food, they say,
retains its superior nutritional quality while delivering a bountiful variety of
fruits and vegetables.
Some people, of course, take the middle ground and opt to
select their foods from an organic farm shop when what they desire is in season
and shop for imported organic food for the remainder of the year.
The Bottom Line
People may differ in their opinions about whether or not to
limit one's consumption of organic food to that grown locally, but virtually
everyone agrees that organic fruits, organic vegetables, organic fish, and
organic meats are preferable to those that are grown with chemical fertilizers,
insecticides, and fungicides.
Currently, non-organic growers are authorized to use over
1,000 chemicals on crops. This translates into everything from soil erosion due
to over-farming to dangerous toxic runoff into our drinking water. Growing food
organically is a way to reverse this trend. With over 700,000 hectares
dedicated to UK organic food, farmers are trying to meet consumer demand.
Still, some markets import almost half of the organic food they sell. As for
who will win the debate over locally grown organic food vs. imported organic
food, only time will tell.
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