Sustainable Shopping: Organic vs. Non-Organic
Let’s face it,
Grocery shopping can be dang confusing. Not only do you have to find foods you actually like, but also you have to worry about rando bloggers telling you to buy Fair Trade or local or organic (sorry, not sorry). Today, I’ll arm you with the tools you need to tackle the question: organic or non-organic?
the DL on organic
Organic crops are grown without the use of man-made fertilizers or pesticides (the chemicals that keep bugs and diseases from destroying crops). A lot of people think ditching these synthetic chemicals is a good idea because science says they’re bad for the environment and probs bad for people too.
Organic farms can still use “natural” or “soft-synthetic” fertilizers and pesticides, which have only been slightly processed from their naturally occurring forms. If these are used properly they are generally better for the environment than chemical fertilizers, but that’s not a hard line.
Organic produce could have an edge on conventional produce for being more nutritious and for causing less harm to workers, but this evidence is also supes mixed.
Some people have tried saying that you don’t need to wash organic produce but I disagree. Lots of mitts have probably touched that cantaloupe skin and it probs has at least a bit of pesticide residue on it. Don't risk it: wash your dang produce.
Goods:
Not a ton of icky pollution
Better for communities near farms
Better conditions for workers
Bads:
Could have traveled to you from supes far away
Natural fertilizers and pesticides could still be dangerous if used improperly
Could break your bank
Other considerations:
Organic food may or may not be more nutritious
Organic produce should still be washed
Organic foods can’t be GMOs, which is a huge can of worms
Precious little organic garden
So what about Non-organic?
Non-organic produce is grown on farms that use man-made fertilizers and pesticides, which are bad news bears for the environment. Pesticides are probs contributing to that bee catastrophe and polluting waters and soils. Farm workers also have to deal with exposure to these chemicals, which is supes bad for their health.
Non-organic (aka conventional) farms can implement other sustainable practices (no or low tilling, high tech machinery, etc.) that organic farms may or may not use. These things could make a super techy conventional farm more sustainable than a poorly run organic farm.
If a conventional farm happens to be local, your food won’t have to travel far either, which means it won’t be releasing as many of those nasty GHGs.
Another issue is that some farmers don’t have the cashmoney to get organic certified. This means they could be using organic practices, but just not be able to label their produce that way.
I’m not saying that conventional farming is good, I’m just saying it’s not always the absolute worst, especially if you’re on a super tight budget and know some dope farmers.
Goods:
Could be local
Could be eco in other ways
Usually cheaper
Bads:
Causes lots of icky pollution and soil depletion
Could be from far away
Worker conditions could be really rough
Other considerations:
Non-organic means it might have GMOs, if you care about that
Non-organic may or may not be less nutritious
TLDR
Organic vs. non-organic is complicated stuff. Bougie suburban moms say organic, but I say it depends on your location, budget and perspective.