Backyard food

Excerpts from a globe and mail article with back and forth conversation between a local-vore and someone with a more pragmatic approach. Yes, I side with pragmatic and avoid organic in the grocery store.

Sarah (local-vore)

Have you ever eaten a freshly picked tomato, still hot from the sun? Food that is grown locally, using sustainable agriculture practices, is not only better for the planet and for the future but it tastes delicious. Oh, and it's healthier too – the fresher the food, the more nutrients it contains.

Pierre (pragmatic)

I grew up in the countryside. My parents (who had full-time jobs) owned a sugar shack and a small apple orchard. We also had a huge garden and in our backyard we kept rabbits for years. My first paying job was working for a neighbour who produced raspberries. I've had plenty of “backyard” food in my life, but I remember more the work that went into producing it than its taste. This is probably why I cannot relate to people who discovered small-scale food production later in life and have an almost religious devotion to it.

...There are nearly a billion people who don't have access to a proper diet and there will be at least another two billion of us in the near future. I'm sorry, but “local” and “organic” low-productivity agriculture cannot deliver on that scale. There simply isn't enough manure and cropland available in the world.

If I buy organic, I always wonder who will be starving later because of my choice.