I Walk In This World

Posts Tagged ‘farming’

Organic not always the best?

Posted by Erin on May 29th, 2009

Hi kids.

Today’s topic…Local Family Farms and Organic.

Hubz and I often chat about which path to take when buying food.

Organic vs. local vs. free range vs….

There is SO much love for the word Organic these days. And I do buy certain organic fruits and a few organic vegs from the grocery store. But mostly I try to support the local farmers around here, during the growing season. Many of these farms practice organic farming, but they are not USDA certified as Organic.

Want to know why?

Because it costs too much money and requires far too much paperwork for small scale farmers. Way too much time goes into certifying a farm as Organic, and that is time spent away from, ya know, farming. And the cash flow that comes from labeling produce/meat/dairy as USDA Organic isn’t the boon for small farmers that you would think. It’s often a wash.

The folks over at Civil Eats have shed light on an alternative process for family farmers to pursue called Certified Naturally Grown.

Certified Naturally Grown is a grassroots alternative to the USDA Organic process where farmers audit one another for sustainable practices. This alternative is neither costly nor bogged down in paperwork. You can read more about it on the CNG webpage.

Support your local farmer! If you don’t know where they are, check Local Harvest or Certified Naturally Grown.

Lunch was good, not great.