Big Organics

I watched Food, Inc. again last night, this time with my mom. I’d been trying to get her to watch it for a while. It’s funny how when you watch things multiple times, different parts stand out each time. It had me thinking about big organics this morning. There is a portion of the film where this once super hippie, now CEO of Stonyfield (big time organic yogurt company) is talking about how if we decided that we were only going to buy products from a perfect food system – where everything is local, organic, animals are outside, we can meet our farmers, etc. – it would be futile. I seek out these sources when I can, my eggs and a lot of my produce during the summer months I don’t get from the store, but local sellers. Buying that way is not always feasible, unfortunately.

I have found myself in this predicament in the grocery store on more than one occasion: I am looking for X product, thinking it should be easy to find a suitable product that meets my standards, but I’m standing in the store presented with two choices: big organic (meaning industrialized organics) from out of state or conventional. (Or even worse, I’m presented with big organic or a conventionally produced local product, how do you decide which is more important?) At times I’ve left without either, frustrated. I’ve had to learn to be ok with big organic. It’s not ideal, I’d rather support farmers in my neighborhood and I’d rather send the message that I want to have a connection to my food, to know what’s in it, who grew it, and that it’s safe to eat. I’d rather save all that fossil fuel that’s used to transport big organic to my grocery store. I’m trying to vote with my dollars, here, people! How can I vote without the option I want being presented to me?

But I must remember that at least big organic means that all that land, all those animals, all those workers, aren’t being bathed in hormones or chemicals – and those nasty things are staying out of my body, too. All those food dollars spent on big organic are dollars that would probably otherwise be spent on conventionally produced food products. We’re talking about thousands of pounds in chemical pesticides saved. And that’s what’s important, right? Sure, there will be those who just meet minimum standards required for organic labeling because they know organics command a higher price, but there are a lot of great organic companies, too, who are in it for the right reasons and don’t just meet, but exceed standards.