The 50 Mile Diet

Heard at the Lakewinds cheese counter:

“You see, it’s not all organic.” The woman gestured to her male companion. He nodded.
I smiled to myself.

“And it’s not all local.” Again the man nodded.
Again I smiled.

“And not all the local is organic.” He nodded, probably confused.
I smiled and walked away.

So who cares? What do we want? What can we buy? What’s the point anyway?

The 50-mile diet values local food, organic or not. But given the choice of local organic or local not organic, I’d choose organic. But given the choice of local non-organic or nonlocal organic? Generally, I’ll choose the local choice. This is in part because many of the local products I found were not certified organic, but they were pesticide free.

This is not an “absolute” for me though. It might depend on the food (and my knowledge of the growing practices). For instance, given the option at Lakewinds for organic or nonorganic almonds, I generally save dollars per pound by choosing nonorganic. I don’t know what I’m trading off on this choice. Maybe someone can tell me