Quote:
Yeah, I do feel lucky that we have that source. We're not exactly farmville either, so it's nice! I guess as far as your situation goes, I more meant that there is a lot more I would look at besides organic or not. If you have ethical problems with Cargill, the other one might be a better option for you. Also, organic can be a bit of a crock anywa. I've heard that some companies grow their organic and non-organic crops right next to each other, but only spray the non-organic ones. However, who's to say the sprays don't blow over to the organic ones? I don't know how true that is, I really don't know a whole lot about the certification process. I really believe in eating organic and feeding my family organic as much as possible, but my definition of organic is different than the mainstream. As I said above, I would choose non-organic apples from a local farmer whose business practices I agreed with over apples imported from China or Mexico. If I couldn't get local, then, yeah, ethical concerns would definitely come into play for me, because I am so skeptical of the organic certification and what it really means for consumers.
I feel ya...Organic certainly doesn't mean what it used to and you are correct, a lot of big agri does in fact plant non organic right next to organic crops....Recipe for cross contamination but they don't care. Buying local is generally the preferred method and I like you will generally choose the non organically labeled (although there is a good chance it will be grown organically anyway) apple from down the road over the apple from Mexico or where most "organic" produce comes from during the winter Argentina.
It is an uphill battle just to figure out what you are eating and the certification process only really works well for larger companies, but it was designed that way. There is debate as to whether it was designed (the process) in such a way to screw over small farmers who simply couldn't afford to pay the fees etc. You get the "beyond organic" movement these days, which is basically eat local as a priority because there is a good chance your local farmer is organic anyway...
DH and I are still debating the merits of everything, which is fortunate because we have a couple weeks before we run out of feed. Another option is when I travel to Maine to visit family soon and I will be in a much more rural area. I travel up there enough it might be worth looking into some local mills there to see what I can find and bring back some good feed.
