organic food

For the last few weeks the issue of organic food keeps coming up around me. When visiting Jayme a few weekends ago I saw her organic veg box, delivered to her door each week. I was reading a Guardian article that same weekend about organic food. It seems to me that the most compelling reason to eat organic food is that it lessens the environmental effect. There are no laws in the UK at the moment which govern things like how close pesticide-sprayed fields can be to houses or other areas. The article said that one group is recommending a five meter buffer zone around fields, and that some US states have a 2.5 mile buffer between fields and schools.

Organic food may or may not be better for your health. The article I was reading cited lots of studies on both sides of the debate. The main problem with defining pesticides' harm to the body is that there are no human trials (understandably--who would sign up?). Several scientists interviewed said they eat organic out of a "rather safe than sorry" attitude.

Organic food is more expensive at our supermarket. It reminds me of the leaded/unleaded fuel debate of the past. My dad said that for years he bought unleaded fuel when it was much more costly than leaded out of a conviction to cause less harm. Now I am starting to feel that I may have to approach organic food with the same attitude. Organic and local, if I really want to get on the environmental bandwagon.