"Industrial Organic" vs Farmers' Market

A few days ago, I mentioned that Michael Pollan was going to be speaking at Colorado College on Thursday night. We went, and we took our 15-year-old daughter along. It was a great talk. I'll buy the book soon. In the meantime, we know more about the food we eat, and we know more about organic food than we did before.

A note about that. An article in today's Gazette opened with the claim that organic food may not be better for us. Right. And global warming is just a myth.

One important note from the Q&A. Asked which he recommended between industrial organic (the large chain variety) and buying local (farmers' markets, etc), Pollan recommended buying local. He explained that much of it is organic anyway, but warned not to ask in those terms. The government owns the "organic" label now, and many small farmers won't or can't pay for the certification. Rather than looking for a label, he says, talk to them. The beauty of a farmers' market is that the farmers' are right there. Ask how they raise that cabbage, what fertilizers they use, do they use pesticides. Face-to-face communication beats a govt label any day.