There is some debate between choosing
locally produced foods over organic. I live in New Orleans an we have a long growing season. Because of this, we have a fantastic farmers' market that keeps me in local fruits and veggies year-round. I'm not going to lie and say that I never buy organic bananas from some foreign country or cheese from Vermont. However, there are a few items that I always buy from local growers instead of organic. Here are three:
- Milk. We drink a lot of milk and I will gladly pay the extra dollar a gallon to support a local farmer and his or her hormone free cows over Horizon and their shady dealings.
- Strawberries. Strawberry season started months ago, if you can believe it. For years I would buy strawberries at the grocery store but they never tasted like I remembered them tasting as a kid. It wasn't until I started buying them locally that I fell in love with them again.
- Sugar. If I drive far enough outside of the city, I can get swallowed up by sugar fields. Sugar cane grows in tall stalks then gets harvested and refined locally. It makes a lot more sense for me to buy Domino than a brand that operates out of South America.
What foods or products do you try to buy locally above all others?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-24-2008 @ 6:09PM
cokane said...
Good points--I just moved to Baton Rouge last year and as a former vegan, never would have thought I'd be buying dairy other than delicious cheese. But a few of Kleinpeter & Smith creameries' products (sweet cream butter!) are pretty persuasive. Also I think that neither use hormones on their the cows.
Reply
4-24-2008 @ 6:11PM
kelly.leahy said...
Smith Dairy always makes a stop at our farmers' market but I have to admit I like the taste of Kleinpeter's milk better. For butter or cream it doesn't make a difference to me. Neither dairy uses rBGH.