Where is your farm?

A few years ago, most customers at farmers’ markets would ask how vegetables and herbs were grown. Customers were concerned about organic growing habits and pesticide use on farms, and inquired about the methods used to grow the produce they were purchasing.Today, the question is asked more rarely. Consumer priorities and the main farm-production question that growers hear is related to place: "Where is your farm?"Customers used to worry about how food was produced; now they worry about where it is from. The power of one captivating idea -- local -- has quickly eclipsed the power of another -- organic.But the organic movement confronted industrial agriculture's use of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers that devastated local ecosystems. It addressed the health of migrant farm workers and the health of people who ate foods with pesticide residues or milk with growth hormones.The local-oriented movement may be avoiding engagement with many of the problems associated with the industrial food system that organic as a movement specifically sought to address.
Grist August 11, 2008

Buying local is now being called the new organic...sadly it is being misused just as much as the organics and natural, free range labels are. It is intended to stand for and help we the consumers:

Fresher, tastier and healthier food
Supporting small, local farmers from your community
Knowing where your food comes from
Increasing food safety

As this above article segment shows that buying local DOES NOT mean that you are buying organic, the fruits and vegetables that you purchase at your local farmers market can still be covered in pesticides and fertilizers, even if grown but two blocks away from you. You have to still be very aware of what your local farmers are doing with their land.

At the same time, the organic certification process established by the federal government is expensive, and some small farmers cannot afford it. This means that some locally grown foods are grown according to organic standards but are not “certified organic.” The only way to know for sure is to confirm it with the farmer.

I shop locally here in Dallas at a large Asian market and have spoken with the manager and even some of the local growers who market to this retail location. Being small farmers, many of them are backyard farmers, they cannot afford to jump all the hoops and red tap to get the label of organic even though they are. Spending a few hours researching your growers and farm land will help you to gain all you need to know and feel good about where you get your goods. I also recommend that you explore http://www.realmilk.com/ to find local organic farmers who raise healthy cattle for meat and milk/cheese.