CONUNDRUM OF A CONCIOUS CONSUMER

At the end of our daylight hours, we cook dinner and eat with Simon. Simon is surprisingly lively after working such a long day, and is always jazzed to talk with us. Our dinner conversations usually revolve around tourism, agri-policy, and their property. Simon had an organic farm in Ireland (he’s kiwi), where he sold his produce and supplied a restaurant there. He was certified organic for three years, then decided not to pay for the certification but still adhere to organic growing principles. They purchased the Wheturangi Homestead almost two years ago and are converting it to organic. They haven’t used any sprays since they took over and things seem to be sprouting up just fine. As in the U.S, it takes about three years to convert to organic certification status in New Zealand. Although Simon and Maria want to be able to live off their land, and maybe sell produce here and there, they do not have any plans to go through the certification process.
Before the introduction of man-made chemicals into the food supply, all food grown was organic. Now, foods grown or processed with chemical aides are called “conventional”, and the old fashioned way of growing food is called “organic”. For livestock to be called “organic”, they have to be fed an organic diet and not depend on the aide of antibiotics or hormones. Organic certification exists to distinguish those products that adhere to organic standards (generally, grown without chemical aides) and those that do not.
Organic foods are on the rise. Here in New Zealand, we have not come across Whole Foods-type super markets. I don’t think they exist here. For the most part, the only place you can get all organic food is in small, independently owned food stores that specialize in organics (and they are usually pretty expensive). However, since the industrialization of some organic goods (mostly milk, cereal, and corn products) they are readily available in the local supermarkets. Organic products are in higher demand than they were in the past, and therefore are attracting more producers. But can organic sustain the large scale?
Consider the ingredients of simple corn chips. If the organic corn is shipped from the U.S, and the organic oil used to cook the chips comes from New Zealand, and the product is sold in New Zealand, is it really organic? That corn had to be shipped over 7,000 miles. Consider the emissions required for that, especially when all of the components could have been grown in New Zealand. Peanuts are another good example of unnecessary food miles, at least here in New Zealand. We have been hard pressed to find organic nuts, or nut butters (which, I’m ashamed to admit, have been a staple in the diets of these two travelers) that did not come from China. This fact floors me even more when I look through the WWOOF book of possible hosts and at least half of them harvest nuts from their property. The label usually reads “made from local and imported ingredients”. Which really translates as 98% importe7 (nuts), 3% local (oil).
So, should my two examples of corn chips and peanut butter (they taste good together, by the way) really be considered organic? What does organic even mean? Is it enough just to know that the workers who harvest and produce organic goods, anywhere in the world, were not exposed to harmful chemicals? Would you choose to buy local conventional over imported organic? For the conscious consumer, these are very real questions. And judging by the increased popularity of organic products, and the supply and demand of food products in general, most of us are conscious consumers.