1 point for organic over local, 1 point for silliness in labeling

I’ve always heard that if you must choose between organic and local food, you should go with the local option. But researchers at the University of Wales beg to differ, as I discovered when reading this blog post from carbon-offset company TerraPass.

I was also intrigued by the post’s mention of a proposal by the U.K.’s main organic-certification agency, the Soil Association, to prohibit the use of the organic label on organic foreign produce that is flown into the country. Apparently, as an article in the Telegraph states, “some experts believe it is wrong for food to be labelled organic when it has been flown thousands of miles to Britain and could be several weeks old by the time it reaches shops.”

Can you say “Apples and oranges”? Just because a fruit or vegetable took a long plane ride doesn’t mean it isn’t organic (assuming agreed-upon standards are used). To conflate these two issues seems like the height of silliness to me.

Not to discount the motivations behind the concern. The Soil Association is clearly worried about all those greenhouse-gas emissions that result from food flights in and out of Great Britain. The organization is even considering a ban on such products (a sticky issue, given that British farmers are clearly unable to keep up with the demand for organic produce). I’ll let the experts work that one out, but please, keep your issues straight. Travel doesn’t invalidate growing methods.