Fast Fact Friday: Organic not Green

Organic agriculture is often touted as the way to go 'green' as an eater. While I've written about this particular topic in the past, I wanted to make quick mention of it in light of a NY Times article from Friday. The article discusses the trade-offs between rural economic development for poor subsistence farmers in Mexico and the environmental degradation inherent in overusing water resources and planting large swaths of a single crop. And some commercial farmers are working to make their operations more energy and water efficient. But the fact remains that if you want a cheap, cherry tomato during the winter - whether that tomato is organic or conventional - you will be sacrificing what is deemed as 'sustainability' of the system for economy and desires. So chew on that for a bit and consider next time you step into the grocery, not only "does my food have pesticide residue" but also "is my food still harming the planet."