Organic quality and price

I notice that if something has a lower price than I expect than I wonder about the quality of the product. For instance today we made a quick stop at the grocery store and there was organic broccoli for $1.99 when lately the selling price (well from the farmer’s market and health food store) has been $4.75. The cheap broccoli came from South Africa and that sure is far away. Heck even the hidden costs are almost greater than the money paid out. And also these days there is much about organics and the standards being loosened as larger companies want to get a piece of the pie. Products that are labeled organic can come from countries that have greatly different standards in calling something organic.

Getting to the point where I wonder if it is even worth it to buy organic in the first place. For me I guess it still is but realistically what would be most worth it is to change my eating habits to eat more with the seasons and stop relying so greatly on greens. Eating local has value in so many ways. I get to support those that I am getting to know – the farmers around here. I know more of how they farm and their values. The food is fresher than anything shipped from far away would likely be. The overall cost is much smaller especially if the transportation costs are factored in.

This is not a new debate for me and many a winter have passed by where I felt that changes were in order and yet my dependence on certain foods shipped here continues. I suppose this is like all those things we’d like to change. Accept it as it is and lose the judgment about it first. This allows a choice which is important to make changes in the first place….