#7: What to Eat: Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.
“Organic” has become a meaningless buzzword; I flinch when I see it on a label: it inclines me not to buy that product. What we really want is sustainable agriculture that does minimal damage to the environment and produces food that is nutritious, tastes good, and has no unnecessary contaminants. “Organic” food as currently defined doesn’t necessarily achieve those goals. Produce may have been trucked long distances using up fossil fuels and making it less fresh than local produce; it may cost more and not look as pretty. It may not use land efficiently. Absent pesticides, plants may produce higher levels of natural pesticides for self-defense–could that be bad for us? Sometimes locally grown foods that are not technically “organic” are a better choice. We should ask questions rather than reflexively buy “organic”.