The organic movement started in the early 1900s by a small group of farmers who believed in fresher foods in a time where chemical fertilizers were just becoming the norm. And this trend continued for most of the 20th century. Now, however, there are a myriad of governmental regulations that determine whether or not that coveted green and white seal gets slapped on to the side of a jar of peanut butter or a box of crackers.

For awhile I’ve always thought that large scale organic food, like so many other things, was a gimmick that stemmed out of a legitimately good-natured cause. My mom and I had bantered about it before, with her saying that she didn’t want those pesticides in her food (valid point), and me quoting a statistic I read somewhere saying that if everyone in the world ate organic food, half the population would starve. Don’t get me wrong, I think that the concept of something being organic is one of the best things in the world of food. I just question the legitimacy of the current mass produced “organic” foods.

Now I might have a reason to think that it is just a smoke screen.

An article published in the New York Times yesterday cites the recent outbreaks of salmonella in peanut products, including some manufactured by Clif Bar and Cascadian Farm.

“The plants in Texas and Georgia that were sending out contaminated peanut butter and ground peanut products had something else besides rodent infestation, mold and bird droppings. They also had federal organic certification.”

Well that certainly makes me feel good about the safety of organic foods. Sure they may not have pesticides in them, but the illusion that they are “safer” cannot necessarily be maintained. Come on, if I’m going to get salmonella or bird droppings in my organic peanut butter that I paid 50% more for, what’s the point of buying organic?

As the article quotes, “Although the rules governing organic food require health inspections and pest-management plans, organic certification technically has nothing to do with food safety.”

So buying organic might keep some pesticides out of your home, but it won’t necessarily bring safer products in. Is there a solution ? I think so: buy locally at farmer’s markets.

Although there is no guarantee that the foods you buy there are organic, there’s a pretty darn good chance that they are. And in light of the green movement, it is a much more ecologically sound action to buy foods locally over organically. You’re supporting local farmers in your community, and you’re keeping the amount of fuel needed to transport those foods to a minimum. They usually cost the same or less than regular organic supermarket foods, and usually are fresher than anything you buy in a supermarket, organic or not.

I’m not saying to eliminate organic foods from your pantry. Just next time you’re about to buy something organic from a commercial supermarket, ask youself, “is there somewhere that I could buy this locally, and probably fresher as well?” The results won’t let you down, and you can feel good about supporting the local ecomony and the earth at the same time.