Local vs. Organic: brief summary

So, there is a new craze in my family. It's called eating no meat, only chicken. My grandma, who was married to an Italian, has become a vegan and has been for quite a long time. I have no idea what is going on but so far I have not been bored, yet of course. It is interesting the things we eat, and I don't care what anyone says about the authenticity of the taste, but chicken meatballs do not appeal to me! That may just be a mental thing...
So, living in Burlington and eating local, so far has not been a problem because so far we have had vegetables and poultry from Ontario and if not Ontario it is definitely from within Canada, unless it is tropical of course (I need my pineapple fix, and my orange juice in the morning).
When Bryan Schultz came in the other day he raised a questions that I took note of that to some this may be basic knowledge and to others, maybe through media and recent trends, people may be confused on the difference between Organic and Local food. Sure, it sounds different when you think about it, but some people put them both together. So I am going to briefly differentiate the two.

Organic:
Food that has been produced naturally with limited pesticides possible. Oraganic has been the conventional way of growing food since the beginning of time, but in the 20th century with the introduction of synthetic chemicals and genetically modified foods, Organic is a new thing to the young generations. Countries like Canada must have certain certifications that qualify food as Organic.
http://www.cog.ca/about/about_organics/organic-standards-and-regulations/
In terms of calling Organic food local, sure you can get Organic food at a local farmer's market, but in the big grocery stores you may find food that has been shipped from California or buy some Organic Florida oranges!

Local:
Buying local food can be done for many reasons. You may want to support your province and what it has to offer in terms of produce, or you might have a great interest in reducing the environmental damage with buying food that is produced in other countries. Local food can be from farmers markets or are all over major grocery stores, but this does not make the food Organic jsut because it was grown 20 minutes away from you. Synthetic chemicals are still used in some food production.

These may be basic understandings but sometimes people think they both go hand in hand with eachother. In putting these two together, there is an organization called Local Food Plus that encourages local food consumtion and encourages farmers to use as little chemicals as possible also there is a little bit of information that concerns U of T and it's cafeteria food. Apparently St. George campus residences at U of T are committed to purchasing only local food. Check it out!
http://www.localfoodplus.ca/what_is_lfp.our_mission.gk

Cheers, Emma

ps. lesson plan coming soon