Natural Food and Locally Grown Food: Are They the Identical? - Food

In the U.K., consumers are gobbling up natural food by the bushel. In fact, according to the Organic Centre Wales, "Direct sales of natural food by way of box schemes, farmers' markets and farm shops grew by far more than a third to L144 million for the duration of 2004." And those numbers have continued to rise as consumers become increasingly concerned about the long-term effects of the chemical fertilizers and pesticides put to use on crops grown by non-natural farms. When most men and women agree that natural food is preferable more than non-natural, a debate has begun about the source of natural foods. For example, is imported natural food as desirable as UK natural food? Generating the Case for Nearby Organic FoodThose on one side of the debate insist it doesn't matter exactly where natural food is grown rather, the critical element is that the food meets stringent standards to guarantee that it is actually natural. Those on the other side of the debate are equally v ehement that locally grown natural food is preferable to imported natural food, both mainly because the fossil fuels put to use to transport imported natural food add to international warming and mainly because UK natural food supports nearby farmers. Advocates say that you can find UK natural food at an natural farm shop, or even arrange for natural food delivery ideal to your door. You can even find natural fish, such as natural trout from an natural fish farm. There, the natural trout may live in 400-year-old spring water and eat all-natural shrimp that comes from natural watercress beds. Those who favor importing natural food point out that an natural farm shop will only have seasonal foods, which severely limit the alternatives consumers have when preparing meals. Imported natural food, they say, retains its superior nutritional high quality even though delivering a bountiful variety of fruits and vegetables. Some men and women, of course, take the middle ground, and op t to pick their foods from an natural farm shop when what they want is in season and shop for imported natural food the remainder of the year.The Bottom LinePeople may differ in their opinions about whether or not to limit one's consumption of natural food to that grown locally, but virtually everyone agrees that natural fruits, natural vegetables, natural fish, and natural meats are preferable to those that are grown with chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and fungicides. At the moment, non-natural growers are authorized to use more than 1,000 chemical substances on crops. This translates into everything from soil erosion due to more than-farming to dangerous toxic runoff into our drinking water. Growing food organically is a way to reverse this trend. With more than 700,000 hectares devoted to UK natural food, farmers are attempting to meet consumer demand. Nonetheless, some markets import just about half of the natural food they sell. As for who will win the debate more than locally grown natural food vs. imported natural food, only time will tell.