Going 'loco' looking for local

My sister and I had an interesting conversation on the train about what more we can do this year to live more true to our values. As you know, one of my values is the environment and so this became the focus of our discussion. We figured that we are continuously trying to minimize waste and consumption in our lives (we wait for multiple pees before flushing the toilet for example), so the next frontier we figured was food. Perhaps we would try buying only local or organic food this year? This past weekend, we ventured out in an attempt to shop do just that.

We normally shop at places like No Frills and the near-by Chinatown neither of which reliably carry organic or local produce. We therefore decided to trek to the Metro, a large chain grocery store known for its variety but unfortunately also known for its high prices. Buying local/organic could not have been more difficult! We made our way to the produce that had the green Ontario logo on it. The labels on all these vegetables said that they were produced in Ontario. "Well that wasn't too hard" we both thought, only after having started to select our tomatoes did we realize that these tomatoes had a "from mexico" sticker stuck to each one of them! The cucumbers lying adjacent to them said the same thing. It was such a disappointment. With a sigh and with our basket empty, we proceeded to peruse the organic aisle. To our surprise, organic tomatoes were $8.80/lb! In Chinatown, one could buy tomatoes for 49 cents/lb. It was quite a shock to the system.

So alas, after mulling in the store for half an hour, trying to decide if buying local/organic was worth the cost or the frustration, we made one purchase and left. As we were walking back home, we wondered, what does "organic" mean exactly? Is there a universal standard? Needless to say, my sister and I have a lot to discuss and a lot to research before trying this again. But hold on! What was that one purchase we made you wonder? To end this on a more positive note, we have decided to purchase free-range eggs! They are roughly 4-5 times more expensive than non-free range, but having heard of what they do to chickens who are not free-range, this is a cost I am not just willing, but proud to pay.