Do you pick a loose organic pepper from Mexico or the conventional pepper from Germany wrapped in plastic? We often face this dilemma on the weekly vegetable shop. The fact is: health awareness and environmental awareness can't simply be lumped together. Not all organic vegetables are better per se than conventionally grown, local ones. Criteria such as locality and transparency of production are becoming more and more important these days. We explain the difference between organic-certified and local vegetables and what to look out for when buying.
Locally grown vegetables vs. organic-certified vegetables
The easiest way to find locally grown vegetables is directly from the producer, i.e. at farm shops or at the weekly market. If you'd rather pick up your fruit and vegetables at the supermarket, you can check the label. You'll often find slogans such as "From the region" or the EU organic logo, which stands for organic-certified farming and has been on sale in German shops for 20 years.
When to choose organic-certified vegetables
With organic-certified vegetables you support organic farming and with it environmentally friendly cultivation using natural plant protection products. Genetic engineering is avoided and attention is paid to animal-friendly husbandry. The blanket statement that organic food is richer in nutrients isn't correct. Many different factors influence nutrient content, such as the time of harvest, transport routes or the nutrient content of the soil. If you don't want to rely solely on organic products, you can also look at the American "Dirty Dozen" and "Clean 15" lists. They show which types of vegetables and fruit are most and least contaminated with pesticides.
What are the weaknesses of the organic label?
For organic certification of fruit and vegetables, farmers have to clear a few hurdles. Certification is very expensive and time-consuming. Small farms therefore often don't have the financial means to get certified at all. So vegetables can be of organic quality without carrying the label! Another weakness of the organic label is that it only looks at how the vegetables are grown and not at the working conditions of farmers and workers. Just as the Fairtrade label ensures decent working conditions for chocolate and coffee, the organic label doesn't look at that. Transport routes can be very long regardless of the organic label and can therefore lead to higher CO2 emissions than non-certified vegetables. Growing in greenhouses and storage in cold stores also add to a poorer environmental footprint.
When to choose local vegetables
Shorter transport routes mean the vegetables can be harvested fully ripe. That's why local vegetables are often more aromatic and contain more nutrients than those harvested unripe that ripen during transport. Small farms in particular pay more attention to these ecological aspects than large industrial farms. At weekly and farmers' markets you can talk to the farmers directly and ask about how the products are grown. When you buy local vegetables, you support producers in the region and at the same time the legal framework for fair working conditions that applies in Germany. These are laid down in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) and the Occupational Safety Act (ASiG) and cover, for example, the minimum wage and rules on breaks.
Conclusion
Organic labels don't mean that the food is better than non-certified food. For the reasons above, it's still a good idea to favour buying organic-certified or local vegetables. Local vegetables aren't always organic. But homegrown, local products win above all on freshness, sustainability and transparency. Since these aspects are enormously important to us too, we have to weigh things up product by product, and for example we don't use organic certification for the fruit and vegetables in our juices.
Do you take a loose organic pepper from Mexico or the conventional one from Germany in plastic packaging? We often find ourselves in this dilemma at the weekly veg shop. Fact is: health awareness and environmental awareness can't be lumped together. Not every organic vegetable is per se better than conventionally and regionally grown ones. Criteria such as regionality and transparency of production are becoming more and more important these days. We explain the difference between organically certified and regional vegetables and what to look out for when buying.
Regionally produced vegetables vs. organically certified vegetables
The easiest way to find regionally produced vegetables is directly from the producer, i.e. at farm shops or at the weekly market. If you want to pick up your fruit and vegetables at the supermarket too, you can look at the label. You'll often find slogans like "From the region" or the EU organic label, which stands for organically certified farming and has been found in German retail for 20 years already.
When you should reach for organically certified vegetables
With organically certified vegetables you support organic farming and with it environmentally friendly cultivation using natural plant protection products. Genetic engineering is avoided and attention is paid to species-appropriate animal husbandry. The blanket statement that organic food is more nutrient-rich is not correct. Many different factors influence nutrient content, for example the time of harvest, the transport routes or the nutrient content of the soil. If you don't want to rely exclusively on organic products, you can also look at the American "Dirty Dozen list" and "Clean 15" lists. They show the types of vegetables and fruit that carry the most and, conversely, the least pesticide residue.
What are the weaknesses of the organic label?
Farmers have to clear a few hurdles to get fruit and vegetables organically certified. Certification is very expensive and time-consuming. Small farms therefore often don't even have the financial means to get certified. So vegetables can be of organic quality without carrying the label! Another weakness of the organic label is that it only looks at how the vegetables are grown, not at the working conditions of farmers and workers. Just as the Fairtrade label ensures decent working conditions for chocolate and coffee, the organic label does not look at this. Transport routes can be very long regardless of the organic label and therefore lead to higher CO2 emissions than uncertified vegetables. Greenhouse cultivation and storage in cold stores also contribute negatively to the eco-balance.
When you should reach for regional vegetables
Shorter transport routes mean the vegetables can be harvested fully ripe. That's why regional vegetables are often more aromatic and have a higher nutrient content than those harvested unripe and ripened during transport. Small farms in particular pay attention to these ecological aspects more often than large intensive farms. At weekly and farmers' markets you can get in direct contact with the farmers and talk about how the products are grown. When you buy regional vegetables, you stand up for producers from the region and at the same time support the legal framework for fair working conditions that applies in Germany. These are laid down in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (ArbSchG) and the Occupational Safety Act (ASiG) and cover, for example, the minimum wage as well as rules on breaks.
Conclusion
Organic labels do not mean that the food is better than uncertified food. For the reasons mentioned, it is still advantageous to prefer buying organically certified or regional vegetables. Regional vegetables are not always organic. But local, regional products win above all on freshness, sustainability and transparency. Since these aspects are enormously important to us too, we have to weigh things up product by product and, for example, forgo organic certification for the fruit and vegetables in our juices and juice cleanses. Other frank. products, such as the frank. tea or our soups, are organically certified.
