Emma Thackery > wrote in
:

> Note that the key word there is "repeatedly". And, while I
> was thinking mainly of substances used during shipping to
> retard ripening and the like, I would also posit that the
> consumer will have a far easier time finding out how
> locally grown foods are raised.

why do you think that?
i suspect you *might* have better luck finding out how
locally raised produce is treated if you were buying it from a
farmer's market or direct from the farm, but not if it's being
sold at the local grocery.
i do have a caveat for folks buying from big 'farmstands'
though... *ask where the food is coming from!*. just because
<for example> Wilson Farm has a big converted barn farmstand
with all kinds of nice "fresh" produce, pies, jams &
jellies... it doesn't mean they actually *grew or produced*
any of it. there are regional produce markets, wholesale only,
where stores &, yes, farmstands go in the wee hours of the
morning to buy produce. some is 'local' & lots is imported.
you'll never know because Big Agribusiness killed the part of
the 2001 farm bill that required country of origin labelling
on all meat & produce. they felt it would hurt their business.
consumers pay more for things they think are local...
and while i'm ranting, don't buy Horizon organic milk
products. while they produce 70% of the 'organic' milk in the
US, they are a feedlot only operation that flouts the laws
that specificly require 'organic' milk producers to pasture
thier cows. they have several thousand (around 10,000) head in
a desert. no pasture, no outside access. complain to your
congress critters about properly enforcing USDA organic rules
& boycott Horizon/Cornucopia/Dean Foods. it is completely
unfair to the small farmers who play by the rules to allow Big
Agribusiness to flout the laws.
lee
--
Question with boldness even the existence of god; because if
there be
one, he must more approve the homage of reason than that of
blindfolded
fear. - Thomas Jefferson