Sustainability and healthy eating

Marc Bittman of the NYT has become my new favorite food writer.  Of course that is partly because in today's column he totally agrees with my own views on organics, sustainability and changing the system.   While organic is very good and I wholeheartedly embrace the ideal in my garden, it is not a deal breaker when it comes to healthy eating.  A non organic apple is still better than a twinkie or a bag of potato chips any day of the week.  Organic might be better, but if it costs $3.00 per apple, most of us will think twice.  Similarly, GMOs or genetically modified organisms at least at the level they are being pursued today have less to do with eating wisely and more to do with Monsanto's quarterly profit.  Indeed, the most pernicious effect of GMOs may be to devalue the hard won knowledge of generations of farmers by introducing crops which require little ag smarts to grow.  However, as the climate changes drastically, we can't wait to patiently breed into our crops the new characteristics they will need to survive droughts, floods, blistering heat and early frost.   GMOs may offer the respite we will need to deal with the coming apocalypse.  As Bittman also points out, eating locally, whether organic or conventional will enhance the sustainability of local food production.  As I know only too well, we have been on track to import much of our vegetable needs from far away sources.  As a kid growing up on Long Island, most of our food was grown on nearby farms.  Now, most of those fertile farms are under asphalt and tract housing.  If we want to change the system, we need to eat less processed foods, support local agriculture and nudge the whole industrial agriculture system toward a more sustainable future.