Buying Local Vs Organic

There are so many great online magazines now days and one of the new ones that I am reading is Pure Green. I'd bookmarked it a week or so back so I could sit and read it when I had some time, so that I would not have to rush through it. That's the whole idea about being green, living an organic life, buying local and so on. I wanted to relish reading the magazine, to savor it. Don't you do that too? I love holding onto my magazines, especially the physical ones, until I have a good amount of time to really enjoy them, and so with online magazines too.

I recently wrote about another online magazine called Kinfolk, which is about gatherings, especially small gatherings, and how we are losing and forgetting the importance of these social and cultural events in the rush-rush of life. Pure Green is all about sustainable living and design, which was once such a niche segment, but now more and more people are understanding what it's all about. In a way, Kinfolk and Pure Green relate....they're both about slowing down and living a a better life, a life that doesn't revolve around pre-cooked meals, about reconnecting with the family, and creating a new social and cultural environment for one's family and friends.

Living in a place like Dubai, where there is very little local produce, I find it hard to find fruits and vegetables that have not come from half the world away. I place more importance on buying local rather than buying organic, and luckily all grocery stores list the country of origin of  all items in the produce section. For example, there are usually 4-5 varieties of tomatoes, each with varying prices and the most expensive ones are the organic ones. If there is a local variety, then that is my choice. While we don't have much local produce, tomatoes, lettuce and cucumber are the most common ones.

Image source: Pure Green Magazine