Local food 'greener than organic' - Buying locally produced food is even more important for the environment than buying organic, a report says. BBC - Sci/Nature Iowa seems to be doing a pretty good job of encouraging such trends. The Horticlutre & Farmers' Markets Bureau, The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Practical Farmers of Iowa and other organizations are definitely pushing hard for a greener and more economically viable ag industry in Iowa. I think the real issue, though, is convincing consumers and large distributors that buying local is better. That said, I have been noticing postive changes at large grocery chains like Hy-Vee in the past few years. Localy produced dairy, eggs, meats, honey, vegetables and fruits are sold along side interstate imports. Now while this is definitely progress in the right direction, I think the best solution is still a large-scale network of farmers' markets; big box retail of any type is simply inefficient. I guess in the end, sustainable agriculture and greener food production and distribution is a matter of consumer education.