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[quote=Anonymous]I work with producers (mainly row crops (grains), and dairy producers) that have organic as well as conventional production methods.  And indirectly work with poultry processors.  I feed my kids organic when possible, but no one should feel guilty if they don't do organic, local, etc.

But just to clear up some common misconceptions.  Organic farmers cannot use synthetic chemicals (like Roundup for weed control) or pesticides.  So to battle weeds and pests, their first line of defense are practices that protect soil health--like diversity of cropping systems (they'll rotate many different types of crops) and integrated pest management (for example, introducing ladybugs to control other bugs).  Many (but not all) will till the soil, which is not great for climate change as it releases soil carbon--though more are starting to experiment with no-till systems.  Organic growers can use other substances.  For example, when storing grain, they can't spray common chemical insect killers.  They can use diatomaceous earth.

When it comes to animal protein, organic producers cannot administer antibiotics to their animals--if one gets sick, they have to remove it from the herd.  Antibiotics are helpful for treating sick animals, but the widespread overuse of them in conventional animal operations is more about promoting superfast weight gain, and controlling disease in big CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations).  Here is a good study on the difference in pesticide (and other residues) found in conventional milk vs organic.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6792142/

Organic practices also help protect farm workers, who are not exposed to the chemicals and antibiotics.  Organic does not, unfortunately, have standards on things like fair worker pay.

For me, I prioritize organic dairy products, organic or local fruits/vegetables (the berries, apples etc mentioned upthread), and then grains/packed foods if I can.  Buying local is good too, if you can.  But these days, just getting veggies and whole foods on the table and into the kids is a triumph.

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