Would you rather consume:
A fully "organic" meal regardless of the distance the ingredients had to travel for you to eat
or
A fully locally farmed meal?
To me there's no real answer, because like in so many facets of exercise and health "it depends" is the correct response. It's widely known that the organic certification is a lengthy and expensive process that some farms are unable to pay for. They may have fully organic practices but simply can't afford the process of getting certified.
Organic biodynamic farming practices have been shown to have a less detrimental effect on the soil where all of the micronutrients are. This is to say that most of the studies that compare conventional farming methods with GMO's and Organics are identical because the method of farming remains the same. The only change are the pesticides sprayed which are "organic", the yield will still be nutrient deficient.
On the other hand today is Wednesday and around lunch time millions of people will head out in search of a "healthyish" meal. They walk into a restaurant that serves green juice, kale salads and chicken; sounds like you hit the jackpot. You want to order your favorite cherry tomato, corn, blackened chicken salad. Here's the problem: Tomatoes and Corn aren't in season.
So where did they come from?
How far did they have to travel for you to eat?
Chances are the corn is commodity corn which is subsidized by the government (GMO CORN).
So back to the question, which would you prefer?
Today local farmer's markets are growing in popularity and I know as long as you buy something, farmers are more than willing to share with you the growing process. To me it will always be a case by case basis in determining what I choose.
I'm likely to choose locally sourced ingredients over supermarket "organics" because it both decreases resources used to lug my vegetables to Los Angeles but because my purchase supports a small local farm, a small local businesses like ME! Would you rather give your money to Whole Foods Market, Sprouts (a company owned by Smart and Final btw) or a small family farm?
It's not easy because life gets in the way. Meetings and trips come up where you hadn't planned on not being back for lunch or dinner; you have to make decisions. In my opinion for most it boils down to being prepared. When we're not prepared we often make poor choices, so always have a plan!