"Organic" has become a buzzword that seems to be everywhere these days. Essentially, organic refers to agriculture that's conducted without synthetic chemicals, but as with any trend, there are a flurry of issues, contradictions and confusions infused about what it really means.

A hand-painted sign, marking one of Village Summit's five community gardens, reads: "This is made to feed everybody." It's a powerful statement in the middle of a food desert. Village Summit, a community center and garden project in Fabulous Acres, just south of Lansing's REO Town district, is in a neighborhood with little access to healthy food.

Rebecca Titus of Titus Farms in Leslie defines community supported agriculture as a subscription to local, seasonal vegetables.

I recently saw a clip from the show "Portlandia" in which a dining couple asks their server an absurd list of questions about the local origins of the chicken on the menu. When the server produces the chicken's papers (his name was Colin, and he was fed a diet of sheep's milk, soy and hazelnuts), the couple remains unconvinced, and the scene ends when they leave the restaurant to go check out Colin's farm before they can feel comfortable ordering him for lunch.