THE ORGANIC MYTH

[Guest guest]

From NATIONAL REVIEW 2/9/2004 By J.

" Millions of people continue to assume that organic foods are

healthier than non-organic ones, presumably because they grow in

pristine settings free from icky chemicals and creepy biotechnology.

This has given birth to an energetic political movement. In 2002,

activists in Oregon sponsored a ballot initiative that essentially

would have required the state to slap biohazard labels on anything

that wasn't produced in ways deemed fit by anti-biotech agitators.

Voters rejected it, but the cause continues to percolate. Hawaiian

legislators are giving serious thought to banning biotech crop tests

in their state. In March, California's Mendocino County may outlaw

biotech plantings altogether.

Beneath it all lurks the belief that organic food is somehow better

for us. In one poll, two-thirds of Americans said that organic food

is healthier. But they're wrong: It's no more nutritious than food

fueled by industrial fertilizers, sprayed with synthetic pesticides,

and genetically altered in science labs. And the problem isn't

limited to the fungal infections that recently cursed organic corn

meal in Britain; bacteria are a major source of disease in organic

food as well. To complicate matters further, organic farming is

incredibly inefficient. If its appeal ever grew beyond the boutique,

it would pose serious threats to the environment. Consumers who go

shopping for products emblazoned with the USDA's " organic " seal of

approval aren't really helping themselves or the planet--and they're

arguably hurting both. "

Bon appestat,

Bill

[Guest guest]

Go Monsanto?

I dont think so - sounds like a PSA underwritten by suicide seed

manufacturers - I'll stick with what God gave us minus the pesticides and the

untested GMO and unsustainable farming - how efficient is that?

On 3/29/08, nofrillsbill wrote:

>

> From NATIONAL REVIEW 2/9/2004 By J.

>

> " Millions of people continue to assume that organic foods are

> healthier than non-organic ones, presumably because they grow in

> pristine settings free from icky chemicals and creepy biotechnology.

> This has given birth to an energetic political movement....

> Beneath it all lurks the belief that organic food is somehow better

> for us. In one poll, two-thirds of Americans said that organic food

> is healthier. But they're wrong: It's no more nutritious than food

> fueled by industrial fertilizers, sprayed with synthetic pesticides,

> and genetically altered in science labs......... Bill

[Guest guest]

Am I hearing this guy correctly? Tomatoes grown with growth hormones,

insecticides and grown to look big and beautiful, vs grown for taste

and medicinal value are equal to organic tomatoes? Even in the area of

organic products, most fruits and vegtables have lost their medicinal

qualities. In spiritual terms, the blessing has been removed.

Corporations are destroying the world and this gut appears to be

someone profiting from big business.

Grow your own, is the best answer of all.

The same thing has happened to the meat industry and we can now see

what has happened to that industry. First, they scare you with, " Oh

local farmers are not clean - they are unhealthy - not killing animals

properly, and once they have controlover the industry and have wiped out the

local butcher = well we see what has happened with our meat.

Buy not only organic - but things grown with a medicinal understanding.

[Guest guest]

Hi, Hope.

I appreciate your post.

Your comment about buying/growing for medicinal value is spot

on: " Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. "

Hippocrates

I have read plenty of information about why it is important to eat

organic or to grow your own. I have seen reports of pesticide use,

such as " the dirty dozen, " which includes peaches, celery, foreign

grapes, apples, strawberries, etc, and I have also seen studies of

nutrient content that show organic is far more nourishing.

There is indeed going to be significant controversy over big,

chemically fertilized, industrialized growing of produce vs

organically grown produce because there is Big Money to be made. In

his book, " The China Study, " T. Colin , veteran nutritional

biochemist, devotes several chapters to the phenomenon of how Big

Business hires researchers to come out with studies that back what

Big Business is doing and cast doubt on the competition.

We need to trust ourselves on what we put into our bodies, and to

fight for what is healthiest, not listen to and obey what the

government says.

I do not remember what the source for it is, but I read something not

long ago, (I think it was said by Plato!), which stated, " When the

government decides what the people will eat, the people will be sick. "

My wife and I not only grow lots of different vegetables and fruits;

we also bought a dehydrator and we dry preserve much food in the

fall, as well as freezing and canning it.

Best wishes and best of health,

Elliot

[Guest guest]

Consumers Report, long considered objective except when giving opinions on

concepts, and accurate when testing, stated a while back that Organic was better

to eat than conventionally produced food.

While 'natural' pesticides may be somewhat less harmful than synthetic, they are

harmful. As for the benefits of consuming the pesticide laden fruit? Would

that apply to the strawberry which has upwards of 12 pesticides used in its

production? Not for me it doesn't. Either I eat Organic Strawberries or I

don't eat any.

Another matter to be concerned with is food coloring. The other day I

mentioned my daughter-in-law and her experience with Red Dye #10 on the

beautiful Strawberries she received as a gift. Were the benefits of the

strawberries beneficial when weighed against the welts all over her body that

were the size of my son's hands?

Not to me. None of the comments and statements we regularly make are

applicable all the time and to everyone.

Joe C.