Are organic food consumers a bunch of crackpots?

Question

Is the hype surrounding organic food, from those for it and those against it, stifling rational discussion and obscuring the truth?

It seems that non-organic food producers view the demand for organic produce as a ridiculous fad supported by a lunatic fringe of assorted malcontents and conspiracy theorists; and non-organic food consumers will dismiss organic food as unnecessary, over-priced, and a massive con perpetrated by the food distributors.

On the other hand organic food consumers appear to accept, as an act of faith, that organic food contains no chemical pesticides, fertilizers, or antibiotics. And are organic farmers, struggling against contamination of their produce, reluctant to discuss the real extent of pollution in their soil and ground-water from air, rain, and dust in the atmosphere?

What is the real truth about organic food? Is it right to conclude organic produce is better for our health? And what is the true environmental cost of organic food production?

Answer 1

Certification process for organic farms is rigorous and highly demanding. There is not flim flam. The flim flam is the petrochemical industry.

    In the 50's we sprayed DDT for cattle diseases. My dad nearly died from anaphylactic shock. One cowboy told me his Mom mopped the bathroom with DDT thinking it was an antiseptic.

People today are just as dumb as they were when germs were discovered. It took 40 years of concerted effort to convince educated people of the existence of germs! ... and that they caused diseases.

Today it's the same thing only with chemicals . People think " How can something like a chemical cause cancer, birth defects, nerve damage? "

They do not understand at all,  just as people did not understand pathogens.

So what I have to say to these people is MOLECULAR BIOLOGY.

Down on the level of molecules we know what these chemicals are doing to the bodys biochemistry.

Certified agronomists are not big fans of pesticide either. None of these people are crackpots. They have engaged in a subversive activity known as learning.

I eat organic carrots apples and celery. Thats my particular nose . I don't like the tase or smell of pesticide in my food.  

  Then there is self reliance.

We do not need all that petroleum based chemical poisons do we?

I mean.... who says we need it?  

Monsanto DOW Cargill?

I'd be reading all the back issues of multinational monitor and ENS newswire.

Atrazine? Roundup ? No thanks !

Answer 2

Well crackpots depends who u are refering to " the user" crakpots or the "non user" crakpots..

for me organinc food is mood enhancing..as in

for once i know that i am not having any pesticides......

i know that i am nourishing myslef and my cells...

which could be damaged by the harmful carcinogens present in chemical laden food and fruits...

-----all this cuz  i try and grow my own food..atleast what i can grow....

tell me do u feel safe to eat a really huge vegetable..and nt thik that it could possoibly be carrying a few grams of presidual pesticides....????

Answer 3

organic with companion planting is way better no aditives and taste way better

Answer 4

I say the truth can be found in statistics, starting with the farmers who use chemicals on their crops and the health problems they suffer with.

And stop using the good name of me band mate, the Lunatic Fringe does Not do chemicals and we are not malcontents.

Answer 5

Not crackpots just un-realistic. Organic food cost more to produce and they produce less at one time. That means the consumer will pay a higher price just to eat. also some people want to switch completely to organic food for the whole US. Probably the worst thing we could ever do. Since organic produce less well prices would soar and people would go hungry well im pretty sure that would be called famine.

Answer 6

As an "organic grower" (I gave up certification when the government became involved) I can give you my persective.

The benefits of organic foods extend beyond whether or not it is healthy to eat these products.  Reduction of chemical use on the farm results in a reduction of unplanned consequential changes to the environment.  

Nature has provided highly effective pest control, fertilization and weed control methods that were set aside in favor of artificial production methods.  With these available methods farmers saw hugh increses in producivity and hence profit.

The long term result of a high efficiancy high production model for agriculture, without knowledge or concern over long term consequenses, resulted in loss of organic matter in the soil, significant errosion, contamination of ground water, concentration of factory farms, long distance transportation of food, hybridization of production species (both plant and animal), and dependence on relitivley few corporations for the production of our sustinence.

The effect of organic production has been to increase producers awareness of the long term effect of methodology.  Introduction of no-till and low till methods has helped increase organic soil content and reduce errosion.  More is not better has reduced pesticide and herbicide use.  Using up farm ground and moving on to the next is no longer an option.  

On the other hand, truly "organic" production is not possible.  Every inch of our world has been contaminated by the products of the industrial world.  There is no place on earth that does not have some foreign man-made substance residing in it's soils.  Hence, there is no food that has not been exposed to these substances.

For me, the goal is to eliminate contibution to that contamination and hopefully reduce contamination on my little piece of this earth.

I recommend "Silent Spring" and the work of J.I. Rodale for your reading pleasure.

Answer 7

Yeah, we probably are. But really healthy ones.

Answer 8

I love the planet, Im a veggie freak,

u just hurt my feelings, calling me a

crackpot, THAT'S NOT NICE :(

- to answer your question organic food is

good 4 you, its healthier

Answer 9

Organic foods enthusiasts are not crackpots. The evidence for the absolute health benefits is still out. The "environmental costs" of organic farming does seem to be less impactful than the stereotypical corporate farm. Lower yields are likely, thus either increasing the price, and/or decreasing availability of foods.

Answer 10

In my opinion.... People who make the conscious decision to eat organic foods are not crackpots.

As an ex- farmer, rancher, and feed lot employee, I can tell you what goes into your field crops, and feedyard raised cattle.  

In crops such as Wheat, cotton, soy, Maize, and vegetables, many commercial farmers depend upon pesticides and herbicides to keep bugs and weeds out of the crops.  I've always thought that if it kills a bug and a weed, it will probably kill you too.  Otherwise, why would they tell you to wear a respirator when mixing the chemicals, and warn you to stay out of the way when it is being sprayed?

As for feedyard and some non-feedyard raised cattle, and more than a fair share of milk producing cattle, they are injected with steroids to increase the feedable meat mass, and to help them produce more milk for the buck.  That is why young ladies are having their periods earlier and earlier every generation.  The latest information shows it to be around the age of 10.  Some doctors have said that the next generation will have periods starting at 8.  

A lot of these pesticides, herbicides, and steroids aren't really needed.  You can import predators to kill bugs, and you can hoe weeds  out of crop zones, or plow them out of crop zones.  

If I were to plant a small garden, I wouldn't use anything unnatural to get rid of pests or weeds.  If I were a rancher, I wouldn't give my cattle anything, but vitamin shots to keep them  healthy.

Answer 11

Its just a fad, they say the food tastes better and doesn't contain any chemicals, but take an organically grown and a chemically grown tomato and I guarantee the only way you could tell the difference is that the chemically grown tomato is larger, juicier and has no worm holes in it.

Answer 12

The point is (and the loud noise surrounding it makes it stand out) how much chemicals do you want in your food? People are tired of finding out years down the line that the food they have enjoyed causes cancer from unreliably tested additives. It forces everyone to get an education and make a decision based on what they know, not when they have been told (which may or may not be right). If you pay good money you want good food, not toxins and not "no nutrition" over processing. You now the the information to make a proper educated decision.

Answer 13

Organic food consumers do not simply 'have faith' that their food is pesticide-free; it is regulated by the FDA. Things to watch for are items labeled 'certified organic' and 'all organic ingredients'. I eat some organic foods, but wish I ate more. I like to grow my own produce because it is cheaper, and I know what I am putting in my food. The real difference is pesticides and fertilizers...pesticides really do contain chemicals that cause cancer. Horse manure, on the other hand, has not been proven to cause cancer, and is beneficial for soil and the environment. Organic farmers prices are higher because instead of spraying their food with a poison to kill the bugs, they use alternative methods, like planting certain crops next to each other to repell certain bugs and diseases. To be a certified organic farmer you have to pay a fee of 20,000 dollars or something like that amount to be monitored by the FDA. That is why organic tends to be expensive--not as big of a demand, high cost of alternative production, etc. The question in my mind is, "why don't people who eat organic food ever get cancer? And why has no one done a real study on it?" I'm not a conspiracy theorist like you mentioned above, but I do wonder, if organic is getting so big, why aren't more studies being done to find out how effective it is? Maybe people are afraid of what they will--or won't--find.