Organics not safer

[wilagro]

sliverback: Organic or orgasmic wheat or regular wheat has gluten which can't be tolerated by celiacs so there is no difference as to how they feel after ingesting it. I can tolerate some gluten but not too much or I get diarrhea. Products using rice flour are okay.

I doubt that ANY organic farmer claims that his organically grown wheat can be tolerated by those suffering from celiac disease.

[wd9]

Parsely, canola isn't healthy, we just keep saying it is. Its healthier than butter yes, but it still is just fat that comes in a bottle instead of a stick. I think we forget that too easily.

[cottonpicken]

There is no way canola is healthier than butter,minus
possible biomagnification problems.

A price will have to be paid one way or another for
the chemicals we use.

One dumb question.

Every once in a while i hear about vegetable seeds
that we buy for our gardens being genetically
modified and that their next generation of seeds
won't grow well or they terminate all together.

Is this true?

[Integrity_Farmer]

Technically everything we grow is organic.

[ColevilleH2S]

I'll poke the bruin.

Organics are not an industry, they are a religion. Governed by superstition and myth. The religion will fill you full of anecdotal stories about the horrors hidden in non-organic food, but when the myths are tested they always turn out to be just that, myths.

High priestess..err...I mean Parsey, where is the replicable evidence for these outlandish organic gospels?

[grassfarmer]

Parsley, demand has been growing by 50-100% a year
over the last 6 years or so both for grass-fed beef
and our pasture pork. The consumer is driving this
demand and producers are way behind supplying
their demand. Too busy as "an industry" trying to
force hormone treated beef on the Europeans.

[oneoff]

There is no doubt that the organic industry has successfully promoted itself; and is growing. Whether the claimed health benefits are in any way valid has not been proven to me. If the world is to rely on only organic food supplies then the world should/must do something about a seven billion plus population. And the pricing schedule of organic farm producers is not friendly to decreasing even current starvation rates.
I would suggest that everyone eat a varied sensible diet; and all in moderation. On average there probably is no health benefit to eating labelled organic food compared non poisoned food from any grocery store.
And remember that unless you live your whole life in a controlled environmental chamber; never eat at a restaurant, fowl supper or the neighbors, distill every drop of water etc. then you will ingest, inhale or absorb those same "poisons" you blame every illness on.
Few people will ever live to be a hundred; and organic food will have zero correlation with longevity.

[oneoff]

The most important issue with organics is not if you are able to keep up with demand, are more or less successful financially as a producer, or have successfully promoted your products.

Anecdotal testimonials and sweeping claims of health benefits and cures have always been embraced by sufferers and those concerned or afraid of the future. To have little solid proof of those claims and especially the overall benefits, shouldn't impress even the minority who are really only concerned with their own mortality.
Where are the statistics of fewer doctor/chiropracter/nutritionist visits, less work days lost, longer life, significantly less sickness, no dietary supplements required and other measures of quality of life improvements?

[farmaholic]

I would never begrudge someone for wanting to live a healthier lifestyle. The sad part is, like oneoff stated, unless you live in a bubble our environment is polluted to the point that escaping is impossible. But if someone wants to lessen their exposure in anyway they can that is their business. I don't think it is fair to just blame to primary production of the food as being the culprit, what about all the processing that is done to it. Unfortunately, if the whole world went organic, I think it would mean more hungry people. I've said the human race is the cancer of the earth!!
ps--I am not an organic producer.

[parsley]

Coleville,I agree that for a segment of organics, it
is a religion, or a left-wing ideology. Organics has
also been hijacked by the climate-change
quackeries to advance carbon taxation worldwide.
Actually, Cole, even though we dont, I'm not
totally adverse to spot spraying. Nor some
fertilizer application. And I really believe most
farmers are not adverse to looking to lessen spray
and fertilizer.
But it's important tnat ALL farmers recognize
there is a growing health problem i first noticed it
beginning with peanut allergies popping up out of
the blue.

1. Should we acknowledge there is a problem or
pretend it does not exist? There have been many
cases of cancer with my friends and family, so my
experience is anecdotal, indeed, but their funerals
are not. Doctors tell them to change their eating
habits. Hospitals have nutritionists on staff. Why?

2. Should we try and see if allergies are directly
related to the food we produce, or should we
pretend it has nothing to do with the food we
produce? Consumers think so. The alternate is to
to lose market share to replacement foods where
eaters buy rice flour instead of wheat flour. We
lose market share , don't we. Or we we end up
buying baquettes in the superstore made from
ingredients made in France, not anecdotal, but
plainly visible on the labels. We lose market
share, don't we.

We have a problem, don't we.

Now you can be angry with me, with organics, or
with conventionals, but all of us want to increase
market share. Can we agree alll of us would like
1.3B Chinese eating toast in the morning instead
of rice.
Instead, I see my next door neighbors buying rice
flour.

I think we need to look problems in the eye. And I
see a problem. Do you? Parsley