The Conservative Cave
Current Events => General Discussion => Topic started by: TheSarge on October 04, 2008, 09:55:58 AM
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Jami Nelson always tried to eat healthy and take good care of her body, so she was stunned to learn she had breast cancer at the age of 25.
Her cancer now in remission, the 26-year-old nurse is much more careful about what she eats. Nelson said she chooses only organic milk and meat despite their higher cost because of the way they are produced, without antibiotics and added hormones.
Organics give her peace of mind, and Nelson is willing to pay more to get it. But some experts say that's all she'll get — that there's nothing healthier or better about organic food.
Alex Avery, director of research and education for the Hudson Institute‘s Center for Global Food Issues and author of “The Truth About Organics,†said there are several misconceptions about organic food that make people believe it is healthier and better for the environment.
‘’It’s a total con,†said Avery, a plant scientist by training. "There is not a shred of science" to back up claims that organic is safer or more nutritious, he said.
To display the “USDA Organic†seal, a product must be produced and processed according to USDA standards, and at least 95 percent of its ingredients must be organically produced. That means growers can’t use most conventional chemical pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers or sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Animals must be fed organic feed, cannot be given antibiotics or growth hormones and must have access to the outdoors. Genetic engineering and ionizing radiation also are prohibited.
But standards for labeling organically-produced agricultural products don't address food safety or nutrition, just how the food is grown.
Organic food is more likely to carry pathogenic bacteria, such as salmonella and E. coli, because of the type of fertilizer that organic farmers use, Avery said. He also said that some of the natural pesticides used in organic farming are quite toxic.
For example, organic farmers are allowed to treat fungal diseases with copper solutions and remain within guidelines. Copper, which is toxic, is the 18th most used pesticide in the U.S. and stays in the soil forever, unlike modern biodegradable pesticides.
Avery singles out organic milk in particular as being no better, saying labs have not found “one detectable difference whatsoever.†Despite this, he said, his wife is the only woman in her circle of mothers with young children who serves her kids conventional milk.
Avery said that not only isn't organic always healthier for consumers, its perception of being friendlier for the environment isn’t always true, too. Although many organic crops require less energy in terms of fertilizer in production, conventional farms can produce more food and use less energy.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,432724,00.html
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I was and organic gardener /landscaper for a while.And now a nutritionist alternative consultant.It's the soil they're grown in and the nutrients the plant absorb. I think it's the way you clean and prepare your food makes a big differents. And stay away from GM foods. Your diet and vitamin intake has a lot to do with the diseases you may develop and inherit.
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I was and organic gardener /landscaper for a while.And now a nutritionist alternative consultant.It's the soil they're grown in and the nutrients the plant absorb. I think it's the way you clean and prepare your food makes a big differents. And stay away from GM foods. Your diet and vitamin intake has a lot to do with the diseases you may develop and inherit.
There is no such thing as a non Genetically modified food. That horse left the barn about 40 yrs ago. Most grains & vegetables although not considered GM were brought about through GM.
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Good points.You could consider the Heirloom varieties as a good source.The more hybridization and hormones you have in the grains and vegetables the less the value.Taste and looks like cardboard.And add pesticides on top of that. Harmful to the body.
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Sorry folks. Like Global Warming and carbon credits...this is just another scam to extract more money out of people under the false guise of "feeling good".
I've raised 6 kids...and all are healthy...very healthy as a matter of fact.
I grew up eating normal (read: non "organic") food and at 39 years of age...5'11 and 200lbs I'm in very good health.
Zeus is right this whole non GM food idea left the barn decades ago.
Farmers and ranchers in the 19th and early 20th century would have been considered "organic" producers...yet their lifespan was much lower than ours.
Anyone wonder why?
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OK I'll bite. I enjoy good conversation. :bow:
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If certain foods are organic, then what are the other ones, plastic? Aren't all living things organic, if I remember my grade school science right?
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If certain foods are organic, then what are the other ones, plastic? Aren't all living things organic, if I remember my grade school science right?
That's not an easy one to answer. The 'Organic" label is dependent upon many varying factors. Such as the land the product was grown on ,or how far back in seed generation was Genetic modification/cross pollination performed ETC ETC. Basically as the article in the OP surmises it's just a way for some folks to feel good about paying higher prices for less nutritious produce & food.
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That's not an easy one to answer. The 'Organic" label is dependent upon many varying factors. Such as the land the product was grown on ,or how far back in seed generation was Genetic modification/cross pollination performed ETC ETC. Basically as the article in the OP surmises it's just a way for some folks to feel good about paying higher prices for less nutritious produce & food.
Yeah, I understand all that, but I was an English major and I can be rather pedantic about the use of language, or the misuse in this case. I just wish someone would come up with a more grammatically correct word for it. Anything grown is organic. The fertilizer might or not be organic though. Just call me a hopeless nitpicker.
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But standards for labeling organically-produced agricultural products don't address food safety or nutrition, just how the food is grown.
Organic food is more likely to carry pathogenic bacteria, such as salmonella and E. coli, because of the type of fertilizer that organic farmers use,
I beileve that every, or nearly every, E. coli outbreak (spinach anyone?) has been from "organic" food(s).
The whole "organic" thing is a scam. I know a walnut orchard owner who went "organic" not because he's concerned about the health of anyone (not that he wants to poison anyone), but for the increased profits from the higher price he can charge for his product.