How many people eat organic?
2
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17 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.Oh brother the Organic is better argument....
copper sulfate, an organic pesticide/fungicide, is as much if not more toxic than glycophosphate.
While no pesticide is entirely safe, organic products are not necessarily less hazardous than their conventional counterparts. Nor are they pesticide free. Copper sulfate is one of many pesticides approved under the USDA National Organic Program and a number of studies show that it has a great deal of toxicity to both humans and the environment.
[geneticliteracyproject.org]
The Stanford study reviewed decades of research to determine whether choosing organic produce, meats and milk would lead to better nutrition generally. They concluded the answer was no. That is, just following “organic” for everything does not bring obvious, immediate health benefits.
[well.blogs.nytimes.com]
Organic farms are more than glad to take your money for their crops.
Lukian
Level 8
June 6, 2018
0
There was no vote for me. The air can't be organic on the planet at this time. Plants breath air...so they are NOT organic.
MissaDixon
Level 7
June 3, 2018
0
Explain
@Ravenwolfcasey Okay....
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the air travels all over the world with no restrictions or filters.
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carries with it all the pollutants from all humans 'activities'.
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Plants open up their stomate (think mouth) to taking in air. They need the CO2.
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in doing so they take in our pollutants.
therefor, NOTHING is organic...it can be 'cleaner' than franken crops but it's not 'nasty shit' free.
Please let me know if you need more.
@MissaDixon I guess..but there are certainly better options than genetically modified organisms
@Ravenwolfcasey True! but don't buy the marketing hype. And growing your own is best, for you, your community, and the planet. Bullshit like 'Buy Organic' is just that, bullshit. Start a garden and feed the people.
No option for me to vote. I care what I put in my body. I eat mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans/lentils and other plant-based proteins; minimal dairy if any. I don't eat fast food or go out of my way to eat organic. I find the amount of pesticide residue on non-organic fruits and vegetables can be minimized by thoroughly washing them, and organic fruits and vegetables can still have these residues on them. For me, the difference in pesticide residue between organic and washing non-organic fruits and vegetables isn't great enough to justify the cost or supposed health benefits of organic.
joeymf86
Level 8
June 2, 2018
2
My mother was a considered an exercise fanatic and a health nut. Mom raised us on low fat, healthy food. I just took it to a new level. Thanks, Mom!
Instead of buying processed food, I cook from scratch at home. As much as possible, I eat organic fruits and vegetables in season. Organic strawberries are the best! Also buy natural eggs and meat with no sodium, preservatives, growth hormones, preservatives, etc.
So, I have never smoked, avoid alcohol and never drink soda pop. Also, don't eat deep fried food, fast food, hamburgers, donuts or pizza: all the high fat, processed, sugary junk foods that Americans love.
My dad died of cancer at age 51. I was 24. Immediately I eliminated from my diet preserved meats with cancer-causing nitrites and nitrates. Bacon, ham, pepperoni, salami, etc. Once a year, I enjoy a rib-eye steak when finding morel mushrooms in the spring. Sauté the morels with olive oil, butter and garlic: WOW!
Bottom line: a healthy lifestyle gets results. Exercise and enjoy eating healthy, whole foods. Protect your skin from the sun. Drink lots of water. Be optimistic and upbeat. Have fun! It shows.
LiterateHiker
Level 9
June 2, 2018
1
Thank you for your wonderful contribution
@Ravenwolfcasey
You're welcome. I appreciate your kind, supportive comment. Thank you!
I voted 'organic', but don't let that mislead. The great majority of what we eat is organic. Only the minerals are not. This nonsense of referring to foods grown a certain way as organic means nothing. Growing some plants without using insecticides on them or employing chemical fertilizers to them does not make them organic. They are organic because of what they are --- organic.
Now that the rant has ended, it really doesn't matter to me. I eat almost anything and I don't look at the labels to guide me in any way. I'm now pushing 78 years of age, have lived through all sorts of food fads, and have never suffered any food related illness. That includes living on a farm through the 1940s without refrigeration, using DDT on our crops and eating those crops. Lard was ingested with almost everything cooked at the old homestead.
So, here's my takeaway: I have suffered no detrimental effects with my carefree diet in all my years. I have been consuming GMOs since they began doing it. I eat all manner of what are known as 'nasty' foods, like hot dogs,
evidentialist
Level 8
June 2, 2018
1
Not true Monsanto actually created gmo which stands for Genetically Modified Organism...which means most grown foods are not even natural..they are created in a lab and allowed to contaminate our natural earth...and kill us slowly while they amass wealth beyond what any government can control
@Ravenwolfcasey -- What that comment shows me is that you really don't understand GMOs.
Gmos only came on the market in 1999
Organics are a marketing ploy. It's bullshit
ghost_warlock
Level 7
June 2, 2018
4
I’m allergic to organic—eat only inorganic stuff.
Actually we grow most of our own food, but we use chemical fertilizer. Also use liberal applications of dihydrous oxide, a chemical so deadly that just a teaspoonful breathed into your lungs will kill you in minutes. It causes the plants to grow faster though—just have to be careful.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
June 2, 2018
3
Is this sarcasm?
@Ravenwolfcasey Yes, but we really do apply dihydrous oxide. The stuff isn’t approved but farmers around here use it anyway.
I am not sure what organic bananas are. I hate to pay extra just someones call them organic.
WanderingJay
Level 4
June 2, 2018
1
It's expensive and hard to find unfortunately.
I will never buy conventionally grown apples as they often appear at the top of the 'dirty dozen' list. I often buy things from the 'clean fifteen' list though.
I remember reading a scientific article highlighting a link between pesticides and malignant tumours in China. I have no doubt studies which prove a positive correlation are buried by the food industry.
Ellatynemouth
Level 8
June 2, 2018
1
Yes, absolutely. I always pick organic/ all natural foods when I get groceries. No artificially processed foods EVER.
DZhukovin
Level 7
June 2, 2018
2
Yes, many toxic compounds are from nature, one of the worst is botulinum toxin, which is used in botox, and another is my dog's farts.
But eating organic food is not eating toxins, because toxins are not food. Food is an aggregation of nutrients and calories, and toxins do not have synonymy with food, okay?
I void artificial non-nutrient compounds because not only does it require extra reading I don't have time for on PubChem and stuff, but they have a horrible reputation with naturopathic doctors. I'm not about to assume the time cost of finding out why Pepsi and other insulting compounds may not be terrible for me. Junk food is bad for you, okay?
Belladonna is perfectly natural, that doesn't make it safe. "Natural" is a meaningless marketing term that the industry found was useful to deceive people into spending more money
@CrazyQuilter thanks for reminding me! I remember learning about the role of aflatoxin in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma back in med school biochem. I also remember coming across a couple of references to organic peanuts/PB having higher aflatoxin concentrations than the conventional stuff. I guess the FDA limits aflatoxin in PB to 15 ppb, and the last Consumer’s Union broad market sampling I could find referenced an average of 1.7 ppb - which is reassuring but I eat A LOT of PB (like 2-3 servings 15x/month for the last 4 years) And aflatoxin might be one of those more cumulative toxic compounds. (Then again, maybe those levels are within my body’s ability to tolerate) I don’t doubt it’s safe for anyone who isn’t so nutty for PB as me....
“Shoot! Maybe I ought to switch to almond butter?” Same issue, just less data on contamination rates- damn! How about Sunflower seed or pumpkin seed butter? Also aflatoxin, and even less available data. Other nut butters? I am not wild about the saturated fat and protein content.
Conclusion? I guess I can’t research my way out of this dilemma (at least not today) I probably need to moderate my nut butter consumption or else just start making my own. Thanks for the scare though, jerk! 
No chemical is artificial. They are all real chemicals. 
Yeah, that is probably my biggest problem with the concept of “organic food” is it takes a very complicated, nuanced discussion about pesticide safety, biodiversity, crop rotation, nutritional content, fertilizer use, land use, indiscriminate antibiotic use, irradiation, and lumping GMOs in for good measure and smooshes it into this one binary issue, sprinkles it with The Naturalistic Fallacy, and none of those things end up getting discussed. (let alone ever making it into the average consumer’s thought process)
I am not saying I don’t have serious concerns about how agriculture is practiced, but I don’t think the discussion can be distilled so simply, and doing so is dangerous.
Does anyone think we can or will shift from our current agricultural system to an “all organic” in a reasonable amount of time? Is that even safe? Will we be able to feed everyone? (For the sake of the argument let’s assume organic = all puppies and rainbows)
I guess having the necessary discussion about the relevant issues with conventional agriculture on a wide enough scale to seriously effect change in the current media climate is about as likely as the aforementioned hypothetical organic shift.
We will probably have to wait around until something really bad happens before societal focus adequately manifests. I iust hope when that does happen, it’s not too late and we don’t waste the opportunity pointing fingers and screaming at each other instead of doing something about it.
Yes of course!!
Why did you have to go and inject that “downer dose” of realism about Pruitt? It’s just depressing.
So if the pessimist in me is resigned to a lack of change on the national/global scale- what can I do for myself on the individual level? Eat this/not that, (dirty dozen/clean fifteen as referenced elsewhere on this thread) Wash all produce with soap? Homestead gardening? Boycott a specific company/product? Is there a reasonably concise/book resource I should look into? Do you have any general advice I should be following as an individual?
Thanks!
From the normative perspective, what is a superior option to all-natural foods, and such?
@CrazyQuilter "All natural" means it's pure food. There are no artificial preservatives, artificial sugars or other insulting compounds that the human body doesn't naturally break down and/or make good with. The problem with these insulting compounds is that they try to create mental illness, drain energy, digest slowly, drop your metabolism, cause fat gain, hurt hormone levels, etc. Have you seen what a McDonald's burger does to the body, versus a home made burger from scratch? It's a very difference. Basically any scientific book on nutrition will tell a person to avoid these compounds like the plague, and just do the right thing when choosing a meal.
aren't you sure that we need a better alternative? Cooking at home sucks but it's often the best choice, I say we should fix it for the deserving people out there.
GMO is a different story and there is no necessary link between organic and non-GMO. Organic is just another term for "purely food, no insults". The association with organic and non-GMO is a corruption of language that has been syndicated by idiot journalists.
GMO by itself is totally harmless and even beneficial but they tend to add harmful compounds to GMO foods.
Now if companies want to resort to expensive methods of producing these pure foods, then it's not the consumer's responsibility, that is an operations issue, aka we're so dumb in the US that we can't cheapen a production process for our life.
- I am not necessarily opposed to them. I am opposed to additives that don't agree with the human body. 2. It's not up to me who pays for it, that will depend on the parties involved.
I lied. I put "grow and hunt my own," but I don't currently have a place to grow anything, as I usually did in the past because I grew up on a farm and used to grow my own veggies and flowers. My mom had a very large garden so we always ate fresh in the summer and our own canned and frozen stuff in the winter. I also lied about hunting. I just can't do it and I'm not a wimp because, as I said, I grew up on a farm. This "organic" thing is a bit over-hyped as far as the benefits but it does have one very important benefit in that it put pressure on the food producers to be more responsible with the chemicals they use on our food!
wdwyer
Level 5
June 2, 2018
1
I care what I eat but I'm wary of organic. Most of the time organic means that they use waste as fertilizer and that concerns me as much as chemical fertilizer, except it could make me sick immediately and there are a few outbreaks lately. Also, I'm a single father and organic can be much more expensive.
CK-One
Level 6
June 2, 2018
3
I grow my own as much as I am able (see the Gardening group on this site)...and also buy 98% organic.
SkotlandSkye
Level 8
June 2, 2018
2
I picked who cares what I eat. I’m vegan so I think what you eat matters but I don’t currently care about health wise.
MoonlitLife
Level 5
June 2, 2018
1
I am very vary of what I consume..always read labels and never eat fast food
Ravenwolfcasey
Level 7
June 2, 2018
0
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