Posted on 04/26/2022 6:16:06 AM PDT by Kaslin
I don’t deliberately avoid organic foods or markets, but I don’t seek them out either. Claims that organic food tastes better or is more nutritious are not supported by evidence and certainly don’t justify the far higher prices. Mostly, I’m put off by assertions that organic food is pesticide-free, safer and more planet-friendly. Those assertions are simply false advertising; deliberate misinformation.
Mom’s Organic Market shopping bags provide an excellent example. They’re emblazoned with six “Bee Informed” messages that help customers Bee the Change, Give Bees a Chance, and Save the Bees from a looming Armageddon attributed to synthetic pesticides. The Bee Misinformed messages merit correction.
1. The #1 irrigated crop in the US is lawn grass, using over 10 trillion gallons of water per year. Mom’s didn’t say where its number came from; and if this basic information is fishy, what about the other messages? The Natural Resources Defense Council says US lawns consume three trillion gallons per year – not ten. Still, too many people overwater, use fine sprays that let too much water evaporate, and/or water lawns during the hottest hours or days of the week. The better message is, water smarter.
2. Suburban lawns and gardens receive more pesticide applications per acre than agriculture. This may be true, but is it? Can’t Mom’s be more transparent about its sources? Homeowners should use lawn and garden chemicals carefully, responsibly and sparingly – and assume that any chemical (synthetic or organic) may be toxic and dangerous: to bees, other insects, fish, wildlife, pets, children and themselves.
3. A single bee colony can pollinate over 300 million flowers a day. Busy as a bee – sure. But really? A typical hive (colony) has 10,000 to 80,000 worker bees. Assuming 50,000 on average, this means each bee would have to visit 6,000 flowers per day. Perhaps in a sprawling canola field; but otherwise pretty unlikely. Again, what’s Mom’s source?
4. Scientists found bee-killing neonicotinoids in 75% of honey sampled from around the world. Now we’re getting into the nitty-gritty of ongoing organic food and environmentalist campaigns to frighten people (especially moms) into going full-organic and avoiding conventionally grown food.
The scientists are finding parts per billion. 1 ppb is equivalent to 1 second in 33 years – or 50 drops of water in a 50-by-25-by-2-meter Olympic-sized swimming pool: 2 teaspoons in 660,000 gallons.
Used primarily to coat seeds, neonics become part of the plant tissue and target only pests that actually feed on the crops, particularly during early growth stages. They greatly reduce the need for aerial or ground-level spraying with other chemicals that are much more of a threat to bees and other pollinators. They are a far lower risk to honeybees or wild bees than some organic pesticides – or Varroa destructor mites that attach to bees, suppress their immune systems, carry deadly diseases, create pathways for other diseases to enter bee bodies, and can cause well-publicized “colony collapse disorder.”
Neonics may be detected in honey because so much comes from vast canola fields in western Canada, where canola is grown with neonic-coated seeds, and beekeepers place their hives in the fields because bees thrive there and produce delicious honey. Don’t equate detection with danger.
5. There are traces of 20 different pesticides in the average American’s body. Mom’s could at least post the source for this assertion on its website. More important, these parts per billion are detectable only because modern lab equipment is so sophisticated. The traces are not at levels that should cause concern.
And what about organic pesticides? Organic farmers also use many different pesticides to protect their crops. But Mom’s, Greenpeace, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the organic food industry don’t look for or talk about traces of organic farming pesticides: in honey, on produce or in human bodies. Perhaps they don’t want people (especially mothers) to know or think about that.
The Risk Monger’s Dirty Dozen List of Toxic Organic Pesticides provides an informative overview of “natural” fungicides and insecticides used on organic farms – including chemicals that are toxic to bees, other insect and wildlife species, and humans.
Among those organic farm chemicals, copper sulfate is highly toxic to bees, deadly to fish, and bio-accumulative in soil and water. Pyrethrin neurotoxin pesticides are also very toxic to bees – and are possible human carcinogens; originally derived from flowers (which is why they can still be classified as organic), they are now manufactured synthetically. Like neonicotinoids, nicotine sulfate is derived from nicotine; it can paralyze bee wings and legs, and is poisonous to humans.
Other “natural,” “organic” chemicals that are highly toxic to bees include rotenone, spinosad, hydrogen peroxide, azidirachtin (neem oil), citronella oil, and even garlic extract and acetic acid.
If Greenpeace, the EWG or the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) ever spent the time and money to test for these chemicals, they’d undoubtedly find “traces” of “organic” chemicals on “organic” produce.
6. Roughly 0.1% of pesticides reach their targeted pests, leaving 99.9% to impact the environment. That sounds farfetched because it is, especially for crops grown using neonic-treated seeds so that the pesticide becomes a systemic part of the plant and targets pests that try to eat the crops.
Today’s farmers are far more careful and judicious in how, where and how much they use chemicals to control the insects, viruses, molds and other pests that want to beat you to the foods you enjoy. They also employ a variety of “integrated pest management” techniques – including corn, cotton and other crops that splice Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) genes into the plant structure, to control pests that feed on those crops, thereby reducing the need for hand, tractor or aerial spraying with chemicals.
(Organic farmers often spray live Bt bacteria on crops. But that carries risks that the spray could drift onto nearby plants and beneficial insects. It’s a mystery that EWG doesn’t wax apoplectic about that.)
Those who still harbor concerns might be comforted knowing that the USDA conducts a Pesticide Data Program that’s been ongoing now for three decades. The PDP tests different (conventionally grown) produce every year – and issues a “report card” on how well US and international farmers comply with Environmental Protection Agency rules designed to protect moms and families from (conventional) pesticide-related health issues.
While the annual EWG “Dirty Dozen List” is designed to instill unfounded fears about eating non-organic fruits and vegetables, because of alleged pesticide poisoning – the PDP analyses are scientific and data-driven. The PDP goal is to ensure that all pesticide residues have fallen to levels that pose no risks to humans by the time they reach supermarkets.
The latest 200-page report provides comforting news for consumers. It’s available here – or you can read plant pathologist Steve Savage’s summary and commentary here and here.
One further issue deserves mention. Not surprisingly, Mom’s bags are made of kraft paper. Plastic bags (we’re told) are petroleum-based and clog landfills. Of course, it’s more complex than that. I operated bag-making machines during college. Paper and paper-bag-making processes are tree, energy and chemicals-intensive; and heavier, bulkier paper bags take years to break down in landfills. The volume of either is trifling, however, compared to pollution and waste from solar panels and wind turbines.
The bottom line is simple. As the USDA and Risk Monger emphasize, pesticide residues on both conventional and organic fruits and vegetables almost never pose risks to moms, dads, kids, or other planetary creatures. Bee not afraid. Enjoy eating them, because they’re good for you.
And correct or cancel Mom’s misinformation.
P4L
“Claims that organic food tastes better or is more nutritious are not supported by evidence and certainly don’t justify the far higher prices.”
The Organic food is non-bio-engineered food that’s been protected from contact with GMO from farm to table. That, you can count on. It’s the law.
https://www.usda.gov/media/blog/2013/05/17/organic-101-can-gmos-be-used-organic-products
So where are this dude’s sources?
Good info .
As someone with a ag background I know there is a huge amount of misinformation out there about modern agriculture from the greenies.
That’s the reason I go for Organic food or anything non-GMO.
I eat one banana a day.
I was skeptical about organic food until I mistakenly purchased organic grown bananas. I immediately knew the taste was superior. It reminded me of eating bananas as a child 60 years ago. At least for banana’s I’m willing to pay extra.
One interesting thing that I have noticed shopping at Kroger, which I have to shop that because the only other thing in my town is Super Walmart, the next closest town being 25 miles away and the primary grocery chain there is Kroger.
Anyway Kroger has a house brand called Simple Truth which is supposed to be more or less organic. What I’ve noticed is that while I don’t care about the organic aspect, quality of the product is a little bit better. So if the simple truth brand is the same or almost the same price as competitive brand for that product I buy it.
Organic bananas do taste better.
There are quite a few links in the original article, which did not come through to freerepublic.
Indeed, a hallmark of Deplorables is a preference for subsidiarity whereby local trumps global (pun intended). I've found that my local farmer, local food stands, etc vastly outdo the ConAgra/ADM industrial complex.
Do I pay more? Yes. Does it taste better? After years of "going natural" I can DEFINIETLY taste the difference in meats and milk. Is it better for me? I haven't dropped dead (yet). I haven't yet planted my victory garden (last time I did it was more like the bay of pigs) but Diana's threads are the way to learn.
Sure, at Whole Foods you'll definitely find masked Karen's and Fauci fans. But if you talk to the employees you'll find a bigly number of libertarians and people who think masks etc are BS. And independent grocers carry organic and gluten-free products nowadays. But you gotta do your homework on which brands are suspect.
Thus, anytime I see some anti-organic article, I suspect the writer is confused as to just who is the Enemy.
“The #1 irrigated crop in the US is lawn grass, using over 10 trillion gallons of water per year.”
Do they think water is “used up” by watering lawns? Thoughts like that make them feel altruistic when it should make them feel stupid.
Science has largely been replaced by Political Science.
Today, “Science” means — “I want to manipulate you to behave a certain way, because social control of others is my religion.”
I like organic bananas and strawberries for the very reason you stated. The flavor seems much like it was 50+ years ago (for me). Way way better than the regular fruits. For that difference, I’m willing to pay the higher prices on these items.
If it's wrong to eat genetically modified foods, but it's right to force people to take experimental gene modifying jabs ... you might be a Democrat. LOL
:shrug: As best I can tell, all of the food that I consume is organic. Well, maybe not salt. Salt is inorganic.
Love their simple truth & private selection brands.
What is the difference between a genetically modified vegetable and a hybrid vegetable?
Thanks—and my apologies.
The irony is that often the organic bananas are the same price as the regular, more often little more than 10 cents/pound higher otherwise.
I try to purchase local organic, but price/availability preclude that most seasons.
The local Farmer’s Market at one time was a reasonable choice, but has degraded to a rip-off, catering primarily to local elites and the hippie vegan community.
The other irony is that despite organic/non-gmo, browsing such markets gives one keen insight to the unhealthy nature of veganism, an observation impossible to ignore (at least in our state).
Substitute an evening snack for a small banana to make it 2/day. Your gut will thank you for it (you’ll notice, too).
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