Organic Food, Is It Worth It?
| August 28, 2010 | Posted by Lisa Sharp under Uncategorized |
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| Photo Credit: Secret Tenerife |
Time.com came out with an article titled “What’s So Great About Organic Food?” and I think it has annoyed some of us who eat organically. While it was a bit more pro organic food than other articles I have seen that just want to peg organic food eaters as elitist or stupid, it’s still telling us it’s not realistic. So is organic food worth it and a realistic goal?
An article on Technorati looks at the cost difference and makes some very good points.
“I know a married couple. Between them they own a humvee, an SUV, a luxury sedan, and a rather souped up Harley Davidson. They won’t buy organic eggs because they say it costs $3.00 a dozen. If they didn’t buy even just one of the 4 vehicles, say, the cheapest of the 4, how many cartons of organic eggs can they buy?” – Nicole Wong on Technorait
I have seen this a lot, people spending a lot of money on wants and then complaining about the cost of food. Have we lost track of what are wants and what are needs?
Another point in the Time article is about the nutrition.
“A 2009 study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition led to a firestorm in the food world. It found no difference between organic and conventional produce with regard to all but three of the vitamins and other food components studied, and conventional produce actually squeaked past organic for one of those three.”- Time.com
I have seen mixed studies but at least for myself it’s not about what’s in the food as much as what’s not in the food. The vitamin levels maybe the same but the organic foods are lacking the toxic chemicals and GMO ingredients. That is what I believe to make them a healthier choice.
The article goes on to use the same old claim that we couldn’t feed the whole world with organic farming.
“When animal protein, whether organic or not, becomes a supporting player in the diet, then fruits, veggies and grains take the lead. That’s generally a good thing, but here too there are complications. The back-to-the-land ideal of farming without the use of synthetic pesticides and other chemicals can take you only so far in a country with 309 million mouths to feed (not to mention a world with 6.8 billion). Say what you will about the environmental depredations of agribusiness, industrial farms coax up to twice as much food out of every acre of land as organic farms do. And even that full-tilt output may not be enough to keep up with a global population that’s galloping ahead to a projected 9 billion by 2050.” -Time.com
In a NYTimes article in 2008 they talk about the crazy amount of food Americans throw away.
“…Americans waste an astounding amount of food — an estimated 27 percent of the food available for consumption, according to a government study…”- NYTimes
So if we are wasting so much food can we really not food the world organically or would it just mean rethinking food? Maybe we would have to waste less.
To be fair the article does agree we need to cut use of pesticides and talks about problems with conventional food as well.
“Up to 10 million tons of chemical fertilizer per year are poured onto fields to cultivate corn alone, for example, which has increased yields 23% from 1990 to 2009 but has led to toxic runoffs that are poisoning the beleaguered Gulf of Mexico.”
“Farm-raised animals are also higher in conjugated lineoleic acids, fatty acids that, according to studies of lab animals, may help reduce the risk of various cancers. What’s more, animals not raised on feedlots have less chance of spreading E. coli bacteria through contact with other animals’ manure, though the industry insists it is making improvements, with better spacing of animals on the lots and better cleaning methods in slaughterhouses.” – Time.com
Sure it would be great if all food was grown better and in a safer way but it’s not right now and I don’t see it changing soon. We need to take control of our health and also send a message to those producing our food and tell them we want safe and healthy food. So what did you think of the Time.com article?
