Organic Food Is A Scam January 7, 2009
Posted by Edward von Bear in Crime, Economics, Food, Gardening, Handblogging, Humor, Law, Lurkers, News, Personal Experiences, Science, Sex.Tags: Stupid Hippies, Viva Bacon!, Where Is My Slayer CD?
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Look, I try to eat healthier than I used too. I eat more fish, veggies and fruit, drink more water, and have shied away from fried, fatty, or processed food as much as possible, though I still sneak a Big Mac Attack once in a while. I buy a lot of crap from Trader Joe’s. Hell, I even eat raw uncooked Brussel Sprouts, as do the others in my household. But one thing I was always suspicious of was the “organic” label. I mean, how could the shelves of my local supermarket have aisles and aisles of “organic” stuff at just a few cents more than the non organic food, considering “organic” production is really expensive?
Well, I may have found out why. It turns out behemoth “organic” farm Earthbound may have been using *gasp* non-organic fertilizer!11!!!eleventy!!
For up to seven years, California Liquid Fertilizer sold what seemed to be an organic farmer’s dream, brewed from fish and chicken feathers.
The company’s fertilizer was effective, inexpensive and approved by organic regulators. By 2006, it held as much as a third of the market in California.
But a state investigation caught the Salinas-area company spiking its product with ammonium sulfate, a synthetic fertilizer banned from organic farms.
As a result, some of California’s 2006 harvest of organic fruits, nuts and vegetables – including crops from giants like Earthbound Farm – wasn’t really organic.
According to documents obtained by The Bee through a Public Records Act request, California Department of Food and Agriculture officials were notified of the problem in June 2004 but didn’t complete their investigation and order the company to remove its product from the organic market until January 2007.
State officials knew some of California’s largest organic farms had been using the fertilizer, the documents show, but they kept their findings confidential until nearly a year and a half after it was removed from the market. No farms lost their organic certification.
The nonprofit California Certified Organic Farmers, which certifies about 80 percent of the state’s organic acreage, decided not to penalize farms that had used the product on the grounds that farmers did not know they were using an unapproved chemical.
I knew it! Organic farmers, though unwittingly, may not be as tied to the earth as they want you to believe. This news may compel me to start deep frying a Twinkie in protest.
Global Warming and now this!!!11!1111!!
I love Trader Joe’s, alas we don’t have them in Hawaii.
(When you use organic food, shop at Trader Joe’s and use words like alas, you are almost as superior as the intellectuals in the democratic party.)
I lack the requisite tattoos and piercings to be an employee there.
I had a chicken-fried steak for lunch yesterday, and now I feel better about it.
I ate a giant bowl of spinach salad with chicken and fat-free dressing for supper last night around 8 p.m. Two hours later all I could think about was eating biscuits and gravy along with a couple of donuts as big as my face for breakfast.
Chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, all smothered in milk gravy made with flour and grease, loaded with black pepper . . . nom, nom, NOM!
Compos,
Whenever you start a story with what you ate, I’m almost afraid to keep reading. I’m glad things turned out OK.
I spent my entire junior year in Chemistry trying to avoid being electrocuted, burned, acidized, or otherwise maimed by the turds I shared a lab table with. I took a couple of biologies in college to get my science credits out of the way. Which is all to say that my knowledge of chemistry and chemicals would feel right at home in the 14th century.
So here’s my question: What is the difference chemically speaking between fertilizer that is approved for organic use and basic every day b-flat fertilizer. And how does it alter the end product.
I’ve always kinda felt like “organic” was a giant scam which fucked hippies and tree huggers and other gullible dupes out of their money in exchange for very little benefit in quality of life. And as such, I heartily approve.
Organic means minimally processed, essentially.
So instead of using the chemicals extracted/ refined from natural sources, you just apply the natural source of those chemicals in its entirety.
The theory is that applying rock powders, well-rotted vegetable matter, fermented fish wastes and crab shells, etc, etc, to the soil instead of refined chemicals is better in many ways.
Because it builds humus and maintains the tilth of the soil (reducing runoff and erosion and keeping the land arable), feeds the microorganisms that break substances down into plant food, and ultimately produces crops with higher nutritional value.
Yeah, I’m a…crunchy con.
Shut up.
Oh, I agree that minimal chemical stuff is the way to go. It’s just that these folks who are uber-pompous about being “100% organic” or whatever probably don’t realize how monstrously difficult it is to achieve those goals.
The theory is that applying rock powders, well-rotted vegetable matter, fermented fish wastes and crab shells, etc, etc, to the soil instead of refined chemicals is better in many ways.
Yuck – who knows what’s in that stuff? Give me good,clean chemicals every time. I know what I’m getting, and my food doesn’t have insect nosh marks and it doesn’t rot.
ultimately produces crops with higher nutritional value.
That one I hadn’t heard and find hard to believe.
I probably should revise my title to reflect that I think the attitudes and marketing of those in the “organic” market are in need of revision and reflection.
I’m all for getting the growth hormones out of the products we consume.
Especially the beer.
Especially the beer.
Compi, there are no growth hormones in beer, so go ahead and chug away.
LauraW, if you are so hot on “organically” grown veggies, so as not to be contaminated with chemicals then why do you have a hump on your back?
I went ahead and looked it up:
Looking at the first page of Google results, it appears that the claims for improved nutrition largely come from those with an agenda, whereas the scientific articles show no advantage to the organic approach.
There are probably environmental benefits to organic farming, but I don’t think the nutritional benefits are real.
Well, well, wellllll.
Look who’s in the pocket of Big Agriculture, already.
Didn’t take too long to sell your soul, did it. How much is the Jolly Green Giant paying you, hmmm?
Not as much as the Tobacco companies. Dang it.
Compi, there are no growth hormones in beer, so go ahead and chug away.
Then why is my belly gettin’ bigger?
I don’t care about either camps’ efforts to prove or disprove the organic issue. It’s like theology — anyone can pick up a Bible and figure out how to prove whatever they want to justify their own behavior if they look hard enough.
But if a pharmaceutical company sponsored research, the results are suspect in my book because of the profits they make that are at stake. They don’t want us healthy. Period.
I don’t go all crazy about it, but have found that organic products TASTE BETTER. My board certified doctor recommended it because she reduced her own blood pressure and went off some of her medications by going more organic. Guests in our home have also noticed my organic milk, juice and eggs taste better. I figure I’m ingesting more food value in the smaller/regular size portions with less indigestible additives, unneeded hormones, or antibiotics that enter the body as toxins and end up clogging up the cleansing organs in the body – like liver, gall-bladder, and kidneys. I think I’m a bit healthier since I continue to be free of colds and flus, remain mostly pain-free, use no blood pressure medication or any over-the-counter or prescription drugs for pain, colds, etc… The improvement in my health and how I feel physically over the past few years has been miraculous.
My sister has not been able to enjoy red wine for years because it always gave her severe headaches afterward. I suggested organic wine because it generally thought that those of us who suffer from vin migraine are actually responding negatively to the additives in the wine rather than the wine itself. She and her husband ordered a bottle of organic wine in a restaurant a few weeks ago and she enjoyed it with NO HEADACHE afterward.
Cutting down on processed foods after my daughter was born has helped my wife and I reduce intestinal issues and weight. As has cutting out soda. My wife also has less headaches and other issues since then.
But Cathy nailed it with her comparison to religion and peoples’ attitudes.
Thanks, Eddie. You’re a gent.
YEP, soda and processed foods are mean stuff.
*mouth waters imagining some chicken-fry*
Since I’ve been eating organic eggs, my hump is much smoother and there are fewer loose scales.
Then why is my belly gettin’ bigger?
Maybe because you are pregnant?
Organic chicken definitely tastes better. As a general principle, I don’t like to eat chicken which has eaten other chicken.
Which came first: the organic egg or the organic chicken?
A friend of mine was kilt in a free range chicken stampede.
True story.
They should stop giving away those free ranges.
>Hell, I even eat raw uncooked Brussel Sprouts, as do the others in my household
my god, the gas in there…
Hell, I even eat raw uncooked Brussel Sprouts,
You know that the eating of uncooked Brussel Sprouts can diminish your testosterone levels and lead to the wearing of those nancy boy Croc shoes.
The “organic” label is like the phrase “green”. It doesn’t mean shit, the loopholes are miles wide. I prefer eating food that’s less processed/preserved, but I base it on what I know of the company’s rep, as opposed to the label.
Per the USDA data there has been a drop in nutritional value of many vegetables over the past 50 years. I *believe* there are two reasons for this. Vegetables get their nutrition primarly from what they are grown in. First, synthetic amendment kill the microorganism in the soil. I used them for years and never had any earthworm in my soil. After switching to my home produced fertilizers 4 years ago the soil is alive with worms and other life. This soil is likely more “nutritous” for the plants. Second, new varities grow larger and faster than older standard varieties. Again, I *believe* new varieties do not have the time to pull the nutrients from the soil before they are picked.
I am not organic certifed. I grow meat and vegetable and sell locally. My customers can come see how we do it. They know me and I know them. We don’t need the government involved.
Stanley
Thanks, Stanley.
Appreciate your input.
Makes sense and concurs with my experiences. A banana about 4″ long that tasted like a tropical fruit explosion in my mouth — including the flavor of sweet strawberries — helped me realize the difference. There’s more nutrition in that small produce that has been grown more naturally, than the chemically produced giants.
I’d buy your produce.
I love those organic eggs you can buy at the store. They do taste better. And seeing blue eggs was neat.
Jeeze, I’m going to sound like a pedant for a minute. Technically earthworms in the majority of northern North America are invasive species from Europe/Asia. If there were earthworms present here (and evidence does seem to indicate this) they were killed off by the glaciers. Obviously this doesn’t include say the southern portions of the US and into Mexico, and the PacNW.
With our beer dispense equipment any one can dispense and serve both Cask or Real Ale and or Keg Beer.Many licensees are discouraged from offering cask beer since they are afraid they will not be able to keep it but with modern automatic stillages and the amazing Race Cask Ventilator which doubles the shelf life of a cask the all pubs and hotels should be able to serve good cask Ale.
With our beer dispense equipment any one can dispense and serve both Cask or Real Ale and or Keg Beer.
Anyone? Even a Spudder?
Akismet let us down.
One of the things I thought was odd, was watching “Good Eats” describing how chickens with “white” flesh are better, than chickens with “yellow” meat, while also defining that “white” flesh is organic, and yellow is cornfed. . . . .
Umm, chickens aren’t exactly herbivores, or rather exclusively herbivores, and we don’t like gamey chicken, why do we prefer shitty wile food, rather than nummy farm food?
Gimme yellow purdue over white “free range” anyday.
Just an observation.
My problem with the Tyson/Perdue stuff is that they put so many hormones and antibiotics in the process.
Wasn’t there a thing w/ Tyson in ’08 regarding the fact that their labeling isn’t 100% accurate? As in, they don’t use certain antibiotics, but they do use some, and their packaging was trying to claim antibiotic free chicken.
Didn’t Tyson also bite that guy’s ear off…
Yes!
I don’t know nuthin’ about organic chicken, but I ain’t gonna buy chicken raised on ear meat, I can tell you that.
What?
Hey lauraw,
I love eating Green Giant Food but not organic food from China!
Enjoy your bacteria, viruses, fungi, germs, and who knows what!
Hey what about me?
Thanks William, I will!
*cuts a slice from Chinese Phlegm Pie*
Mmmmmmm
yer gonna get hung chow.
Das ischt eine gemeinten vas mit dem orangestaffen.
Chauffeur, bring me mein Mercedes Benz. Bitter gevanthausen.
It is shocking the scientific ignorance in this country. That is how these scams continue to fool folks into paying more and getting less.
Why organic farming is BS-101
I will only attempt to explain the misnomer “grown organic.” I realize there are other factors as to why something is, or is not organic.
All plants need food aka macro nutrients: nitrogen-N, phosphorous-P , and Potassium-K. What these chemicals are derived from determines whether something is grown organic or not organic.
Organic forms of N-P-K are manure, worm castings, compost, etc.
Non organic forms of N-P-K are derived from petroleum products. They are basically long chains of complex molecules.
When a plant eats its food, it is consuming N-P-K. It doesn’t care where it originated from. It just needs those basic elements to survive.
N-P-K are not organic compounds regardless of where they come from, and hence organic is total BS.
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