
Originally Posted by
skeptic
Organic produce is generally overpriced, and is not superior. Additives such as pesticides etc are often quoted by organics enthusiasts as a reason to eat organic, but they are present in tiny trace amounts. Normally less than one part per million, which is insignificant in terms of health.
Actually, as I have pointed out before, organic food has, on average, substantially more pesticide in it than conventional. The reason is that plants manufacture natural insecticides when attacked. Conventional crops are attacked a lot less than organic, simply because they are protected by potent insecticides. So they make far less natural insecticide. By the time conventional crops get to market, the synthetic insecticides sprayed on them have degraded to a level a lot lower than one part per million, but the organic crops still have their high levels of natural insecticide, because once a plant is stimulated to manufacture them, it keeps right on doing so. You may think that 'natural' insecticides will do less harm than synthetic, but that is not so.
We had, in 2002, a rash of cucurbitacin poisonings here in NZ. Cucurbitacin is a natural insecticide found in zucchinis. In this case it was organic produce that had not been sprayed, but attacked by insects, leading to a lot of cucurbitacin being made. 16 people had to be hospitalised. I cannot remember the last time a person in NZ had to be hospitalised because of synthetic insecticide on their food. A long, long time ago.
On the business of attacking small organic farms, that is nonsense. Most organic food is grown on giant farms run by megamillionnaires. The global organics industry, last time I looked, was worth $US 34 billion per year. So much money is generated that this industry has its own 'research' institutes (Rohdale in USA and British Soil Assn.) which generate 'papers' with the express purpose of promoting organic food. This 'research' is a mega million dollar affair in its own right.
While people of a romantic bent like organic crops, the detailed study commissioned by the British Food Standards Authority came to an unambiguous and unequivocal conclusion. There is no health benefit to eating organic, compared to the same, but much cheaper, conventional foods.