Organic Food

Now here is a hot topic since it is the big fad right now.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines “organic” as the lack of non-natural pesticides, hormones, antibiotics, and fertilizers, as well as bioengineering and radiation.

Through my initial study of this topic, I am finding that it came about due to the wanted avoidance of pesticides from the 1950s. Today however, pesitcides are safer, more efficient and decompose rapidly in nature. Many organic farmers use “natural” pesticides like the carcinogenic pyrethrum or fermented urine. Most use manure, a major source of E. coli bacteria, which poisons about 25,000 people a year in the US.

Organic foods have a higher risk of contamination, but it also spoils quicker than standard food.

There is also the lower yeild and therefore more usage of land. So there needs to be more farmland and less forests to supply the same amount that standard food uses.

Now don't confuse unprocessed foods with organic food though. I am all for pure juices and no sugar-added or dyed foods, but that is a personal choice.

Some people however are allergic to certain dyes and preservatives and therefore unprocessed and sometimes organic food is a better choice for them. This though is due to necessity and not because standard food is no good for people. Some is just not good for some people.

Organic Food now is no longer about local (originally it was). It is about big business. It's selling of a philosophy that has been long lost. We get organic food now from all across the globe which of course has a bigger "carbon footprint" (that's in brackets because I question the whole carbo footprint thing and am just using it to show the contradiction). Again it uses more land and is shipped and also spoils quicker. The beauty for the companies is that the profit margins are bigger because the demand is so high.

For more info:
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4019
http://open.salon.com/blog/amytuteurmd/2009/03/13/the_organic_food_scam
http://hubpages.com/hub/Is-the-Organic-Food-Movement-a-Scam
http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/organic.html