Prothrombin Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I was having a debate with my cousin last night on the benefits of organic food. His opinion is that organic food is better for your body because of the lack of pesticide use, and is also better for the environment. He tells me that "you have to buy organic now, its what you should be doing". Then again though my cousin follows trends all the time, and is easily persuaded. My argument is that there really isn't enough evidence to show that organic food has any more health benefits than conventional produce. There have been several studies done that illustrate that regular produce contains insufficient amounts of pesticides and antibiotics to cause any real harm. I also feel that large supermarkets like Loblaws and Sobeys are taking full advantage of our susceptibility to health food scams and are marking up prices dramatically. Overall I think organic food is a waste of money because 1) it costs significantly more than normal produce 2) it tastes the same as normal produce (although organic diehards will feel differently, cough*placebo effect*cough) 3)there isn't enough evidence to prove regular produce is harmful What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebouque Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I was having a debate with my cousin last night on the benefits of organic food. His opinion is that organic food is better for your body because of the lack of pesticide use, and is also better for the environment. He tells me that "you have to buy organic now, its what you should be doing". Then again though my cousin follows trends all the time, and is easily persuaded. My argument is that there really isn't enough evidence to show that organic food has any more health benefits than conventional produce. There have been several studies done that illustrate that regular produce contains insufficient amounts of pesticides and antibiotics to cause any real harm. I also feel that large supermarkets like Loblaws and Sobeys are taking full advantage of our susceptibility to health food scams and are marking up prices dramatically. Overall I think organic food is a waste of money because 1) it costs significantly more than normal produce 2) it tastes the same as normal produce (although organic diehards will feel differently, cough*placebo effect*cough) 3)there isn't enough evidence to prove regular produce is harmful What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? I don't think anyone ever died because of chronic eating of pesticided carrots or tomatoes. Hence, organic is pretty useless. We could do a search on pubmed to see if there's a correlation between certain diseases and pesticided products. Also, I hate the name organic. It doesn't mean anything really. I think it's just a marketing thing (like omega 3 supplements) Peace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xenobiotic Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Waste of money. "Review of 162 studies over 50 years show no significant benefits" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32205139/ Not to mention that all the hippies who think it's better for the environment fail to realize that organic food has lower yields. Therefore to produce the same amount of food to feed people as conventional crops you need to chop down more forests and habitats for farmland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I'm torn on this. I think the amount of hormones used in livestock in this part of the world has something to do with the bizarre obesity patterns. You go to the States and see women with beer bellies and men with fat, cellulit-y asses - it's just not supposed to be that way, I never saw anything like that until I moved to the US. I think there's something in the food that is able to disrupt your hormones, and if I had to pick a reason, I'd say it's probably the hormones used in meat. I try to avoid chemicals in food. I was severely allergic to many fruits as a child and later found out that ALL these fruits are on the list of top 10 fruits/berries in terms of pesticide use. So whenever I want to buy a peach or some other fruit I was badly allergic to as a child, I go for organic. I try to go for organic meat, as well - not chicken, because federal regulations don't allow the use of hormones in chicken, anyway. It tastes way better and doesn't have those bright red nitro dyes. I was at Walmart one day in the meat aisle and I grabbed this greyish cut of meat, and the couple standing next to me said something about how it looked "rotten" and picked up one of these bright cherry-colored cuts. I don't think people in the city even realize what color normal meat's supposed to be. However, there are also risks to organic food - one that comes to mind is a wheat disease (no idea what the English name is, but it's a blackish-grey parasite), whose byproduct is extremely toxic to humans. If the farmer doesn't use a pesticide, he risks having this parasite in his grain, which could then end up in our bread and cause death. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intouch Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Here's a fun thought... All organic means is grown without synthesized pesticides. Don't think it means "spray free". If you want food grown without ANY pesticides, you'll have to try REALLY hard to find it. Organic food can be certified organic as long as its been treated only with "certified organic" pesticides. And believe me, they do get treated. The pesticides we used on the farm I worked at have USDA organic on the side, and then we sold our food as organic, but you still have to have a rinse station for if you spill them on your hands... just as caustic as any chemical. Just cause a pesticide starts its life in the ground rather than in a lab doesnt mean its any less harmful... Think of all the poisonous plants in the world. Is it any better to chow down a whole foxglove plant that drink some methanol? I think not... Organic produce is the biggest money-grabbing joke of all time. It means nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamP Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 What's the difference between an organic farmer and a regular farmer? The organic one sprays at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafield Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 If you want to do something environmental by buying certain foods... spend the money to buy local products and go to local farmer's markets. Helps local farming economies and cuts down on the environmental toll of shipping products across continents. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 If you want to do something environmental by buying certain foods... spend the money to buy local products and go to local farmer's markets. Helps local farming economies and cuts down on the environmental toll of shipping products across continents. I think you also end up with better produce that way. You go to Safeway and the peaches are rock-hard because they were picked like 2 months before ripening. Even if you let them ripen on your windowsill or something, they still don't taste the same way as those ripened on the tree. And those little curvy cukes at the farmer's market are way more delicious than these long dark ones they sell at grocery stores. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamP Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 If you want to do something environmental by buying certain foods... spend the money to buy local products and go to local farmer's markets. Helps local farming economies and cuts down on the environmental toll of shipping products across continents. Depends if it's hothouse or not. The fuel in shipping is actually less than the fuel required to grow plants locally off-season, which is a super wasteful process. But yeah if it's in season totally go for it, why wouldn't you anyway since it tastes way better. Obviously the most environmentally friendly thing you could possibly do in your entire life is to stop eating meat, which is a crazy carbon emitter, emits more greenhouse gases than all the cars on the planet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndreaM Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 If you want to do something environmental by buying certain foods... spend the money to buy local products and go to local farmer's markets. Helps local farming economies and cuts down on the environmental toll of shipping products across continents. Very true. I love my local farmer's market. Unfortunately I live in northern BC and our market is only available for 5 months out of the year and only has lots of produce for 3 months. I don't bother with buying organic at the grocery store during the winter though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prothrombin Posted August 25, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I'm torn on this. I think the amount of hormones used in livestock in this part of the world has something to do with the bizarre obesity patterns. You go to the States and see women with beer bellies and men with fat, cellulit-y asses - it's just not supposed to be that way, I never saw anything like that until I moved to the US. I think there's something in the food that is able to disrupt your hormones, and if I had to pick a reason, I'd say it's probably the hormones used in meat. I try to avoid chemicals in food. I was severely allergic to many fruits as a child and later found out that ALL these fruits are on the list of top 10 fruits/berries in terms of pesticide use. So whenever I want to buy a peach or some other fruit I was badly allergic to as a child, I go for organic. I try to go for organic meat, as well - not chicken, because federal regulations don't allow the use of hormones in chicken, anyway. It tastes way better and doesn't have those bright red nitro dyes. I was at Walmart one day in the meat aisle and I grabbed this greyish cut of meat, and the couple standing next to me said something about how it looked "rotten" and picked up one of these bright cherry-colored cuts. I don't think people in the city even realize what color normal meat's supposed to be. However, there are also risks to organic food - one that comes to mind is a wheat disease (no idea what the English name is, but it's a blackish-grey parasite), whose byproduct is extremely toxic to humans. If the farmer doesn't use a pesticide, he risks having this parasite in his grain, which could then end up in our bread and cause death. I really think that the reason behind the growing number of obese North Americans has to do with the poor eating habits and not the chemical sprays and growth hormones used in feeding livestock or fruits. If you look at the general population of Western European countries such as the UK, France, Italy, Germany etc, they still eat conventional produce but aren't nearly as fat as North Americans. The typical American diet includes eating copious amounts of sodium, sugar and refined carbohydrates - none of which are beneficial to your diet. And it's not just the fast food restaurants (which there are millions of) that are part of the problem, but the millions of eat out diners and chains that aren't doing enough. In Canada for example, Boston Pizza has a section of the menu that has been given the seal of approval by the Canadian Heart Institute, but almost none of the menu items (dressing free salad aside) have a low enough sodium content to be good for you. They did a piece on this on CBC News Marketplace (which you can find on the website) and all the items had at least 800mg of sodium. That's pretty much half the recommended daily intake of sodium in one day. The only reason they get this seal of approval is because if you look at the nutrition guide for their other menu items or even for other restaurants, the average sodium content per main course is somewhere around 2400mg of sodium. Its disgusting how disgusting the food here is. There aren't many, if any, places you can go out to eat and have legit healthy food. OK Check This Out: Boston Pizza's Smokey Mountain Meatball Spaghetti = 3,360mg of sodium. That's like 2 days worth of sodium Casey's Fiesta Nacho's - 7,000mg of SODIUM! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supafield Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 Depends if it's hothouse or not. I absolutely agree.... I meant to include in-season produce... Ontario strawberries in February should be questioned lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jochi1543 Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I really think that the reason behind the growing number of obese North Americans has to do with the poor eating habits and not the chemical sprays and growth hormones used in feeding livestock or fruits. Yeah, for sure, but I was talking about the actual patterns. Like, men who gain weight in a female pattern and vice versa - there seems to be a lot of that in the US. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted August 25, 2009 Report Share Posted August 25, 2009 I was having a debate with my cousin last night on the benefits of organic food. His opinion is that organic food is better for your body because of the lack of pesticide use, and is also better for the environment. He tells me that "you have to buy organic now, its what you should be doing". Then again though my cousin follows trends all the time, and is easily persuaded. My argument is that there really isn't enough evidence to show that organic food has any more health benefits than conventional produce. There have been several studies done that illustrate that regular produce contains insufficient amounts of pesticides and antibiotics to cause any real harm. I also feel that large supermarkets like Loblaws and Sobeys are taking full advantage of our susceptibility to health food scams and are marking up prices dramatically. Overall I think organic food is a waste of money because 1) it costs significantly more than normal produce 2) it tastes the same as normal produce (although organic diehards will feel differently, cough*placebo effect*cough) 3)there isn't enough evidence to prove regular produce is harmful What are your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? Too funny! Late last night, my gal-friend and I had a good conversation about this. It all started with me offering to get some organic eggs for her and her fiancé from my aunt’s farm. My position is that I don’t buy organic produce from a grocery store. However, my aunt has an organic farm and knows many local (both organic and non-organic farmers); so, I am very lucky to have an awesome source for both organic and local food. When I do buy organic items from a grocery store, it has to be similar in price as the non-organic (i.e., organic green tea on sale). While there are fairly strict organic farming standards in Ontario, I question these regulations in third-world countries. Not to offend anyone, but corruption is wide-spread in many (third-world) countries; perhaps it’s easy to claim ‘organic’ status if you pay the right amount? And, yes, eating ‘organic’ because it’s trendy kind of annoys me. Shipping ‘organic’ fruit from a Caribbean country can’t be any better than buying the same non-organic fruit in Canada. Next, our conversation went onto livestock / meat eating. Both my friend and her fiancé are proper meat eaters, while I’m a deviating vegetarian. As I was telling my friend, if I was a meat-eater, I’d be inclined to eat meat from a source like my aunt’s farm, where you actually see the chickens and cows that will be slaughtered. Oblivious to their future, they are indeed ‘happy’ livestock, with a decent quality of life. For religious, health, social, and environmental reasons, it hurts me to see our excessive North American meat-centric diet. Many have lost touch with where any of their food comes from, whether it is produce or livestock. (Disclaimer: By birth, I am a full-out hippie, redneck, hehe! ) Great topic by the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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