Organic Foods

[HeyYou]

• Healthier due to the lack of chemicals
• Natural, again due to lack of chemicals

 

Lack of SYNTHETIC chemicals. That does NOT imply NO chemicals at all.

[Ghogiel]

Apparently it also costs more because it is expensive to be "certified" as organic, it takes inspectors to come round do checks and tests.

 

I used to buy at a co-op that bulk bought from local farms outside Berlin, which were organic, you could go visit them, but they do not pay for certification, and we get it direct and bulk, so it is technically a bit less than what most people pay in stores. :thumbsup:

 

This is one of those things that is not all equal. A blanket statement, chemical fertilisers are bad for your produce is a bit ignorant. Especially when only talking about the end product you consume, Because often they aren't, and chemically they are more or less raw elements off the periodic table, and you'd never know even if you test the produce. Might want to look into them environmental impacts of them on the water and ecosystem in the farm area if you are an environmentalist.

 

pesticides are often quite hazardous to people. ALWAYS wash your fruit and veg. Even other molds and bacteria can be present that would otherwise be natural, like even some organic fertilisers aren't good for you if you eat them. Just make sense, because you never know, organic or otherwise.

 

Meat on the other hand is a bit different. Growth hormones and antibiotics definitely aren't something you want in your system if you can help it. And on top of that, the bacteria and trace fecal matter on non organic meat is many times higher than organic. yes pooh on your meat.

[draconix]

Most people here haven't touched on the meat side of things yet, so I'm pretty glad you brought that up. I'm not familiar with "growth hormone" or it's affects on humans. Also, in what dosage are we finding in meat? It it's a microscopic amount then it's probably nothing to be concerned with. Can we find some studies on this?

[Flintlockecole]

I've slowly been getting more and more organic food, so much now that my entire diet consists mostly of food grown and harvested in an organic environment.

 

Ever since I've been eating organic food, I've felt better, had more energy and (in general), I find that the food tastes better.

 

Now, for the disadvantages of organic foods:

 

It costs more, and it's quite difficult to find (good) organic foods in all grocery stores.

 

Any other opinions on this?

I hear ya, I grow my own food. I don't think I could go back to store bought stuff. It taste off if it's from a store.

[Alecu]

I find all the advertising that I see about organic things quite ignorant. Not having chemicals is just one of the aspects. But what about the technical stuff behind it that involves agriculture and taking care of animals. Most of the stuff I hear on TV are just crap about growing vegetables without chemicals and growing animals without hormones. But is that all :confused: ?

 

This isn't some kind of joke and there is a lot of science behind it. It's something to grow an animal without hormones and another thing to grow that animal *healthy*. That animal has a lot of our structure and needs. So you can't just grow it without hormones and artificial stuff to make it really healthy. I have seen this countless times at my grand parents that pretty much live on self produced vegetables and meat. They didn't just give the pigs random food. They would always use a standard recipe with variations.

 

This was true for any animal that my grandparents grew. Chickens also had a specific diet. They ate so much proteins and stuff that they ended up quite fat. The chicken meat was completely different from the one found in supermarkets. It usually was quite hard and you had to fry it a lot or boil it to make it tender. And even when it was very fried it never shrank that much from losing water and fat like the ones from the supermarket. The meat itself had a different flavor. Sometimes when preparing it for dinner you ended up with something completely different even if you used the same recipe but with ingredients from the market. It didn't look that tasty all the time until you tasted it.

 

The vegetables were grown only with organic ferilizer from animals that were fed healthy things in the first place. The organic fertilizer was animal wastes that easily dissolved in nature and produced fertile soil. And it's not just about that. The entire region in which they were grown was very ecological and very FAR from the city and any source of pollution or contamination. This excluded a lot of diseases that even vegetables can have such as mold. Then came the techniques such as crop rotation. Even the soil can change in time and this something to take into consideration and it's not always the same. In a way it has it's own life.

 

Even the eggs were different. They were bigger than the ones in supermarkets but also more dirty. They also had much bigger egg yolks that had a bright and intense orange/yellow color. I usually made omelets from them. I never had to use as many eggs and they even had a different physical structure.

 

And about contaminating the ingredients. The stuff mentioned above always had a bit of bacteria on them even after washing them properly. But that was enough bacteria to keep your immune system always on alert and strong, far from causing any diseases, as a normal human being would experience in nature. So the end effect was good.

 

So I don't believe this stuff about organic food in the first place. Just like I don't believe anything about healthy diets and vegetarian diets.

 

Unless I see a clear scientifical explanation in the first place I would never believe what I hear all too often lately about organic food. It's more about marketing rather than proof and facts.

[ginnyfizz]

Apparently it also costs more because it is expensive to be "certified" as organic, it takes inspectors to come round do checks and tests.

 

I used to buy at a co-op that bulk bought from local farms outside Berlin, which were organic, you could go visit them, but they do not pay for certification, and we get it direct and bulk, so it is technically a bit less than what most people pay in stores. :thumbsup:

 

This is one of those things that is not all equal. A blanket statement, chemical fertilisers are bad for your produce is a bit ignorant. Especially when only talking about the end product you consume, Because often they aren't, and chemically they are more or less raw elements off the periodic table, and you'd never know even if you test the produce. Might want to look into them environmental impacts of them on the water and ecosystem in the farm area if you are an environmentalist.

 

pesticides are often quite hazardous to people. ALWAYS wash your fruit and veg. Even other molds and bacteria can be present that would otherwise be natural, like even some organic fertilisers aren't good for you if you eat them. Just make sense, because you never know, organic or otherwise.

 

Meat on the other hand is a bit different. Growth hormones and antibiotics definitely aren't something you want in your system if you can help it. And on top of that, the bacteria and trace fecal matter on non organic meat is many times higher than organic. yes pooh on your meat.

 

I tend to agree with this in many ways. Growth hormones in meat animals have been banned in the EU since 1988. But we certainly do need to look at the environmental effects of chemical fertilisers, which can have a very serious effect on rivers, streams and lakes. Excessive nitrates in the water supply can be the kiss of death to much water life, whilst at the same time encouraging the overgrowth of weeds, clogging waterways. I remember walking on Dartmoor some years ago and frowning at this moorland stream, how clogged with weed it was. Then I looked up and saw that there were some sacks of fertiliser stored on the bare ground a few feet away, that were obviously leaking. The farmer was prosecuted by the Environment Agency - my walking companion, apart from my two loopy cocker spaniels, was a National Park Ranger and he had to report it.

 

However, it would equally be a mistake to assume that all organic fertilizer is pure and clean. Manure and compost can harbour some pretty unpleasant things.

[Ghogiel]

Can we find some studies on this?

Only studies that will tell you that both hormones and antibiotics are passed into your bloodstream if your food has it and probably about what it is supposed to be doing.

 

Don't think there are any long term studies on the effects of growth hormone on humans. Antibiotics have a lot of research done on them and basically every medical professional says they need to be used with more caution than they are because of the nature of bacteria itself and how it evolves.

 

saying microscopic levels is a misrepresentation, it's like all microscopic for a start. saying it's probably ok is speculative, especially when some of these things are basically poisons, or have a cumulative effect on the body. And without research, it's bit blind to draw any conclusion like it's probably safe.

 

BTW those growth hormones are banned in the EU. All beef or dairy products import from the US must not contain it. However if you aren't careful, you can still find it in things like chocolate and powered milk, that sort of thing. Even though it's banned. It's just a bit lax on enforcement.

Edited August 19, 2011 by Ghogiel

[Dan3345]

When I was growing up my Mom wouldn't let my sister and I eat or drink anything with growth hormones or what she called excess hormones. Said the reason was because it caused kids to go through puberty at age 8, or worse it could cause brain damage. Sounds like nonsense to me...

[draconix]

saying microscopic levels is a misrepresentation, it's like all microscopic for a start. saying it's probably ok is speculative, especially when some of these things are basically poisons, or have a cumulative effect on the body. And without research, it's bit blind to draw any conclusion like it's probably safe.

 

Don't take my words out of context. I asked about how much there was in meats and dairy, making it pretty clear that I don't know how much there is. I went on to explain that IF the levels are microscopic, then they are probably nothing to worry about is not baseless conjecture.

 

Dose is the single factor that determines lethality. Water for instance, perfectly "natural" (unless you count chemicals like Hydrogen and Oxygen unnatural), and is something like 90% of our bodies, but people can die from too much H2O consumption. Led and Mercury, while heavy metals known to cause brain damage, can all be found naturally in all of our bodies, and trace amounts do no harm. Similarly, growth hormone will not harm us if it's only found to be in our foods in trace amounts.

 

For additional proof of this, check out homeopathy's complete and utter ineffectiveness when compared to a placebo. It's all a matter of dose.

[Ghogiel]

Similarly, growth hormone will not harm us if it's only found to be in our foods in trace amounts.

My point is, you say this statement as a matter of fact, and I am saying is you need to provide appropriate information to back that claim up.