Tuesday 22 June 2010

ORGANIC VERSUS NON-ORGANIC from Sue


Organic food is/isn't healthier. The debate will probably rattle on forever, depending on which side the so-called 'experts' are on and who's funding them. In other words who has which vested interests in declaring themselves to be pro or anti. Britain's FSA (Foods Standards Association) may conclude that organic is no more nutritious than conventionally-produced food but, as pointed out by the Soil Association and a whole host of organic farmers and eco-orgs, two facts are inescapable:
1) Organic doesn't use chemical pesticides and fertilizers - only the most ignorant would say plants doused in toxins are okay to eat. Some of these products are so toxic those who spray them have to wear protective clothing. Wow!
2) Plants don't just pop up happily any old where, they rely on a complex eco-system. Keen gardeners will tell us that a plant is only as good as the soil it grows in (with the odd exception, of course). So, if the insects, funghi, worms, microbes, bacteria, minerals etc have been driven out of the soil by pesticides, then the plant is going to be nutritionally depleted. Stands to reason.

For anyone interested in the processes our food goes through before it reaches our table, I recommend Michael Pollan's highly readable and fascinating book 'The Omnivore's Dilemma'. Here's the link. It is about the American food industry but a good deal of it is reflected by what's going on in Europe, which, in the case of industrial food, is graphically portrayed in Nicholas Geyrhalter's disturbing film 'Notre Pain Quotidien'.

1 comment:

  1. Organic is always the best. Thanks for sharing, Chin MW, http://www.ycglobalent.com

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