Organic Food Overhyped

“Grown totally organic, or some such hyperbole is a manifestation of ignorance, of linguistic slovenliness or of deliberate imprecision. How does one grow any plant without inorganic components: fertilizers, trace metal constituents and the like? Furthermore, let those who inevitably equate synthetic organic chemicals with toxicity remember some of the most powerful and lethal poisons are naturally occurring 'organic' substances,” notes Carl Djerassi, co-inventor of the pill and former professor at Stanford University. ¹

The organic industry is built upon a gigantic lie

The industry doesn't just advertise how good, pure, and natural it is, but also how bad, dirty and unnatural non-organic food is supposed to be by comparison. Yet organic food in America tests positive for synthetic pesticides a shocking 4 times out of 10, and food-borne illnesses caused by organic food occur at double the rate for conventional food, reports Mischa Popoff. ² The majority of American believe that organic foods are healthier than food grown using conventional methods. Two systematic reviews turned up no evidence that organic foods are more nutritious or lead to better health-related outcomes for consumers. ³ A landmark study published in 2012 in the Annals of Internal Medicine by researchers at Stanford University's Center for Health Policy aggregated and analyzed data from 237 studies to determine whether organic foods are safer or healthier than non-organic foods. They concluded that fruits and vegetables that met the criteria for 'organic' were on average no more nutritious than their far cheaper conventional counterparts, nor were those foods less likely to be contaminated by pathogenic bacteria. ⁴ A report on how the US Department of Agriculture actually markets the organic label without any standard of certification doesn't do any field testing and, through its bureaucracy grew exponentially during the Obama administration, is driving up imports from China, Turkey, and other countries with disastrous safety records. Up to 80 percent of food labeled 'organic' in American stores is imported. This increase has coincided with incidents of organic food-borne illness. ⁵ The organic industry is built upon a gigantic lie: that is, the notion that 'natural' farming methods are safer and healthier while 'unnatural' methods are dangerous. Worse, the organic industry perpetuates a myth that it does not use pesticides when it absolutely does. It should surprise no one, therefore, that such a deceptive industry would attract its fair share of hucksters.

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USDA study of 571 fruit and vegetable samples bearing the organic seal found that 43 percent had detectable residues of prohibited pesticides

An example is three farmers in Nebraska who plead guilty to a food fraud scheme in which they were selling conventionally grown corn and soybeans as organic. They pulled off this scheme from 2010 to 2017 and made nearly $11 million in the process.⁶ The only difference with organic pesticides is that they're 'natural' instead of 'synthetic.' At face value, the labels make it sound like the products they describe are worlds apart, but they aren't. A pesticide, whether it's natural or not, is a chemical with the purpose of killing insects or warding off animals, or destroying weeds, or mitigating any other kind of pest. Sadly, however, natural pesticides aren't as effective, so organic farmers actually end up using more of them. ⁷ Moreover, we actually know less about the effects of 'natural' pesticides. Conventional 'synthetic' pesticides are highly regulated and have been for some time. We know that any remaining pesticide residues on both conventional and organic produce aren't harmful to consumers. But, writes agricultural technologist Steve Savage, “We still have no real data about the most likely pesticide residues that occur on organic crops and we are unlikely to get any.” ⁸ A USDA study of 571 fruit and vegetable samples bearing the organic seal found that 43 percent had detectable residues of prohibited pesticides. That is, either they were mislabeled conventional products (commanding an inflated price) or there was cheating by organic farmers. ⁹

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"Organic food is rich people spending their extra cash to feel good"

A report by the Canadian government found that almost 50 percent of organic food has residue from synthetic pesticides. One official with the Organic Trade Association told CBC News that this level of contamination likely indicates deliberate use of synthetic pesticides by some organic farmers. ¹⁰ The bottom line in the pesticide argument for buying organic is not compelling in a modern time-frame. If someone wants to spend the extra money for organic, that is their choice. Bjorn Lomborg sums this up well, “Essentially, organic food is rich people spending their extra cash to feel good. While that is just as valid as spending it on holidays, we should resist any implied moral superiority.” ¹¹

References

1. Carl Djerassi, The Pill, Pygmy Chimps and Degas Horse, (New York, Basic Books, 1992), 76
2. Mischa Popoff, “The organic bureaucracy fails- naturally,” capitalresearch.org, July 27, 2017
3. Ross Pomeroy, “The biggest myth about organic farming,” realclearscience.com, June 5, 2014
4. Michelle Brandt, “Little evidence of health benefits from organic foods, study finds,” med.stanford.edu, September 3, 2012
5. WND staff, “13 facts about 'organic' foods that will shock you,' wnd.com, July 30, 2017
6. Alex Berezow, “Fraud: farmers caught selling conventional crops as organic,” acsh.org, October 12, 2018
7. Christine A. Bahlai et al, “Choosing organic pesticides over synthetic pesticides may not effectively mitigate environmental risk in soybeans,” journal.plos.org, June 22, 2010
8. Steve Savage, “Pesticide residues on organic: what do we know?”, science20.com, December 6, 2012
9. “2010-2011 pilot study: pesticide residue testing of organic produce,” ams.usda.gov, November 2012
10. Timothy Caulfield, Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?, (Boston, Beacon Press, 2015)
11. Bjorn Lomborg, “Think organic food is better for you, animals and the planet? Think again.”, The Telegraph, June 12, 2016