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Organic Food

Organic Food. A simple answer to a complex problem ?. New York Times Annual Issue. Organic Food, should you join The rebellion ?. New York Times Advertisement: Why buy organic?. Top 10 reasons to buy organic www.vegan recipes.com.

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Organic Food

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  1. Organic Food A simple answer to a complex problem?

  2. New York Times Annual Issue Organic Food, should you join The rebellion ?

  3. New York Times Advertisement: Why buy organic?

  4. Top 10 reasons to buy organic www.vegan recipes.com 1.) Protect future generations From what? chronic vs genetic exposure, toxin v mutagen 2.) Prevent soil erosion –tilvs no til agriculture, alluvial plains 3.) Protect water quality – fertilizer run off in conventional ag. vs biotech vs lawns (“dead” ponds) 4.) Save energy – indeed, 12 % of our fossil fuel goes to agriculture. Also transportation and farm 5.) Keep chemicals off your plate “fear of unknown” – pesticide issue – prevalence vs exposure, NAS: might cause additional 1.4 million cases cancer (~0.5% of pop.)

  5. More reasons: 6.) Protect farms worker health“old issue” in the U.S. ( 1 million vs 848) Effect on foreign workers? Their economies? 7.) Help small farmers – largest seller of “organic”? “Farm market v Store” 8.) Support a true economy “subsidies” the car – the tragedy of the commons 9.) Promote biodiversity – maybe, but wouldn’t organic farmers want high yield crops? 10.) Better quality – compared to what?

  6. Better quality (?) Cantaloupe recall – “local” Jensen Farms, 300,000 cases, $4.5 million (Whole Foods has 7 hour rule.) • Buyer (WalMart, Cosco) dictates type of audit, (listeria?). tension between Cheap Local Safe; shortages? • In this case, not a horrible facility, but not “Best Practices” either Egg recall – Larry Schultz Organic Farm

  7. Michael Pollan – The Omnivore’s Dilemma- His arguments against organic • Sells by prosaic vision – milk from cows living in a naturally planted family farm. ‘Whole Foods sells authentic experiences where one returns to the utopian past while retaining positive aspects of modern life.’ • Organic food is industrialized. Two corporate growers account for 80% of organic lettuce in U.S. Big retailers can’t deal with small farms. • Born as response to “corporate” has become corporate. • $11 billion industry. • (Some) organic milk is industrial -comes from cows that never see grass, confined, machine milked, ultrapasteurized in high tech packaging to extend shelf life.

  8. Better Nutrition?

  9. More reasons: 11. Animal welfare – sometimes yes, sometimes no. 12. Sense of control sometimes yes, sometimes no. 13. Sense of community especially local farms Yes, that’s more than “Top Ten”

  10. “The chicken factory” (youtube)(some students may find this clip disturbing) the chicken factory

  11. Cage Free: a look at a hen’s life on the Country Hen farm (New York Times)

  12. Country Hen farm - Details • 18 million eggs a year, 67,000 hens. • A hen will lay an egg every 26 hours • One hen will eat a quarter pound of food a day. • Country hen produces 74 tons of • food/wk • 6600 Rhode Island Red per barn • “autonest” enclosures

  13. “Free range” chickens

  14. The Organic Food Production Act of 1990 • Went into effect 2002. • Governs the growth process, not the product. (contrast with FDA • and GEMs). • Defines “Organically Grown,” NOT attributes of the food. • (analogy to Kosher). • No evidence of superior microbial safety or nutrition

  15. Like Kosher, “Organic” governs the process, not the product.

  16. The Law for Organic • No GMO • No irradiation • No synthetic feeds, hormones, pesticides, other substances Unless on list! • No plastic pellets • No animal byproducts (Non issue since 1997) • No antibiotics • No shit • Crops must abide for three years, poultry day 2, cattle 3rd trimester.

  17. The “Allowed” List (controversy) Contains: - synthetic pesticides: strychnine - chemicals: alcohols, chlorine materials (Calcium or sodium hypochlorite), chlorine dioxide, hydrogen peroxide, boric acid, sulfates, sodium silicate, etc - antibiotics: streptomycin, terramycin and tetracycline (to control fire blight in apples)

  18. Organic Labeling 1.) “100% Organic” Means all the ingredients are organic. The USDA logo can be used on the package 4.) Ingredient Panel only Means less than 70% of the ingredients are organic. The word “organic” can only be used in the ingredient panel. 2.) “Organic” Means 95% of the ingredients are organic. The USDA logo can be used on the package 3.) “Made with organic” More than 70% but less than 95% of the ingredients are organic. The USDA logo cannot be used on the package

  19. Organic Labeling

  20. Demand for organic food exceeds supply The Associated Press Home News Tribune July 7, 2006 • “Clif Bar needed 85,000 lbs of organic almonds but nation’s crop was spoken for.” • “America’s appetite for organic food is so strong that supply can’t keep up with demand” • “Growth in sales of organic food has been 15% to 21% each year, compared with 2% to 4% for total food sales • “Wal-mart Stores Inc. will double its organic offerings”

  21. Definition of “natural”Definition of “local”Definition of “fresh”Food companies shift to “Natural”

  22. Introduction of new products

  23. FDA responds to Judicial request, September 2010 • Rule making needs to be transparent and therefore takes a long time. • Not a priority. • Consumers should read the label.

  24. Nature’s Perfect Food: An Argument from Michael Potter (www.amberwaves.org) “Today, we face a more permanent adulteration of out food” 1.) “…(The) enormous burden on companies like Eden Foods to acquire non genetically polluted organic food, is the most serious threat to the freedom of humanity from corporate exploitation.” The most serious threat to freedom? Diamond mines, The civil War, “Banana Republics,” economic oppression in developing countries. 2.) “For a frightening look at the results of man introducing designed-for-profit DNA into the environment, one need only look at the deplorable condition of the salmon species and the rapid disappearance of all wild salmon.” dams 3.) “Genetic science itself is not bad. It has the potential for creating a new silver bullet for medicines of value. Tampering with the DNA of our food supply is a another thing?and the overwhelming majority of the people on Earth do not want it done.” 4.) “For nature to repair this requires thousands of year; but, we are “the salt of the Earth” and the magic of man is that we can repair this damage using organic techniques in three to five years” Persistent pesticides persist.

  25. So, figure it out for yourself! I am not “anti-organic. I support local organic producers because they: • help local economy. • preserve local farms. • provide a sense of control. • provide connection to the land. • provide opportunity for community.

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