Agree w/ many of the PPs.
It reminds me of when people will say "organic bananas are a waste of money because bananas aren't high on the (dirty dozen) list of pesticide-containing fruits." Well, it depends on your goals and why you eat organically. The spraying of fungicides, pesticides, etc. in the countries that grow bananas has been linked to serious birth defects in children born to workers exposed, etc. So yeah, upgrading from 59 or 69 cent a pound conventional bananas to 79 or 89 cents a pound for organic might be something "worth it" to someone out there. I get that not everyone can do that or chooses to do that, but it doesn't make someone else's decision a "waste of money."
Ditto things like antibiotic use in animal feed. Even if you aren't concerned about the health effects on an individual, or don't believe those levels are harmful to consume, perhaps you *are* concerned about antibiotic resistance. The quantities of antibiotics used in raising livestock in this country are enormous, and it is well documented that this is a major contributor to drug-resistant pathogens. So someone might say it is a "waste of money" because they don't think consuming animals raised with antibiotics is unhealthful for them as an individual, but the 2nd person may feel it is important because they are uncomfortable with the ethics of heavy antibiotic use in livestock, and how it contributes to drug resistance.
I haven't read the actual study yet; I only had time to catch a bit of it on NPR. I did not hear if they teased out small farm practices vs. big agra "organics" because that's another point that I think is important. Practices at some small organic farms (or biodynamic farms) are likely very different from those used by big agricultural companies that are producing "organic" produce. The nutrient content when you are buying from your local farmer who picked the food 2-3 days ago vs. buying Earthbound farms from Walmart might mean different levels of nutrients remaining in the food depending on how long ago it was picked, how far it was trucked, etc.
We do a lot of organics, but I have never been hung up on the specific label. I'm more concerned with overall practices (we have a local farm that raises grassfed, pastured animals not labeled "organic"vs. "organic" animals that are heavily grain fed , for example). Many in the holistic/whole foods community have lamented the changes that have come with the "organic" labeling, and how difficult it is for a small farmer to obtain that certification even if they are using organic practices. Big agra lobbied heavily for their own wording to allow them to grow and be involved in the "organic" market.
People have so many different goals for why they might eat organics, etc. that it is silly IMO to try to decide whether they are "worth" the cost...one person looks at those organic bananas and says totally not worth it, they aren't a dirty dozen item. The next person things a 10 or 20 cent per pound premium is well worth it to avoid exposing banana workers to so many chemicals.
Last edited by brittone2; 09-04-2012 at 04:47 PM.
Mama to DS-2004
and a new addition-ds born march 2010