The Musts and Myths of Organic and Locally Grown

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1. Posted by behtalbot on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 3:39 am PDT

Great article! It is unfortunate that we are now eating fruits and vegs from countries using pesticides and herbicides that were banned in the US decades ago. Beware the haricot verts from Central & S.A.
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2. Posted by jaynesld on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:00 am PDT

Is Organic Milk better for you than the Milk you guy in the grocery store?
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3. Posted by cocoab6 on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:02 am PDT

I'm not sure exactly why these organic products are soooo expensive, but until they are reasonably priced, I will be eating the same nonorganic foods that I have been eating my entire life, pesticides and all.
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4. Posted by Michael B on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:10 am PDT

Very good information. Well written and researched.
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5. Posted by MIke Burns on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:10 am PDT

Eat Local, Buy Local, It Fresher, Tastes Better. I grow local to my "food shed" and it is amazing the difference in taste - Try it! Mike Burns - Burns Best Farm Owner.
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6. Posted by Andraea Jean Bruno Montealegre on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:11 am PDT

I will not drink anything other than organic milk. It is the one thing I am religious about! The taste is so much diffferent from milk with hormones. Also, milk from cows that are given hormones have small amounts of blood and puss in it because the hormones often cause overproduction of milk and infection!!
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7. Posted by luchismtz on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:20 am PDT

The difference between organic and nonorganic is PESTICIDES,right? But aren't they used for a reason? That means that organic food have bacteria, doesn't it? So what's better? Eating what we've been eating our whole lives or eating something with a lot of bacteria???
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8. Posted by Flores on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:26 am PDT

Whether or not beef is organic shouldn't affect your exposure to mad cow as it's been illegal to feed anything of animal origin to cattle, which is how cows get it. Just a thought.
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9. Posted by IR on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:29 am PDT

You may believe that organic is better for you but there is no scientifc basis for that statement. Not saying organic is fake, but atleast we have the choice and that says a lot. There is so much about agriculture that most don't understand. It would surprise most people to actually go through the process(es) of planting to harvesting, or birth to the processing of animals. It isn't only hard work it is very time consuming.
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10. Posted by guachitorico on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:30 am PDT

Mad Cow Disease is caused by Prions (Protiens in the cow feed), not toxins. The author needs to get her facts straight prior to publishing.
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11. Posted by cbrat1554 on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:39 am PDT

While organic might be better for you in terms of pesticides, etc., in the long run, organic foods are just way too out of the price range of the average family. Would I like to feed my teenagers organic fruits, vegetables, milk, etc.? Sure, but at the rate they go through food, I have no choice but to buy non-organic if I'm to even hope of having any money left in savings for sending them to college.
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12. Posted by katerlee2 on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:41 am PDT

Don't buy into the "organic hype". I live in a community with a lot of soft fruit and ground crops. There are a number of organic farms right beside non organic ones. The pesticides are in the soil, air and the water table. I have seen them spraying and it floats over to the organic farms. Believe it is not worth the price just wash you fruit and veggies better. Save your money
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13. Posted by Sami on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:45 am PDT

Um pesticides do not kill bacteria...it kills bugs. Industrial Farmers are not your mom and pop farmers 10 miles out of town. The people that are out picking the lettuce and corn from their feilds are not having their produce sold at large grocery chains. Their veg.'s are what ends up at Farmers Market. Indurstrial Farms are not working that hard. govegdotcom...watch meet your meat...you'll see
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14. Posted by cefwys on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:46 am PDT

For cocoab6; organic is more expensive because growing without pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers reduces the amount of fruits and veggies that the land can support and survive pests. Therefore the organic farmer has to charge more to make it profittable for him to give you foods that taste better and won't pump you full of chemicals and toxins. For luchismtz; No, organic foods are covered in no more bacteria than non-organics, that depends on whether or not you wash your foods and clean your kitchen. So if you have a clean food habits you shouldn't have a problem eh? That e.coli outbreak a few months ago was not organic spinach. And have you compared the ingedients list of an organic product to just your typical of the shelf? Notice that the organic list is half the length and you can pronounce everything without having to sound out the words and you know what all the ingedients are? Tell me how just seeing that doesn't make you feel better and safer about organic food?
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15. Posted by Randy K on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:48 am PDT

For previous poster, pesticides kill bugs that eat the crops, not bacteria.
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16. Posted by miamidaydream on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:53 am PDT

The first part is a little confusing. When she is talking about the myths like you don't need to worry about bananas being organic then explains why because they don't carry pesticides. Is she saying that the myth is u shouldn't worry about bananas being organic is false because they don't carry pestides? Her explaining of the musts and myths and then the why is confusing. Almostlike they are saying this is a myth but then the why is just like the myth.
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17. Posted by gilliegrrrl on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:53 am PDT

I just wanted to make the comment that yes, Mad Cow disease is technically caused by a toxin, but not by a chemical- it's caused by a protein called a prion. So just because the animal you're eating hasn't been exposed to pesticides and such doesn't mean you're safe from Mad Cow. To avoid Mad Cow, the animal must have been fed a completely vegetarian diet with no animal byproducts added-it's the animal byproducts such as blood meal and bone meal that spread BSE.
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18. Posted by kapitan_kangaroo on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:57 am PDT

As a food scientist (Kansas State '04) I have to laugh at this so-called "un-biased" attempt at informing people about organic vs. non-organic. I would like to know what "toxins" she is referring to in beef and other food products. I grew up on a beef farm in KS and even though we were not certified organic, everything that we grew was organic. Money has to change hands for things to be certified organic, and I can assure you that system is being abused. Ingredients from 3rd world countries are being certified organic just as long as the bribe is right. If you want to buy organic go ahead, just don't tell everyone else that their veggies are going to kill them.
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19. Posted by myc8e on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:59 am PDT

Organic has more bacteria because they put organic fertilizer on the crops (pooh) which has a lot of bacteria (and other stuff) in it, and more people die from eating organic food as a result. If you wash it good, you shouldn't die, but if you wash regular produce well, you shouldn't have residue either.
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20. Posted by t p on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:14 am PDT

Someone mentioned "pesticides" and "bacteria" in their post and these two terms have nothing to do with one another. Farmers use pesticides to get rid of "pests" i.e. kill pests, what they spray on the food kills living things, and then we ingest it (YUM)!!! and typically the reason commercial farmers use pesticides is to increase crop yield to make more money. Bacteria is completely different, and has nothing to do with it (pesticides) both organic and non organic fruits and veggies can become contaminated with e. coli, salmonella etc. the only difference is that the rigorous standards that organic farms and products are held to helps minimize the incidence of contamination, another argument for local produce, time spent packaging and travelling introduces such contaminents... Also the cost of organic is higher yes, but as we as a society demand more the cost will inevitably go down, as competition rises between producers. And as for cross contamination between organic and non-organic farms, I had never even heard of this issue, but it is serious and should be looked into!!
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21. Posted by christena_griffin on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:15 am PDT

i agree buying organic are expensive..perhaps if i narrowed down list of produce that are mostly contaminated: green bell peppers, peaches, spinach, strawberries, pears, cucumbers, celery, cherries, apples, cantaloupe, apricots, green beans, and grapes. your liver will be grateful.
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22. Posted by Megan on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:16 am PDT

Very interesting!
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23. Posted by DebbieDay on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:16 am PDT

"7. Posted by luchismtz on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 8:20 am PDT The difference between organic and nonorganic is PESTICIDES,right? But aren't they used for a reason? That means that organic food have bacteria, doesn't it? So what's better? Eating what we've been eating our whole lives or eating something with a lot of bacteria???..." To answer your questions...the pesticides are to ward off damage from bugs, in doing away with 'bacteria' at all cost by chemical means, we also destroy the BENEFICIAL bacteria normally found in soil, foods and so on, this is a reason for increased immune diseases!
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24. Posted by KJ on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:20 am PDT

go to www.hydrofreshfarms.com for the best way to grow organic hydroponic veg.
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25. Posted by sugarcookie on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:21 am PDT

luchismtz- Pesticides are ment to kill BUGS, not bacteria. Bacteria is naturally in foods like milk; thats why is pasturized. And while all the pesticides might be in the soil and in the water table, its not in the concentration that spraying them directly onto plants! We don't really even know what long term affects pesticides really have on people. We do know that hormones fed to cows are affecting children (puberty early, obeseity etc.). So until it's clear what all the hormones and pesticides are doing exactly to our bodies, I'll take the organic stuff!
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26. Posted by martiusp1 on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:28 am PDT

I agree with sugarcookie!
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27. Posted by Tara M on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:32 am PDT

If you hate buying food that goes directly into billion-dollar companies pockets and who pay their farmers very low wages to keep prices low, then start buying from local farmers and businesses. You will be helping the local community, as opposed to men like J.R. Simplot who owns more land than the state of Delaware and has put potato farmers in a situation where they either sell low, or find a new job. I don't think it's a safe idea for us to continue to buy and essentially fund large corporations that eventually destroy small businesses. They also tend to have the most cruel environments in which animals are raised and farmed. Do some research, you'll see.
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28. Posted by brainchylde420 on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:39 am PDT

I think a lot of people here are missing the point of "organic." So many comments are telling you that things are not "really" organic or "it's just a way to charge more. Organice food are getting less and less expensive and the movement--if people really jump on--will take years to perfect and eventually, all food can get back to organically grown. Saying "don't believe the hype" is like saying "we can't do anything about climate change, so why try." All great revolutions start with grassroots movements. Growing all organic foods is just another way to ensure a healthy, long-lasting planet.
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29. Posted by briankim7777 on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:42 am PDT

Another stupid article. Most pesticides do not get into foods....it is highly rare. Just plain stupid
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30. Posted by YADA? on Thu, Jun 28, 2007, 9:49 am PDT

IN THE END, WE REALLY DONT KNO THE FULL EFFECTS OF THESE CHEMICALS ON THE FOOD, ORGANIC OR NOT.. WE NUKE OUR FOOD AND POP SYNTHETIC PILLS THE DOC'S GIVE US, YET WE'RE PICKY ABOUT ORGANIC OR NOT?!? IF SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE FOOD YOU EAT, YOU WONT KNO UNTIL SOMEONES ALREADY EATEN IT AND HAD SOME PROBLEMS, AND REPORTED IT.. LIKE ECOLI SCARES.. ITS ONLY FOUND ONCE ITS TOO LATE AND ON THE SHELVES ALREADY..
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