Should people eat only locally produced, organic food?

No

10 of 18

by Joshua Pantalleresco

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I love locally produced food. I'd have voted yes if I had seen locally produced food on its own. I truly think that organic should be a separate topic. There are huge differences between local and organic. There are many farmers and local producers who make goods to the highest of quality you can find anywhere, and that cannot be overstated. I buy my honey and milk locally. I avoid the supermarkets like the plague. I'm one of those guys that checks every label to see what exactly is in the food.

But because the word organic came in here, I had to say no.

In theory, it's a great concept. Organic foods are grown without pesticides and a lot of standard practices conducted by most farms. Organic foods are classified into three categories: 95%, 70%, and 65%. The percentages are how much of organic honey for example is just the honey. So if that honey is at 95%, it means that there is only 5% of any other kind of ingredient in there. If it's at 70%, then 30% of that same honey is based on other ingredients. It's a great concept.

According to what I just read in Wikipedia, there are studies that show that organic foods have a higher nutritional standard than normal farms. I agree. That said, does anyone ask themselves exactly what is organic? I have no dispute with the theory, but the practice makes me question the whole concept. Is organic really all it's cracked up to be?

People trust the word organic. Because to most people it means that there are no contaminates, no poisons in the food. It's as close as you can get to growing them from your own garden. Say the word, and people will think organic fruits, vegetables, rice and any food you can think of.

The reality? Just for fun, go to google and look up organic and put in any other word you like. I found organic hemp clothing, I found organic cat toys. Hell, I found organic boardshorts. Seriously, boardshorts? Not exactly what I think of with organic. At least, I don't think I'm supposed to.

Based on just twenty minutes of googling, I found organic can be anything. So if it's anything, is it really better for you? I'm reminded looking at organic and thinking of Kosher. Old timers will remember this one as Kosher products were considered the best on the market at one point, until the name had been used on so many things that the whole concept watered down.

But we're talking food here. So let's look at food. I mentioned soy and canola oil. Let's look at them. Are they really safe? Based on hundreds of FDA studies, and world researches, I have to conclude no.

Soy, organic or not, was never originally intended to be consumed, and wasn't until recent fermentation techniques in the twentieth century made soy consumable. It wasn't until vegetarians started eating it that soy got accepted as a health food. Lately it has been marketed as a wonder food and is usually one of the preservatives in practically everything you eat.

In truth, soy can cause pancreatic and thyroid cancers, is highly estrogenic and extremely dangerous. It is banned in Israel outright, and most european countries have banned it from baby formula and child products, as its effect on child growth is scary. In the far east, it's considered nothing more than a junk food.

Canola oil in actuality is quite harmless when you buy it from your supermarket. Once you heat it above 172 degrees fahrenheit however, it transforms into a monster. It can cause brain damage leading to strokes, seizures, tremors and damages teeth.

Both these products in spite of their side effects fall inside organic guidelines. Organic soy will set you on the road to cancer just like the soy you buy from the regular farmer who sprays it. Organic canola will give you that stroke just like regular canola. Organic doesn't unfortunately mean safe. If products like these pass the organic guidelines, then should we just eat organic? I cannot support the practice I have seen, because organic can be anything.

The real answer to finding safe food is to research what goes in your food yourself, whether it has an organic label or not, and make your own conclusions. Labels and marketing cannot replace attention to detail, especially when it comes to the food we eat.

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