So I came across this gem on good old Facebook the other day, and it hit my soap box button. I should really just utilize this lovely page I have made when I come across articles I feel the need to comment on - but for some reason I don't . I've back-dated this post as I had others to get on here as well. My response is below.
Warning: shortish rant ahead. I will try to keep it PG.
At the farm we don't use chemicals. However we do use things like diatomaceous earth to get the cabbage butterfly under control, we have used garlic spray to get rid of mosquitos and aphids; bugs, fungus, diseases, and assorted creepy crawlies are in the garden. It's called NATURE. Who are we to use some kill-all chemical? Why would we want to eat something that has been blasted with said chemical??
We don't call ourselves organic - we can't. And moreover, I don't think we want to. It is marketing, and I have a love-hate relationship with it, (clearly I'm not doing it correctly.) Why has marketing taken over the simple joy of pulling a "baby" carrot from the ground, wiping off the dirt and eating it, into a multi-million (billion?) dollar business of selling a machine shaped piece of produce? I don't know how that "carrot" was grown, I don't know who grew it - but I had better eat it as part of my 5-10 daily.
There are a lot of buzz words being used now to market this gardening/farming/eating business: organic, permaculture, bioculture, biodiversity....the list goes on and new words are added all the time. Don't they basically all mean the same thing? (And don't get me wrong, I'm not against the concept of biodiverse farming practices or permaculture - but the bigger point is missing here....)
If you are worried about what you put in your body - and you probably should be; if you are going to spout off about shopping at "organic markets" (and I won't judge you for it, as long as you don't complain to me how expensive it is to shop there), are you buying REAL food? Does your cart contain vegetables, fruit, meat, flour, eggs, sugar, and milk - or - does it contain a plethora of boxed and pre-packaged "convenience" foods?
Let's get back to the basics people, if it matters to you, then make the effort to support your local farmers, your local butchers, your local market gardens - hell, here's an idea - grow your own veggies! Eat in season, if you can't, know where it is coming from, (some countries don't have the same laws about chemicals as we do). Cook! Families didn't survive the rationing of two World Wars and the Great Depression and several thousands of years before that by having a pantry stocked with Chef Boyardee and Kraft Dinner and a freezer full of Lean Cuisines. They grew gardens and canned the excess for winter, they cooked, they baked, foraged, and hunted - and I think on a whole, society was likely healthier than they are now. Educate yourself! If you do end up occasionally buying something that is pre-made know how to read the label and don't fall for "sneaky" marketing. Gummy bears may be 100% fat free but they still aren't good for you. Moderate! Sure eating steak from the local farmer is good, eating nothing but said local steak every day of the year, maybe not so good; maybe throw some chicken and veggies in there once in a while to switch things up. And please, please, please USE SOME COMMON SENSE! Eating food all labelled as "organic" does not make you a better, or healthier person than someone who eats just plain old carrots from the farm which were lovingly raised without chemicals by Farmer Bert. Spending extra money on the tiny jar of honey labelled organic does not mean that those little bees collected pollen from only fields grown as "organic". There is no bee force field keeping them on "organic" land and pollinating only "organic flowers". Bees fly wherever, pollinating whatever - and you know what? It most certainly isn't all "organic".
Deep breath.
Kind of an abrupt ending for my rant - but what more can I say. We, as a society, need to stop being swayed by marketing labels and start using our brains. Does it matter if you spend the extra money on "organic" vegetables over buying carrots from the farmers' market or from the grocery store? Nope, it doesn't, not even one little bit.
Do you know what really matters? Eating your vegetables.
-M
And my favourite comment from this rant on Facebook:
"My favourite though is people that buy organic beer and wine. I mean, really? Does the perceived fact that you're avoiding chemicals completely make you blind to the fact that you are ingesting a poison? People need to quit trying to fool themselves. The alcohol in your drink is worse for you than any residual pesticides that may (not likely) be present after all that processing."
At the farm we don't use chemicals. However we do use things like diatomaceous earth to get the cabbage butterfly under control, we have used garlic spray to get rid of mosquitos and aphids; bugs, fungus, diseases, and assorted creepy crawlies are in the garden. It's called NATURE. Who are we to use some kill-all chemical? Why would we want to eat something that has been blasted with said chemical??
We don't call ourselves organic - we can't. And moreover, I don't think we want to. It is marketing, and I have a love-hate relationship with it, (clearly I'm not doing it correctly.) Why has marketing taken over the simple joy of pulling a "baby" carrot from the ground, wiping off the dirt and eating it, into a multi-million (billion?) dollar business of selling a machine shaped piece of produce? I don't know how that "carrot" was grown, I don't know who grew it - but I had better eat it as part of my 5-10 daily.
There are a lot of buzz words being used now to market this gardening/farming/eating business: organic, permaculture, bioculture, biodiversity....the list goes on and new words are added all the time. Don't they basically all mean the same thing? (And don't get me wrong, I'm not against the concept of biodiverse farming practices or permaculture - but the bigger point is missing here....)
If you are worried about what you put in your body - and you probably should be; if you are going to spout off about shopping at "organic markets" (and I won't judge you for it, as long as you don't complain to me how expensive it is to shop there), are you buying REAL food? Does your cart contain vegetables, fruit, meat, flour, eggs, sugar, and milk - or - does it contain a plethora of boxed and pre-packaged "convenience" foods?
Let's get back to the basics people, if it matters to you, then make the effort to support your local farmers, your local butchers, your local market gardens - hell, here's an idea - grow your own veggies! Eat in season, if you can't, know where it is coming from, (some countries don't have the same laws about chemicals as we do). Cook! Families didn't survive the rationing of two World Wars and the Great Depression and several thousands of years before that by having a pantry stocked with Chef Boyardee and Kraft Dinner and a freezer full of Lean Cuisines. They grew gardens and canned the excess for winter, they cooked, they baked, foraged, and hunted - and I think on a whole, society was likely healthier than they are now. Educate yourself! If you do end up occasionally buying something that is pre-made know how to read the label and don't fall for "sneaky" marketing. Gummy bears may be 100% fat free but they still aren't good for you. Moderate! Sure eating steak from the local farmer is good, eating nothing but said local steak every day of the year, maybe not so good; maybe throw some chicken and veggies in there once in a while to switch things up. And please, please, please USE SOME COMMON SENSE! Eating food all labelled as "organic" does not make you a better, or healthier person than someone who eats just plain old carrots from the farm which were lovingly raised without chemicals by Farmer Bert. Spending extra money on the tiny jar of honey labelled organic does not mean that those little bees collected pollen from only fields grown as "organic". There is no bee force field keeping them on "organic" land and pollinating only "organic flowers". Bees fly wherever, pollinating whatever - and you know what? It most certainly isn't all "organic".
Deep breath.
Kind of an abrupt ending for my rant - but what more can I say. We, as a society, need to stop being swayed by marketing labels and start using our brains. Does it matter if you spend the extra money on "organic" vegetables over buying carrots from the farmers' market or from the grocery store? Nope, it doesn't, not even one little bit.
Do you know what really matters? Eating your vegetables.
-M
And my favourite comment from this rant on Facebook:
"My favourite though is people that buy organic beer and wine. I mean, really? Does the perceived fact that you're avoiding chemicals completely make you blind to the fact that you are ingesting a poison? People need to quit trying to fool themselves. The alcohol in your drink is worse for you than any residual pesticides that may (not likely) be present after all that processing."
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