The first comprehensive study of the environmental impact of food production found there was "insufficient evidence" to say organic produce has fewer ecological side-effects than other farming methods.
The 200-page document will reignite the debate surrounding Britain's £1.6bn organic food industry which experienced a 30 per cent growth in sales last year.
David Miliband, the Environment Secretary, drew a furious response from growers last month when he suggested organic food was a "lifestyle choice" with no conclusive evidence it was nutritionally superior.
Sir David King, the Government's chief scientist, also told The Independent he agreed that organic food was no safer than chemically-treated food.
Shh! Don't tell my husband this or I'll never get him to eat the bison. ;)
Sharon, you knew I wouldn't be able to resist that bison comment, didn't you?? :~)
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I think the point of organics isn't so much what you get as what you DON'T get - they might be the same nutritionally, but avoiding the neurotoxin (or whatever!) on the organic vegetable makes it worth it to me.
I grew up in a ranching/farming community and always found it interesting that the people who raised beef cattle always kept out a few for themselves that they did not inject with antibiotics, hormones, etc. And this was back before organics were even a blip on the radar. Rather telling, isn't it!
BTW, have you found a CSA yet? I just got a newsletter from mine and I am so excited for May to get here so I can start getting my veggies!
I knew you'd have to say something about the bison! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the point of organics is what you aren't ingesting, versus whether it is actually better nutritionally. You are correct about the beef farmers, too. They do not want those hormones in their food.
I contacted a co-op here, but haven't heard anything yet. I think I'll check their website to see if there's anything new.
I find all of these different studies with their "insufficient evidence" to be kind of discouraging - they never take all the factors into account. For instance, raising animals organically might take more energy, but if the animals are treated more humanely and have a better life, I think that is a worthwhile tradeoff. Nothing is perfect, and I wish more studies would celebrate the little changes we are trying to make!
ReplyDeleteDo you read Domino magazine? I got their latest issue today and there are some really interesting articles about organic foods and gardening. I haven't had a chance to check it out in-depth yet but it looks to be very inspiring!
Too bad we don't live closer to one another, Sharon. We could bicker about politics over fair trade coffee and organic pastries!
The problem I've noticed with a lot of these studies is that there is a zero-sum gain involved. After reading the Omnivore's Dilemma, though, I realized that there are choices we all make and they aren't always the most cost efficient. Sometimes we choose the cost-effective one because we can't afford to do anything else, but the person who is willing to spend $13 on a loaf of bread is doing it for other reasons, usually just that they like that bread better. I see nothing wrong with making those sorts of choices.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wish we lived closer, too. I don't have anybody locally to knock this stuff around with. *sniff* It would be fun, though. :)
Where are you finding $13 loafs of bread? The yuppie food shops around here don't charge *that* much ....
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