Topic: Yet another organic report

[RSJK]

watching the news today I see that there is yet another report saying we are being conned into thinking we are buying organic produce, there was a food writer on there saying that a government spokes person should come out and acutely say what they regard as what organic should mean. Cannot say that I disagree with that statement. Another guy on there that used to work for Deffra said that he did not agree that pesticides were doing as much harm to what we are led to believe he said that alcohol does more damage to us than most pesticide residues in are food.  I do think that this whole thing about organic should be rectified.

[manicscousers]

when our peas and beans get pollinated by bees that have been on non organic blossom, is that still organic ?
we can only be as natural as we can..and eat well grown, fresh food with the satisfaction of knowing exactly how it was produced  :)

[RSJK]

I should say the answer to that question Manicscousers is no.

[manicscousers]

then how on earth is anything organic ?

[Blue Bird]

What really annoys me is the money that is wasted on all these reports -
really think it could be spent on better projects
Never really understood what Organic really meant anyway ???

[RSJK]

I think its what them that are selling you produce want you to think what it is

[Merry Tiller]

Never really understood what Organic really meant anyway

Well said, there's a lot of nonsense floating about these days, as far as I'm concerned any vegetable sold in the supermarkets that's been delivered by diesel engined transport & wrapped in polythene packaging has no right to be named "organic"

[RSJK]

Agree MT  also as an ex Market gardender who was forced to wash veg eg Parsnips and carrots cleaning agents were added to the water to get a better finish, and I am sure they are still being used nowadays

[Merry Tiller]

I wouldn't be at all surprised Richard

[okra]

Surely the point should be that eating something without man made chemicals added has to be better for us. The guy on the news was trying to say that the levels in our foods are so low we should not worry but what are the effects of all the cocktail of chemicals we eat and drink combined together in our bodies?

[louise stella]

Well that's why I want to grow my own - that way I know what i've used and wheres it's been etc!

The thing is "they" have to "assure" us thats it's safe to eat or they will have another scare on their hands - and anyway - whats the alternative!!   We have had the wool pulled over our eyes for decades - being told that chemicals cause no harm.  My dad as a boy used to spread DDT around by hand out of a bucket - it was hailed as the miracle dust that would help our crops to thrive/grow bigger/resist pests and diseases etc (this was wartime) - and I watched him die in agony from stomach cancer at the age of 49!

So I know who I am going to trust - thank you very much!

[okra]

I'm also, like you Stella, do not trust the so called experts. Its always makes me wonder who is paying the people who put out the stories. I only read in the papaer today that one of the oil giants is paying scientists to discredit the causes of global warming - they would of course have us believe it nothing to do with burning oil.

[Robert_Brenchley]

$10 000 a time, apparently, and unfortunately there are scientists who'll take it.

[okra]

Trouble is that such scientists give science a bad name and the general public are confused and do not know who to believe - which is probably what the paymasters are after

[kitten]

Well that's why I want to grow my own - that way I know what i've used and wheres it's been etc!

Exactly louise, that's why we're growing our own too - I've got no idea what effect all the chemicals have on my body, but common sense tells me that no chemicals must be preferable to chemicals.  We are aiming to be as organic/natural as possible, but will accept that this may not always be possible - however, the measures we may take on our lottie must be preferable to what's happened to supermarket produce?

Of course, if everybody who grew veggies used no chemicals, then the bees pollinating our beans etc wouldn't have been on other plants containing chems (as mentioned by the manicscousers) and we wouldn't have to worry about that. x

[mokanoo]

It's a tricky topic. Should supermarkets really be able to label them organic if they still use centralised warehouses and lorry miles to distribute them? Regarding the pesticide and chemical issue, it's not just the food that is of concern here but also the environment in which it's grown. Less chemicals means less harm to the land where they are grown and less chemicals going into our water supply. Organic growers have a greater bio-diversity on their land than non-organic producers. There is less waste in that there is no need for packaging used with chemical producers.

I don't think the issue is all about the actual food and so-called taste. In fact foods themselves emmit there own pesticides to ward off disease and pests. I just think that the term organic should really be taken into context concerning the whole lifecycle of foods and environmental concerns. This is one of the main reasons why i've got an allotment and grow veg in my back garden. If it wasn't then I would just put my feet up and go to the supermarket each week.