100% Organic Farming Not Realistic?

According to an article by the Economist, they argue that organic/local farming is only useful in some circumstances. On the argument of the energy efficiency of organic farming the article has this interesting snippet -

"What of the claim that organic farming is more energy-efficient? Lord Melchett points out for example that the artificial fertiliser used in conventional farming is made using natural gas, which is “completely unsustainable”. But Anthony Trewavas, a biochemist at the University of Edinburgh, counters that organic farming actually requires more energy per tonne of food produced, because yields are lower and weeds are kept at bay by ploughing. And Mr Pollan notes that only one-fifth of the energy associated with food production across the whole food chain is consumed on the farm: the rest goes on transport and processing.

The most environmentally benign form of agriculture appears to be “no till” farming, which involves little or no ploughing and relies on cover crops and carefully applied herbicides to control weeds. This makes it hard to combine with organic methods (though some researchers are trying). Too rigid an insistence on organic farming's somewhat arbitrary rules, then—copper, a heavy metal, can be used as an organic fungicide because it is traditional—can actually hinder the adoption of greener agricultural techniques. Alas, shoppers look in vain for “no till” labels on their food—at least so far."

How to eat responsibly

To eat responsibly is to understand and enact, so far as we can, this complex relationship. What can one do? Here is a list, probably not definitive:

1. Participate in food production to the extent that you can. If you have a yard or even just a porch box or a pot in a sunny window, grow something to eat in it. Make a little compost of your kitchen scraps and use it for fertilizer. Only by growing some food for yourself can you become acquainted with the beautiful energy cycle that revolves from soil to seed to flower to fruit to food to offal to decay, and around again. You will be fully responsible for any food that you grow for yourself, and you will know all about it. You will appreciate it fully, having known it all its life.

2. Prepare your own food. This means reviving in your own mind and life the arts of kitchen and household. This should enable you to eat more cheaply, and it will give you a measure of "quality control": you will have some reliable knowledge of what has been added to the food you eat.

3. Learn the origins of the food you buy, and buy the food that is produced closest to your home. The idea that every locality should be, as much as possible, the source of its own food makes several kinds of sense. The locally produced food supply is the most secure, freshest, and the easiest for local consumers to know about and to influence.

4. Whenever possible, deal directly with a local farmer, gardener, or orchardist. All the reasons listed for the previous suggestion apply here. In addition, by such dealing you eliminate the whole pack of merchants, transporters, processors, packagers, and advertisers who thrive at the expense of both producers and consumers.

5. Learn, in self-defense, as much as you can of the economy and technology of industrial food production. What is added to the food that is not food, and what do you pay for those additions?

6. Learn what is involved in the best farming and gardening.

7. Learn as much as you can, by direct observation and experience if possible, of the life histories of the food species.

Organic Myths and Realities

myth Organic foods are no healthier than non-organic foods.
reality Wrong: food produced organically contains fewer contaminants. Some scientific studies
have shown that there are more nutrients in organically produced food.

myth Organic farming increases the risk of food poisoning.
reality False: organic farming can actually reduce the risk.

myth Organic farming uses pesticides that damage the environment.
reality Untrue: Organic farming systems rely upon prevention rather than cure, minimising the
need for pesticides.

myth Consumers are paying too much for organic food.
reality Not so: crop rotations, organic animal feed and welfare standards, the use of good
husbandry instead of agri-chemicals, and the preservation of natural habitats all result in
organic food costing more to produce. Non-organic food appears to be cheaper but in fact
consumers pay for it three times over – first over the counter, second via taxation (to fund
agricultural subsidies) and third to remedy the environmental pollution (or disasters like
BSE) caused by intensive farming practices.

myth Organic food cannot feed a hungry world.
reality False: intensive farming destroys the fertility of the land and is unsustainable. Organic
methods help labour-rich but cash-poor communities to produce food sustainably.

myth Organic farming is unkind to animals.
reality Far from it: animal welfare and the freedom to behave naturally is central to organic
livestock standards.

Organic is officially cool

A recent poll found that 79% people believe organic food is safer, tastier and better for the environment, and 76% believe that it's healthier. When you break down the numbers as to who is actually buying organic food, it looks like most of the organic-eaters are liberal, a college graduate, or both.

Approximately 11% of those who fall into either of these categories buy organic at least some of the time. Both Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30) and Gen Xers (those aged 31-42) are also relatively large organic consumers -- with 10% of the younger generation and 9% of the older set responding that they buy organic products.

But all signs indicate that organic food consumption is on the rise across all demographics. While only 7% of all adults currently buy organic food "all or most of the time," an additional 31% do occasionally. That, combined with the generally positive impressions of organic food across the board indicate that these products will most likely continue to expand their presence in the marketplace.

Another reason to try organic foods?

In a recent study, parents Michelle and Jeremiah Hammond found their children, Rowan (18 months old) and Mikaela (5 yrs old) -- had chemical exposure levels up to seven times more than they did. These sorts of chemical levels in rats tended to cause all sorts of diseases in lab studies but were inconclusive so far for humans. The children were healthy and showing no signs from the chemical level.

Dr. Trasande seems to think differently. He says - "Rates of asthma, childhood cancers, birth defects and developmental disorders have exponentially increased, and it can't be explained by changes in the human genome. So what has changed? All the chemicals we're being exposed to."

Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, a public health advocacy group, disagrees.

"My concern about this trend about measuring chemicals in the blood is it's leading people to believe that the mere ability to detect chemicals is the same as proving a hazard, that if you have this chemical, you are at risk of a disease, and that is false," she said. Whelan contends that trace levels of industrial chemicals in our bodies do not necessarily pose health risks.

Many countries have banned PDBE's, which are flame retardants, and one of the many chemicals in the Hammond's children's bloodstream. As of now no one really knows the impact these chemicals will have on our generation and the next.. but common sense just tells you that nature never intended you to have industrial chemicals flowing through your bloodstream.

11 Items You Don't Have to Buy Organic

From Dr. Andrew Weil -

The best way to reap the health benefits of fruits and vegetables without exposing yourself to potentially harmful pesticides is to choose organic produce whenever possible, especially those varieties which are more likely to be contaminated. But if organic produce is cutting into your budget, it's okay to buy non-organic varieties of the fruits and vegetables listed below, which tend to contain the least amount of pesticides. However, make it a habit to wash them thoroughly before eating or cooking, to remove dirt and bacteria.

1. Asparagus
2. Avocados
3. Bananas
4. Broccoli
5. Cabbage
6. Corn (sweet, frozen)
7. Kiwi
8. Mangos
9. Onions
10. Pineapples
11. Peas (sweet, frozen)

Walking Corn

Due to the US Government's push toward cheap and boundless corn, it has managed to squeeze its way into almost everything we eat. Whether it is ketchup, salad dressing, soft drinks, or cookies its got corn in it. In fact, if you were to submit a strand of hair to a scientist with the right machine they would probably see that over 50% of the carbon forming the hair was from corn. Thats a pretty scary thought since over in Europe the average is around 5%.. and you know how attractive Europeans are compared to Americans.. So my new quest now is to find food that is not corn based.. which is probably near impossible living on a student budget but I will try my best to at least reduce my dependence on corn.

So for now that means avoiding :

ketchup without High Fructose Corn Syrup
corn based chips
soft drinks
almost any kind of fast food item
and the list goes on...