If you cannot taste difference between produce grown on field under the sun (hint - it doesn't need "organic" or "natural" or "home grown" or any other sticker) and the plastic garbage they sell in supermarkets then I am afraid I can't help you. I wish I could, but alas.
I think everyone agrees with this statement.
But it has absolutely nothing to do with organic or non organic, gmo vs non gmo. So quit saying you can tell the difference between organic and non organic food because you cant.
Yes, we get it. However, organic can taste better and fresher because it is quite often grown in different soil conditions as well.
Many mass carrots are grown in quite sandy soils because they will grow longer under those conditions...hence more product...yielding more money.
However, carrots grown in sand have a completely different taste than carrots grown in soil that is high in compost etc.
Taste is not wholly dependent on whether the product is fresh or not. A lot of super market tomatoes have no taste, not because they are not fresh, but because of how they have been cross bred. Basically, they bred them to yield a product that produces more, and ripens quicker, but sadly has little taste left. They also pick them when they are not fully ripe because produce like tomatoes is easier to transport in that state. If they left the tomatoes on the vine until fully ripe, they would taste better but would not transport as well.
But the organic product at the super market is bread the same way as the non organic stuff. It is produced for maximum profit, highest yeild, and long shelf life.
Your above post identifies factors that have nothing to do with being organic as the causes of making it taste better.
Yes, we get it. However, organic can taste better and fresher because it is quite often grown in different soil conditions as well.
Many mass carrots are grown in quite sandy soils because they will grow longer under those conditions...hence more product...yielding more money.
However, carrots grown in sand have a completely different taste than carrots grown in soil that is high in compost etc.
Taste is not wholly dependent on whether the product is fresh or not. A lot of super market tomatoes have no taste, not because they are not fresh, but because of how they have been cross bred. Basically, they bred them to yield a product that produces more, and ripens quicker, but sadly has little taste left. They also pick them when they are not fully ripe because produce like tomatoes is easier to transport in that state. If they left the tomatoes on the vine until fully ripe, they would taste better but would not transport as well.
Apparently you don't get it, because both those sandy carrots and cross bred tomatoes could be either organic or non-organic. None of the conditions you describe qualify, or disqualify them from either.
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When you do a signature and don't attribute it to anyone, it's yours. - Vulcan
The most common justification I hear for the higher price of organic food is that they are more nutritious. This is perhaps the one aspect of organic food that has the most evidence available to judge. The simple fact is there is no advantage to organic food vs conventional food with regard to nutrition. One recent systematic review of published literature looking at nutrient content concluded:
On the basis of a systematic review of studies of satisfactory quality, there is no evidence of a difference in nutrient quality between organically and conventionally produced foodstuffs. The small differences in nutrient content detected are biologically plausible and mostly relate to differences in production methods.
From a systematic review of the currently available published literature, evidence is lacking for nutrition-related health effects that result from the consumption of organically produced foodstuffs.
I don't believe there is a huge difference in taste. Fortunately, I have carried out an experiment in the past with 3 friends and 3 types of fruits, most commonly believed to have superior organic taste.
We brought one of each - an apple, a banana, and a strawberry for each individual. I was the only one that was privy to the information of which is organic and which isn't.
everyone took turns to try one fruit. Then waited 5 minutes to diminish the taste, and try the second fruit of the same nature. There were no sequential order for the fruits to try, participants were allowed to pick any fruit, but had to be the same (so if you picked banana, you had to finish the second banana in a row as well). Guess what the results were? Most picked the non-organic fruits to be tastier, though the split was a bit more even than that.
Only 1 organic fruit had 2 of the 3 votes (the banana).
I am anti-GMO. Yes, there is a lot of hyperbole (on BOTH sides!), but one thing that can't be denied is exactly why GMO soy is GMO to begin with? Why do you get bigger harvests? Well, the answer to that is because of roundup - the very common herbicide. Herbicides will kill plants - period. Genetically modifying them gives them resistance to this herbicide, and allows a farmer to spray their fields for weeds without worry, thereby increasing the harvest.
How exactly does this work though? Does this GMO plant just become immune and 'ignore' the herbicide? No. What it does is it uptakes the herbicide inside of it and utilizes it. Think of that next time you think you are eating 'healthy'. Just like mercury is passed on the food chain (well, not quite like mercury - but somewhat like it) and building up the toxins the higher up you go, you end up consuming these herbicides.
Anyways, I am not an expert in it. I do think that what Monsanto does is both good and evil. No amount of spin either way will ever convince me otherwise.
I thought this was a really good documentary that sheds some light on it. Ran across it since I grow a lot of different chilies (23 kinds this year), and thought this was a well-done piece describing what happens in the industry a little bit better. Canadians (and Americans) really don't know where our food comes from for the most part, how it is produced, etc. Food Inc. was a really great piece. I encourage everyone to watch it.
This is the "Genetic Chili" video which I also highly recommend (snd this is a legit site hosting free-to-view documentaries):
But it has absolutely nothing to do with organic or non organic, gmo vs non gmo. So quit saying you can tell the difference between organic and non organic food because you cant.
The organic label is meaningless.
It isn't meaningless if used properly. Alas, lots of countries don't regulate organic foods properly.
If you cannot taste difference between produce grown on field under the sun (hint - it doesn't need "organic" or "natural" or "home grown" or any other sticker) and the plastic garbage they sell in supermarkets then I am afraid I can't help you. I wish I could, but alas.
But it isn't used properly, at least not in the way you seem to think it should work, thus it is meaningless.
Organic foods do not inherently taste better than non-organic foods. Period.
Organic has become a way for producers to milk more money out of the ignorant consumer while at the same time only having to adhere to the standards upon which organic is regulated. Which in some cases, isn't all that much.
On the other hand, if I grow my own vegetables, and don't spray them with pesticides or herbicides, and instead choose to grow them as natural as possible, to me that is organic, and to me they taste better.
If you specifically pick out certain organic growers that adhere to stricter standards, it is possible to find a product that tastes better.
But no, blanket generalizations like organic tastes better than non-organic probably don't work.
I honestly find it strange that so many people are willing to give big food, which Monsanto is a part of, a free ride. The fact is that the methods that they use which are supposed to increase sustainability are not so sustainable in the long run. Similar to how feedlots operate, even how human beings operate with the ever increasing use of antibiotics for everything.
Roundup Ready products are to the farming industry what antibiotic products are to the feedlot industry.
In the end, it costs the farmer more because they constantly have to pay more for the newest and latest chemical to kill off the superbugs, and it costs the consumer more because the cost of farming is constantly going up. This much is pretty evident today.
Companies like Monsanto, Simplot and others don't care, because they keep turning record profits.
There are new methods coming out to use natural ways of weed control on no-till crops, but until they can be used without risk, farmers won't adopt them. Of course, Monsanto is heavily invested in making sure the farmers KEEP using their form of weed control, so you can bet that they will do everything in their power to make sure any natural method isn't promoted.
Here is a great article that talks about the pros and cons of no till, and how it affects sustainable farming for the future.
This thread is also strange in the fact that it seems like me and FoL, who are often accused of being far right evil capitalists are the ones who seem to promote organic farming, even at the expense of those evil capitalist companies like Monsanto.
At the end of the day, whether one tastes better than the other is irrelevant IMO. The real issue is whether one is better health wise than the other. I have yet to see any objective study that definitively indicates there is any difference. Of course, this can change in the next 10-50 years as long term health benefits/risks are uncovered, but for now, it seems like they're pretty much the same.
Organic has become a way for producers to milk more money out of the ignorant consumer while at the same time only having to adhere to the standards upon which organic is regulated. Which in some cases, isn't all that much.
On the other hand, if I grow my own vegetables, and don't spray them with pesticides or herbicides, and instead choose to grow them as natural as possible, to me that is organic, and to me they taste better.
If you specifically pick out certain organic growers that adhere to stricter standards, it is possible to find a product that tastes better.
But no, blanket generalizations like organic tastes better than non-organic probably don't work.
I honestly find it strange that so many people are willing to give big food, which Monsanto is a part of, a free ride. The fact is that the methods that they use which are supposed to increase sustainability are not so sustainable in the long run. Similar to how feedlots operate, even how human beings operate with the ever increasing use of antibiotics for everything.
Roundup Ready products are to the farming industry what antibiotic products are to the feedlot industry.
In the end, it costs the farmer more because they constantly have to pay more for the newest and latest chemical to kill off the superbugs, and it costs the consumer more because the cost of farming is constantly going up. This much is pretty evident today.
Companies like Monsanto, Simplot and others don't care, because they keep turning record profits.
There are new methods coming out to use natural ways of weed control on no-till crops, but until they can be used without risk, farmers won't adopt them. Of course, Monsanto is heavily invested in making sure the farmers KEEP using their form of weed control, so you can bet that they will do everything in their power to make sure any natural method isn't promoted.
Here is a great article that talks about the pros and cons of no till, and how it affects sustainable farming for the future.
This thread is also strange in the fact that it seems like me and FoL, who are often accused of being far right evil capitalists are the ones who seem to promote organic farming, even at the expense of those evil capitalist companies like Monsanto.
Science please.
That's really what this thread is about, supporting claims that are based in science with actual science. Thor has done that over and over again, I haven't seen a lick of it from the anti-GMO crowd.
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When you do a signature and don't attribute it to anyone, it's yours. - Vulcan
At the end of the day, whether one tastes better than the other is irrelevant IMO. The real issue is whether one is better health wise than the other. I have yet to see any objective study that definitively indicates there is any difference. Of course, this can change in the next 10-50 years as long term health benefits/risks are uncovered, but for now, it seems like they're pretty much the same.
The issue isn't the GMOs as much as it is the chemicals being needed to grow GMO crops. Canola, which is a GMO crop, needs almost triple the amount of chemicals than Soybeans, a non GMO crop, just to survive and grow past stage 4 or 5.
Both sell for similar prices on the market.
Problem is, Soybeans are becoming genetically altered as well, and as such more and more farmers will use them as the financial benefit is higher. The use of herbicides is also higher, which brings us back to the reason why companies alter the seed in the first place. Read any study done on the financial benefits of using GMO seeds. The biggest benefactor financially is almost always the seed company.
Of course, you can argue that the chemicals used for weed control are applied at rates low enough that they shouldn't harm whatever human that ingests the product, but the fact still is that the chemicals used to spray are considered highly dangerous and would kill most humans that directly ingested enough of it.
Have enough tests been done to show that humans are not in harms way from the chemicals being applied to the food we eat, or are we going to trust those evil capitalists that their chemicals are safe?
This thread is also strange in the fact that it seems like me and FoL, who are often accused of being far right evil capitalists are the ones who seem to promote organic farming, even at the expense of those evil capitalist companies like Monsanto.
It has to do with critical evidence based thinking, not political or economic philosophy.
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