Using the label “organic” to distinguish one tomato from another is a big stretch from the word’s original meaning, for until the middle of the twentieth century it simply meant something living or derived from living matter. In that sense, the idea of an “inorganic tomato” is a contradiction in terms, unless it is, say, a tomato-shaped glass ornament. With very few exceptions — salt is one — all our food is “organic” no matter how it is produced.
The specific sense of “organic” we use when we speak of “organic food” today traces back to 1942, when J. I. Rodale launched a magazine called Organic Gardening. Nowadays Rodale is hailed as a pioneer, but then he was often derided as a crank and a throwback to obsolete ways of farming. He advocated maintaining soil fertility and stability by putting organic matter — animal manure or compost — back into the soil rather than relying on the “inorganic,” or synthetic, fertilizers that were then widely seen as the modern way to go. So in Rodale’s usage, it was the fertilizers, and from them, the farming methods, rather than the food, that were organic, and the concern was primarily with the soil, not with issues like biodiversity or animal welfare. But the meaning of “organic farming” soon parted company from Rodale’s original narrow distinction between fertilizers. Varying definitions spun out of control as different associations of “organic farmers” tried to set standards in accordance with their own values. Some wanted to stick with a narrow definition in terms of what you could and could not put on the soil, the crops, or the animals. Others wanted to include an entire way of life, including healthy living, an equitable form of distribution, concern for wildlife, and so on. Among organizations of organic farmers around the world, the broader view prevailed. The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements settled on this definition:
Organic agriculture is an agricultural system that promotes environmentally, socially, and economically sound production of food, fiber, timber, etc. In this system, soil fertility is seen as the key to successful production. Working with the natural properties of plants, animals, and the landscape, organic farmers aim to optimize quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment.
Such a definition does not, however, lend itself to being reduced to a label that can be put on products to show that they were produced organically. Without specific standards that could be encapsulated in a label, consumers were often unsure what the various “organic” labels used by different associations and producers really meant.
In 1990, the U.S. Congress decided to clear up the confusion by authorizing the Department of Agriculture to establish legally enforceable “USDA Organic” standards and a certification scheme so that consumers could be confident that their food really had been produced in accordance with the standards. That led, in 2002, to a set of standards that most people in organic farming considered a reasonable compromise among the various views of what organic farming is all about. Crops must be grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, and most synthetic pesticides and all herbicides are also banned, although biological and botanical methods of control can be used. Soil fertility is to be maintained by the use of animal and plant waste (but not sewage sludge, which can contain toxic heavy metals), crop rotation, and growing “cover crops” like clover between other crops. (Cover crops are plowed into the soil to restore nitrogen and organic matter.) Animals used for meat, eggs, or milk must eat organic grains or other organic food and must not be given growth hormones or antibiotics. (Sick or injured animals may be treated with antibiotics, but then their meat, milk, or eggs cannot be sold as organic.) Organically raised animals must have access to the outdoors, including access to pasture for ruminants. Neither plants nor animals can be the product of genetic engineering, and organic food cannot be irradiated.
Reprinted from: The Way We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason © 2006 Peter Singer and Jim Mason. (May 2006; $25.95US/$34.95CAN; 1-57954-889-X) Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at www.rodalestore.com.
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About Author
Peter Singer is a professor of bioethics at Princeton University’s Center for Human Values. He first became well known internationally after the publication of Animal Liberation in 1975. In 2005, Time magazine named him one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
Jim Mason is the coauthor of Animal Factories (with Peter Singer) and the author of An Unnatural Order: Why We Are Destroying the Planet and Each Other, which John Robbins, author of the best-selling Diet for a New America, calls “a wonderful and important book.” He is also an attorney and the fifth generation of a Missouri farming family.
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whoa!!it looks like a PICTURE!
ur an amazing painter!:D
Great talent Der Mann.
Dave J – that's illegal and should be reported.
Organic food is not going to be more nutritious for you.
The difference is that organic producers are taking care of their land and working it to get the last possible perfect strawberry possible. They're not using mass-produced pesticides and fertilizers that upset the natural balance of flora and fauna. As a result, they aren't poisoning the land they grow food on. This means they produce less, so they do have to price their products higher.
Yes, there are natural pesticidal compounds in organically grown food. However, each plant has its own chemical formula and thus there are many variations, whereas commercial producers use only a small group of pesticides. Thus, while the numbers are still small, we get a much larger cumulative consumption of them than of any given natural pesticide.
Another good thing about organic farming is that the smaller farms are more likely to produce foods that are not the same as the large corporate farms. For instance, tomato breeds may be chosen for their flavor rather than their looks. This will help avoid the weakness of monoculture that corporate farms are courting.
One of the huge advantages of organic foods is that they haven't been doused in pesticides.
Organic foods can be more nutritious, richer in vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids than non-organic.
Genetically modified – GM – food isn't used in organic products.
none of the additives lurking in processed and fast food are permitted in organic foods.
the flavour is just so much better.
Non organic food is not bad for you but its just not as healthy as non organic. Although I dont follow an all organic diet( mainly because the price difference) I do give my daughter all organic simply because she is just a baby.
Very nice!!
You've got to consider the types of food you are eating. Organic junk food is still junk food!
There have been studies done that prove that there are more nutrients – vitamins and minerals in organic food (although I can't remember the links).
Pesticides and fungicides which are sprayed on to foods are highly toxic – if they are designed to kill insects (life) then they are also going to be harmful to humans.
But to be healthy you need to look at your whole diet – eat as much fresh raw fruits and vegetables as you can and limit processed foods.
Wow, the things people come up with to separate people from their money.
It's a complete scam and I would wonder about a store that carries such items. Either the owners do not understand what organic foods are or they are into ripping off their customers by selling such useless and likely expensive items. Either way I would find another health food store that is honest and knowledgeable
Brilliant Willy, Just Brilliant =D
Nice work, you did pretty good.
Incredible! He looks so life like. Just amazing…and what a beautiful subject
Innova is a great brand.
Excellent work. Pleasure to watch. Perfect music
))
You’re really good man. You’ve got excellent talent.
Organic means chemicals not used in production like fertilization or pesticides, only "natural". It doesn't really have a whole lot to do with taste if you're talking about fresh vegetables. However, if you're talking about processed food, all natural ingredients will affect taste. But the thing is, how does the consumer really know what they are eating has been producind all naturally? there's no way to know that no fertilizers or pesticides came in contact with foods or that in preparation all natural good were used. So someone could pay more but it might be just as healthy or not as healthy as the regular foods (i mean the food industry is made to eat, its washed/purified too). Its a matter of standards, and which brands/foods you trust
Of course they do! If not they will spontaneously combust!
From what i've seen it all turns to crap once it's in your body anyway. We have survived hundreds of years without it. Just another way to take your money. Seriously if it didn't say "organic or organically grown" on it when you bought it would you be able to tell the difference?
Organic food, is food that is grown naturally, no chemicals, no pesticides and no hormones to make it grow bigger or better. People wonder why our children are physically maturing much faster then they did 20 years ago and it's the hormones that are put into the food. CHicken gets it to make them bigger, cows get it to make them produce more milk. veggies are sprayed to make the grow quicker so there can be a second harvest and it's affecting our children. 13 year old girls look 18 now..ok off my soapbox now.. but organic is better for you. however it's more expensive since they are not using all of the things that the other farmers are using to get extra crops or larger produce.
hope this helps.