The Foods Standard Agency (FSA) has recently released the findings of extensive research into the health benefits of organic food. Their data stretches back almost 50 years and is, to date, the most comprehensive study to have been commissioned. Their findings have caused controversy, concluding that there is no substantial nutritional benefit of organic produce over traditionally cultivated crops.
Organic campaigners and organisations such as the Soil Association have been quick to dismiss the findings as “selective” and “disappointing” calling into question the omission of pesticide and fertilizer residues in mass produced crops.
Even after these results have been published the public opinion is stalwart, very much that organic food is better for you – it has to be. Before FTLOL gives our own verdict we decided to publish two letters written by “readers” that we believe best describe the subject and its intricacies. Here are the contrasting opinions of Poppy Marriedwell and John Alwayswright.
Dear Editor
Following the outrageous findings of the FSA concerning organic foods I feel compelled to jot down just a few of my thoughts in favour of the delicious organic foods I can pick up at the shops.
In fact it’s never been so easy to pick and choose the food causes I wish to support. It is so assuring that the supermarkets let us know by the packaging exactly who is benefiting from my purchases. In fact on my last visit to the shops I helped the poor African farmers by buying Fair Trade, supported the local farming community by picking produce with a rosy cheeked Norfolk farmer on the front, and helped my family to live to 125 by selecting the lovely organic carrots. I don’t know about you but I leave the shops feeling positively saintly. I don’t even bother going to church on Sunday, these days I just visit Sainsburys between 10am and 4pm and pray at the blipping altar of consumerism.
Of course there is a price to pay for my penance – it seems a conscience doesn’t come cheap – but it’s ok. What I save in the collection bowl and spend in the shops will insure my smooth transition to food heaven, which I’ve been reliably informed is at the end of aisle 19 in Whole Foods, just next to the Buddhist friendly Pomegranate face masks.
Surely it’s a sign our advancement and civilization that we are able to help those less fortunate than ourselves simply by buying their produce from the supermarket. Why bother trudging around those seemingly sporadic farmers markets to buy muddy, disfigured vegetables or visiting the butcher (Who only sells meat by the way!) when I can peacefully ponder the beautifully manicured rows of the supermarket?
And anyway doesn’t everything just taste better? Those Kenyans sure know how to grow an organic fine bean alright. Even if I can’t taste the difference myself, what’s the point of bringing them all that way if they’re not?
I cannot, and will not accept the findings of the FSA. How can they possibly be right when they haven’t even taken into account the herbicides and the pesticides used on all that terrible “economy” rubbish. Surely they’re to blame for all that mad cow flu going around.
I will not believe the FSA and their “clinically achieved results”. No. I shall continue listening to Prince Charles and that lovely shaggy chap from the cottage by the river and pay the premium for my organic produce. Besides what would the ladies think of me if I stopped our weekly coffee chit chat at Whole Foods organic, GM free, fairly traded, tuna friendly, save the orphans coffee shop at the culmination of our weekly shop?
Yours with love,
Poppy Marriedwell
Dear Editor
Bravo FSA. Bravo for showing all the hippies where to shove their organic nonsense. You have ratified what I have known for years; this entire hoodoo about organic foods being better for us than conventionally farmed foods is nothing more than mass produced, water injected tripe.
What these hemp loving bumpkins haven’t yet grasped is that technology must advance in direct relation to the ever expanding population and their increasing expectations. Technology has breathed life into an archaic farming system. It’s a simple calculation: we need more land to house people and create industry, therefore have less land to farm, so it must therefore become more efficient – hey presto fertilizer and pesticides.
For those who believe the effects of fertilizers and pesticides (not included by the FSA study) have a detrimental effect on humans you may be interested to know that a study in 2004 found that farmers – who handle gallons of the stuff – demonstrate a below average tendency to contracting cancer – read it and weep veggies.
I will ask all you Wigwammers one simple question: If I own one acre of land is it better to grow one tonne of your deformed looking organic broccoli using a mule and plough (or whatever it is you use) or to produce two tonnes of pristine mass produced broccoli using modern farming techniques? Not even the most ardent Tofu lover can argue with the cold facts.
Tell me why does a chicken need to walk around and stretch its legs in the sun? It’s only going to be alive for 3 months then tossed in some flour and eaten. They are not pets, they are fuel for the insatiable march of mankind. Stop crying those crocodile tears for the static chicken; immobilized by the steroid inflated flesh of its own body.
What is so bad about GM foods? If all you Lefties would stop knitting runner beans for one minute you’d realize that GM foods could cure World famine. Why bother ploughing up a field when we can make protein substitutes in Petri dishes? In fact you’re all hypocrites anyway because if you let the scientists get on with their jobs little Larry the lamb wouldn’t need to be killed. In fact Larry could come and live with you on your commune, make some space to plant something useful like Palm Oil. All your hot air about playing God seems convincing, but none of you believe in God anyway.
Re-read my letter and pick out the FACTS. They are undisputable. Realise the only reason you eat organic is because you think you should. The idyllic life portrayed by the connotations of your organic purchases is, I admit far more tempting than the cold steel of scientific advancement. Your heart may desire the organic lifestyle, but wake up; the future doesn’t have a heart. It doesn’t need to, we’ve got pacemakers.
Yours Sincerely,
John Alwayswright
Verdict
As divisive as these two opinions are we hope that by publishing their polemic readers will be able to see from both sides and in turn develop their own opinions
We at FTLOL unfalteringly believe in good produce. We cannot however condone the use of titles and labels meant for good being used by supermarkets and marketers the world over to, in essence, exploit people’s good will. Look closely at the ethics of the produce you’re purchasing. The terms, GM free, organic, and free trade do not immediately placate your conscience. Even if a green bean is labelled organic, is it really ethical if it has been sourced from a bullied farmer in Africa who no longer grows sustenance for himself and his country but instead follows the cash cows?
Because of our belief in the best produce we almost always find ourselves in the local butcher, fishmonger, or veg suppliers. This is where we shouldn’t mind paying a premium because our money is not only just buying food, it is also paying for the continuing fortunes of people who know what they are doing and are passionate about what they do. These producers always sell ethical foods because they always have done and that’s what makes the best tasting, best quality food (stuff the FSA). Ethics is something that they have never questioned because they know no other way.
Purchase what you want. Just know why you are buying the produce. Believe in the people you purchase from, be interested. If it helps we’ve come up with a calculation that we believe cuts through the rhetoric of hundreds of thousands of words written on this subject:
(Conscience + Opinion of others) – Budget = Product purchased
The Organic Food Debate
The Foods Standard Agency (FSA) has recently released the findings of extensive research into the health benefits of organic food. Their data stretches back almost 50 years and is, to date, the most comprehensive study to have been commissioned. Their findings have caused controversy, concluding that there is no substantial nutritional benefit of organic produce over traditionally cultivated crops.
Organic campaigners and organisations such as the Soil Association have been quick to dismiss the findings as “selective” and “disappointing” calling into question the omission of pesticide and fertilizer residues in mass produced crops.
Even after these results have been published the public opinion is stalwart, very much that organic food is better for you – it has to be. Before FTLOL gives our own verdict we decided to publish two letters written by “readers” that we believe best describe the subject and its intricacies. Here are the contrasting opinions of Poppy Marriedwell and John Alwayswright.
Dear Editor
Following the outrageous findings of the FSA concerning organic foods I feel compelled to jot down just a few of my thoughts in favour of the delicious organic foods I can pick up at the shops.
In fact it’s never been so easy to pick and choose the food causes I wish to support. It is so assuring that the supermarkets let us know by the packaging exactly who is benefiting from my purchases. In fact on my last visit to the shops I helped the poor African farmers by buying Fair Trade, supported the local farming community by picking produce with a rosy cheeked Norfolk farmer on the front, and helped my family to live to 125 by selecting the lovely organic carrots. I don’t know about you but I leave the shops feeling positively saintly. I don’t even bother going to church on Sunday, these days I just visit Sainsburys between 10am and 4pm and pray at the blipping altar of consumerism.
Of course there is a price to pay for my penance – it seems a conscience doesn’t come cheap – but it’s ok. What I save in the collection bowl and spend in the shops will insure my smooth transition to food heaven, which I’ve been reliably informed is at the end of aisle 19 in Whole Foods, just next to the Buddhist friendly Pomegranate face masks.
Surely it’s a sign our advancement and civilization that we are able to help those less fortunate than ourselves simply by buying their produce from the supermarket. Why bother trudging around those seemingly sporadic farmers markets to buy muddy, disfigured vegetables or visiting the butcher (Who only sells meat by the way!) when I can peacefully ponder the beautifully manicured rows of the supermarket?
And anyway doesn’t everything just taste better? Those Kenyans sure know how to grow an organic fine bean alright. Even if I can’t taste the difference myself, what’s the point of bringing them all that way if they’re not?
I cannot, and will not accept the findings of the FSA. How can they possibly be right when they haven’t even taken into account the herbicides and the pesticides used on all that terrible “economy” rubbish. Surely they’re to blame for all that mad cow flu going around.
I will not believe the FSA and their “clinically achieved results”. No. I shall continue listening to Prince Charles and that lovely shaggy chap from the cottage by the river and pay the premium for my organic produce. Besides what would the ladies think of me if I stopped our weekly coffee chit chat at Whole Foods organic, GM free, fairly traded, tuna friendly, save the orphans coffee shop at the culmination of our weekly shop?
Yours with love,
Poppy Marriedwell
Dear Editor
Bravo FSA. Bravo for showing all the hippies where to shove their organic nonsense. You have ratified what I have known for years; this entire hoodoo about organic foods being better for us than conventionally farmed foods is nothing more than mass produced, water injected tripe.
What these hemp loving bumpkins haven’t yet grasped is that technology must advance in direct relation to the ever expanding population and their increasing expectations. Technology has breathed life into an archaic farming system. It’s a simple calculation: we need more land to house people and create industry, therefore have less land to farm, so it must therefore become more efficient – hey presto fertilizer and pesticides.
For those who believe the effects of fertilizers and pesticides (not included by the FSA study) have a detrimental effect on humans you may be interested to know that a study in 2004 found that farmers – who handle gallons of the stuff – demonstrate a below average tendency to contracting cancer – read it and weep veggies.
I will ask all you Wigwammers one simple question: If I own one acre of land is it better to grow one tonne of your deformed looking organic broccoli using a mule and plough (or whatever it is you use) or to produce two tonnes of pristine mass produced broccoli using modern farming techniques? Not even the most ardent Tofu lover can argue with the cold facts.
Tell me why does a chicken need to walk around and stretch its legs in the sun? It’s only going to be alive for 3 months then tossed in some flour and eaten. They are not pets, they are fuel for the insatiable march of mankind. Stop crying those crocodile tears for the static chicken; immobilized by the steroid inflated flesh of its own body.
What is so bad about GM foods? If all you Lefties would stop knitting runner beans for one minute you’d realize that GM foods could cure World famine. Why bother ploughing up a field when we can make protein substitutes in Petri dishes? In fact you’re all hypocrites anyway because if you let the scientists get on with their jobs little Larry the lamb wouldn’t need to be killed. In fact Larry could come and live with you on your commune, make some space to plant something useful like Palm Oil. All your hot air about playing God seems convincing, but none of you believe in God anyway.
Re-read my letter and pick out the FACTS. They are undisputable. Realise the only reason you eat organic is because you think you should. The idyllic life portrayed by the connotations of your organic purchases is, I admit far more tempting than the cold steel of scientific advancement. Your heart may desire the organic lifestyle, but wake up; the future doesn’t have a heart. It doesn’t need to, we’ve got pacemakers.
Yours Sincerely,
John Alwayswright
Verdict
As divisive as these two opinions are we hope that by publishing their polemic readers will be able to see from both sides and in turn develop their own opinions
We at FTLOL unfalteringly believe in good produce. We cannot however condone the use of titles and labels meant for good being used by supermarkets and marketers the world over to, in essence, exploit people’s good will. Look closely at the ethics of the produce you’re purchasing. The terms, GM free, organic, and free trade do not immediately placate your conscience. Even if a green bean is labelled organic, is it really ethical if it has been sourced from a bullied farmer in Africa who no longer grows sustenance for himself and his country but instead follows the cash cows?
Because of our belief in the best produce we almost always find ourselves in the local butcher, fishmonger, or veg suppliers. This is where we shouldn’t mind paying a premium because our money is not only just buying food, it is also paying for the continuing fortunes of people who know what they are doing and are passionate about what they do. These producers always sell ethical foods because they always have done and that’s what makes the best tasting, best quality food (stuff the FSA). Ethics is something that they have never questioned because they know no other way.
Purchase what you want. Just know why you are buying the produce. Believe in the people you purchase from, be interested. If it helps we’ve come up with a calculation that we believe cuts through the rhetoric of hundreds of thousands of words written on this subject:
(Conscience + Opinion of others) – Budget = Product purchased