Organic is the fastest growing sector of the U.S. Food Industry. All the marketing tells us the eating organic is more nutritious, it improves animal welfare and helps the environment. 53% of the people that buy organic say the reason is that it’s healthier and doesn’t contain pesticides. In reality, new studies show it's all a marketing hype. People trust labels and are willing to pay more based on that for something that says “all natural” “cage-free”, non-GMO” and “organic” even though they have no clue about the skeletons in the closet of this loosely controlled industry.
Let's take a look at a few facts…
A 2012 Stanford University study did the biggest comparison and found no evidence for organics being more nutritious. A brand new review repeated that finding.
The same holds true for animals on organic farms. It didn’t know show they were generally healthier. A five year US study showed that organic “health outcomes are no different than conventional". The Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety found “no difference in objective disease occurrence.” While organic pigs and poultry may enjoy free time in open areas, this does decrease their load of parasites, pathogens, and predators (many suffered harsh deaths at the mouths of various predators.
Organic farming is sold as good for the environment. This can be correct for a single farm field, but organic fields yield much, much less so to grow the same amount of food you have to have a lot more land. Organic farms need to occupy 84 percent more land, which could be used for forest and nature reserves. For an organic farm to produce the amount of food America needs today, it would require increasing its farmland to the equivalent of all parklands and wild lands in the lower 48 states.
Organic food and pesticide-fee are just a myth. In fact, under laws of most states, organic farmers are allowed to use a wide variety of chemical sprays and powders on their crops. Until recently, nobody bothered to look at natural chemicals (organic pesticides) because it was assumed they posed little risk. But new studies are somewhat shocking. About half the natural chemicals studied are carcinogenic.
Pyrethrin is an organic pesticide; one study shows their are 3.7 increases in leukemia among farms that handled pyrethrins compared to those who have not handled it.
A recent study compared rotenone-pyrethrin mixture versus and synthetic pesticide, imide. It was found that up to 7 applications of the rotenone-pyrethrin mixture are required to obtain the level of protection provided by 2 applications of imide. It seems unlikely that 7 applications are really better for the environment than 2 of imide, especially when rotenone is extremely toxic to fish and other aquatic life.
Organic is a rich world fad, 90% of sales are in North America and Europe. Only 1% of global cropland is organic. Norman Borlaug, who won the Nobel Prize for starting the Green Revolution, is first to point out the organic farming on a global scale would leave billions starving.
Bottom line is organic food is just rich people spending their extra cash to feel good. Two of the three major organic certifying companies are for-profit they are in the business of making money plan and simple. Organics have not proven to be healthier or better for animals or our world.
