On Thu, 30 Jul 2009, Martin Brown wrote
Kate Brown wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jul 2009, Martin Brown wrote
Kate Brown wrote:
On Wed, 29 Jul 2009, Martin Brown wrote

If you want a rational basis for agriculture then minimum inputs
the way to go. Organic(TM) hair shirt growing may be OK for feeding
rich worried well but it cannot generate sufficient yields to feed
everyone.
We throw away two-thirds of the food we produce in the west. If we

You may do. I certainly don't. I occasionally fail to finish eating
the odd 40p reduced loaf before it goes mouldy in hot weather and
that is about it. Much of the fruit I buy from supermarkets is
reduced and on its sell by date (and as a result more or less ready
to eat). I refuse point blank to pay top whack for something that
was harvested unripe and chosen for its regular size and shelf life.

I generally support smaller local producers for veg that I cannot
grow but supermarkets are handy. My raspberries are just about
finished. Blueberries about to crop and far too many gooseberries to
stick at. Looks like there will be a bumper crop of brambles this
year too.

solved the problem of waste we wouldn't need technological
solutions to grow more.

Yes we will. There are a very large number of people starving in the
third world and without sensible agricultural practices they will
continue to starve, subsist and wreck the land they try to live on.

Organic(TM) is a fad pandering to the "worried well" that allows
supermarkets to charge a super premium price for vastly overpackaged
produce with no convincing benefits whatsoever. Go look at the shelves.

And now that there is a decent scientific study showing that there are
no detectable differences and it is not healthier for you beyond the
feelgood factor and placebo effect of paying more for it.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8174482.stm

quote from this page:

The review did not look at pesticides or the environmental impact of
different farming practices.

Someone else made the point that a serious issue is not so much what's
in organic food that isn't in non-organic food, but vice versa.

Personally, I buy organic if it's not grossly more expensive than
ordinary produce, and if it's grown in the UK. I also always buy
organic dairy because of possible hormone and antibiotic residue - again
apparently not investigated by this latest review.


--
Kate B

PS 'elvira' is spamtrapped - please reply to 'elviraspam' at cockaigne dot org dot uk if you
want to reply personally

Until there is final and definitive proof that organophosphates and other chemicals do not harm the human or other animal organisma, I will continue to prefer "organically produced" foods. After the recent successful case in which a number of families showed that their children's deformities were the result of chamicals released into their environment, I am even more firm in my decision.