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Organic food vs conventional

18K views 93 replies 32 participants last post by  tjim 
#1 ·
I see some discussion about the difference between organic food and conventional. I have seen the studies showing that organic food doesn't have any more nutrition than conventional. With a few exceptions, and after much checking on my own, I would agree. This makes organic more of a food safety issue than one of nutrition.
 
#7 ·
Spot on!

We farm conventional and certified organic...for the money! Are we hypocrites? Yeah probably so, but we're still keeping the 4 generation family farm alive and making a little money doing it. And we eat whatever we desire (though we still can't afford lobster yet). My grandpa lived to 90, my dad is 94. my mom is 90, and I'm 64 and we're still eating lots of good ol' American farm grown conventional (and a bit of organic) foods...and thanking God for both conventional farmers AND organic farmers whenever we break bread.
 
#3 ·
From my perspective, organic agriculture is backwards. If you are spraying killicide for bugs weeds and disease, you obviously have an underlying problem. To go organic by stopping the use of these chemicals, doesn't fix the problems and won't lead to healthier crops.

I do see organic as a healthier choice and can be more profitable, IMO.
 
#4 ·
Organic doesn't stop using chemicals, they just use other 'natural' ones. Interestingly, 7 of the 10 most deadly compounds are natural. And, unlike some synthetic chemicals, many organic ones do not simply target the pest, but


But at least cyanide, arsenic, strychnine, anthrax, and mercury are natural -and organic.


And here's a doozy. Rotenone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



Brent, I am glad you see the hypocracy of conventional organic agriculture. Not spraying (or not spraying what you did before) shouldn't be what makes a guy organic, just like parking the cultivator doesn't mean a farmer has adopted the system of no-till. There are other things that have to to looked at rather than just 'not doing something'.


The organic/conventional divide hurts both sides. Organic guys think that nothing good can come from conventional research or ideas, and Conventional guys think organic guys are nuts. Someplace in the middle is probably the solution.
 
#5 ·
You make a good point. Myself and the organic grower I know don't spray pesticide of any kind. I wasn't going to certify because of the lack real food value difference between organic and conventional, and like some have said, we don't get payed for nutrition. But, since I won't use toxic killicides anyway, I guess I will take advantage of the market.

I grew up being told that rotenone was organic, which didn't make any sense to me since it was still killing something. In my opinion, there needs to be some changes in the organic sector to help clear up some of the confusion.
 
#8 ·
Watching it and so far when he said the government made it policy for organic food to be certified by a third party in 2009, wasn't very accurate. Ok, I have seen this all before. Both sides of the issue have a lot of biased data and don't really tell anything more than what it takes to make their point.

I work with a couple conventional farmers that give me a hard time about organic, so I've heard it all.
 
#9 ·
I sell eggs and lamb to townfolk who think because they are free range/pasture raised, the product is better. I too capitalize on consumer ignorance, and that is my point. I am looking at doing some hogs this way, and maybe ducks and other stuff too.

A hog at 450 bucks is quite profitable using 4 dollar wheat, why would I deny the consumers their needs and desires? lol There is a whole market like this out there ready to be tapped into. Raise half the sheep, yet make twice the money a regular flock does...
 
#17 ·
I agree 100% with pretty well everything in this thread so far. I understand want the consumer is wanting I'm just not sure that everything certified organic fits the description. I truly believe pesticide free production would be just as marketable and higher yields could be achieved.
 
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#22 ·
Lambear, I loved the youtube video, couldn't have said it any better. IMO organics is a great marketing system, nothing more, nothing less. No different than the current "Angus" beef marketing craze, could anybody tell the difference in meat? I doubt it, at least not consistently, but it is a great branding job, just like organic. More power to anybody who can squeeze an extra buck out of an ill-informed consumer. I paid attention when they compared organic to a religion, Brent- you keep starting thread after thread, banging your organic drum, kinda like the Jehova's Witness of the combine forum, it just keeps knocking on the door. Not that there's anything wrong with a little discussion but if you really think you'll live longer and make more money than anybody else here then why share the secret of your success? Just keep doing what you do and don't try to sell the rest of us on it, if we all join you it will surely screw-up your market.
 
#30 ·
I think one of the selling points organic has done well with in Australia is traceability, they look for organic but nowadays people want to know where there food come from, for whatever reason, but to back my theory is the success of a lot of guys doing there own paddock to plate logistics, I.e. beef...this is not organic beef but people like to know it come from joe blogs at Wagga Wagga in th green rolling hills. Personally it really doesn't matter myself that much...but given the success of these businesses it's definitely what a percentage of the market wants, and it's a good thing as people will pay extra for Aussie product...a market space to watch in my view...

Ant...
 
#38 ·
I hadn't seen that "killicide" label before. To me it seems redundant, -cide meaning "to kill"( homicide, suicide, etc.). And juvenile. Kind of reeks of some pro-organic corporate focus group thinking up terms to cast a negative light on those who don't contribute to their quarterly earnings reports.
 
#39 ·
It just covers the big three without going through and saying fungicide, herbicde and pesticide. It's not the organic industry's fault that conventional farmer kill everything they don't want. It's just easier to say killiside(kill fungus, weeds, bugs, soil biology...)
 
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