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Similarly, I live in VT and have small food producers and farmers all around me. These products are also available in grocery stores, but when you can qualitati

Similarly, I live in VT and have small food producers and farmers all around me. These products are also available in grocery stores, but when you can qualitatively observe the differences between the land and growing practices of GMO farmers and organic farmers, the choices are not presented in such a flat way as when lined up on a shelf.

weberc2 10y ago
I doubt the general public is qualified to decide which practices are better than others. For example, I grew up on a farm, but I couldn't tell you if free-range eggs are safer or healthier than eggs from caged birds. Nor could I tell you if chemical-free produce is safer than organic. Nor could I tell you if antibiotic-free meat is safer or healthier than "regular" meat. I can tell you what I've heard from my pro-GMO family and my anti-GMO friends, but without diving deeply into the studies and counter studies, it would be hard to draw an informed conclusion.
- chefkoch 10y ago
  Isn't there a moral aspect of this? Shouldn't you treat the animal you are "consuming" as good as possible?
  - weberc2 10y ago
    Probably, but even here I doubt the public is qualified to make this call. The canonical example is a sow pen which has just enough room for a sow to lay down while she nurses her piglets; this is actually better for the animals because it prevents the sow (~800 lbs) from crushing her piglets (~5 lbs); however, laypeople see an animal rights violation.
  - Dylan16807 10y ago
    Sure. But remember the main topic here is plants, and there are no moral considerations there.
    - akvadrako 10y ago
      What, you don't think plants have feelings? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/12/peter-wohlleben-man-who-believes-trees-talk-to-each-other https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/12/peter-wo... I can imagine you have more sympathy for animals than plants since they are more like us, but I suspect bias if you use that as a basis for morality.
- gohrt 10y ago
  > free-range eggs are safer or healthier than eggs from caged birds. This makes absolutely no sense. "free-range" is a question about chicken health, not egg safety.
  - weberc2 10y ago
    Please note that I never made that claim; I simply observed it.

weberc2 10y ago

I doubt the general public is qualified to decide which practices are better than others. For example, I grew up on a farm, but I couldn't tell you if free-range eggs are safer or healthier than eggs from caged birds. Nor could I tell you if chemical-free produce is safer than organic. Nor could I tell you if antibiotic-free meat is safer or healthier than "regular" meat. I can tell you what I've heard from my pro-GMO family and my anti-GMO friends, but without diving deeply into the studies and counter studies, it would be hard to draw an informed conclusion.

chefkoch 10y ago
Isn't there a moral aspect of this? Shouldn't you treat the animal you are "consuming" as good as possible?
- weberc2 10y ago
  Probably, but even here I doubt the public is qualified to make this call. The canonical example is a sow pen which has just enough room for a sow to lay down while she nurses her piglets; this is actually better for the animals because it prevents the sow (~800 lbs) from crushing her piglets (~5 lbs); however, laypeople see an animal rights violation.
- Dylan16807 10y ago
  Sure. But remember the main topic here is plants, and there are no moral considerations there.
  - akvadrako 10y ago
    What, you don't think plants have feelings? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/12/peter-wohlleben-man-who-believes-trees-talk-to-each-other https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/sep/12/peter-wo... I can imagine you have more sympathy for animals than plants since they are more like us, but I suspect bias if you use that as a basis for morality.
gohrt 10y ago
> free-range eggs are safer or healthier than eggs from caged birds. This makes absolutely no sense. "free-range" is a question about chicken health, not egg safety.
- weberc2 10y ago
  Please note that I never made that claim; I simply observed it.