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Here's a practical, measurable definition of "organic": Less pesticide residue on produce. Farm animals which haven't been fed other animals, growth hormones, o

by dxhdr 8y ago

Here's a practical, measurable definition of "organic": Less pesticide residue on produce. Farm animals which haven't been fed other animals, growth hormones, or antibiotics. Those are important qualities for food, no need to disregard it as spin.

Tor3 8y ago
Except, of course, that "organic" just means that it's carbon based. So everything goes. Thus "ecological", for example, is an alternative term used in some countries.
- amanaplanacanal 8y ago
  Yes, it's unfortunate that the word organic has multiple meanings. In chemistry, it is as you say, in food it means something else.
n4r9 8y ago
> Less pesticide residue on produce This doesn't accord with any existing definitions, which restrict the type of pesticide as well as perhaps the amount. Which then begs the question of which pesticides should be classed as organic. We already have stringent constraints on pesticide residue levels.
jcranmer 8y ago
> Here's a practical, measurable definition of "organic": Less pesticide residue on produce. Most organic produce probably has more pesticide residue than non-organic produce. Definitely more toxic residue than non-organic produce, as it turns out that agrichemical firms want to optimize their pesticides to minimize human harm as opposed to "natural" pesticides that rely on being toxic to everything.
- strainer 8y ago
  Considering reduction of pesticide use and exposure is one of the main objectives of the organic movement, which has been developing for over 60 years now - it would be a hopeless situation if it resulted in "more pesticide residue than non-organic produce". Do you have any substantial sources for such a tragic claim? For example here[1] is an EU funded meta-review from 2014 which finds: " the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal Cd. " [1] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/higher-antioxidant-and-lower-cadmium-concentrations-and-lower-incidence-of-pesticide-residues-in-organically-grown-crops-a-systematic-literature-review-and-metaanalyses/33F09637EAE6C4ED119E0C4BFFE2D5B1 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-n...
amanaplanacanal 8y ago
Chickens are omnivores by nature. They regularly eat insects and other small animals such as reptiles and rodents. "Vegetarian fed hens" just seems so wrong to me.

by dxhdr 8y ago

Tor3 8y ago

Except, of course, that "organic" just means that it's carbon based. So everything goes. Thus "ecological", for example, is an alternative term used in some countries.

amanaplanacanal 8y ago
Yes, it's unfortunate that the word organic has multiple meanings. In chemistry, it is as you say, in food it means something else.

n4r9 8y ago

> Less pesticide residue on produce This doesn't accord with any existing definitions, which restrict the type of pesticide as well as perhaps the amount. Which then begs the question of which pesticides should be classed as organic. We already have stringent constraints on pesticide residue levels.

jcranmer 8y ago

> Here's a practical, measurable definition of "organic": Less pesticide residue on produce. Most organic produce probably has more pesticide residue than non-organic produce. Definitely more toxic residue than non-organic produce, as it turns out that agrichemical firms want to optimize their pesticides to minimize human harm as opposed to "natural" pesticides that rely on being toxic to everything.

strainer 8y ago
Considering reduction of pesticide use and exposure is one of the main objectives of the organic movement, which has been developing for over 60 years now - it would be a hopeless situation if it resulted in "more pesticide residue than non-organic produce". Do you have any substantial sources for such a tragic claim? For example here[1] is an EU funded meta-review from 2014 which finds: " the frequency of occurrence of pesticide residues was found to be four times higher in conventional crops, which also contained significantly higher concentrations of the toxic metal Cd. " [1] https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-nutrition/article/higher-antioxidant-and-lower-cadmium-concentrations-and-lower-incidence-of-pesticide-residues-in-organically-grown-crops-a-systematic-literature-review-and-metaanalyses/33F09637EAE6C4ED119E0C4BFFE2D5B1 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/british-journal-of-n...

amanaplanacanal 8y ago

Chickens are omnivores by nature. They regularly eat insects and other small animals such as reptiles and rodents. "Vegetarian fed hens" just seems so wrong to me.