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BPA might have its negatives, but it at least locked itself and all the other chemicals into the product. Making it into a boogeyman has ironically caused the

BPA might have its negatives, but it at least locked itself and all the other chemicals into the product. Making it into a boogeyman has ironically caused the remaining chemicals to be more leechable, as the substituted hardeners don't work as well, yet likely have similar negatives as the BPA replaced. It's the unlearned lessons from asbestos all over again.

FredPret 2y ago
I wonder if the your argument holds true for organic food as well. The farmers have to fight off the same pests and weeds, just with “natural” compounds instead of strong, tailor-made artificial ones. But surely the natural spray and the artificial spray has to have either the same active ingredient, or ingredients that are chemically very similar? And if it doesn’t work as well, the farmer will surely end up using even more of “natural” compounds than he would’ve if he just went with RoundUp?
- jfengel 2y ago
  The alternative to Roundup is labor. Mulch, weeding, interplanting, and others. Similar for many pesticides: instead of spraying chemicals, you use different planting techniques, including more diversity in your fields. That was the original definition of "organic" farming. It's not the food that's organic; it's the farmer. That has since become captured by agribusiness, who wrote the rules to exclude the kinds of small farms that practiced organic farming before it became a buzzword.
  - FredPret 2y ago
    I’d like my carrots to cost less than $100/lb thanks
    - jfengel 2y ago
      It is more expensive, but it's twice as much, not orders of magnitude. And given that we now consume twice as many calories as we need, we can eat vastly better on the same budget without destroying the environment. It's unreasonable to expect 100% of our food supply to come that way. But we can do a lot better than we do, and actually looking at the numbers instead of guessing makes that clear.
      - PaulHoule 2y ago
        It is not a simple story https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/07/09/organic-vs-conventional-farming-lower-environmental-impact/ https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/07/09/organic-vs-con... The most important advantage traditional agriculture has is that it uses less land and frees up space for nature.
    - nativeit 2y ago
      It’s a good thing that’s an exaggerated and disingenuous notion, then.
- idunnoman1222 2y ago
  A natural defoliant? Would be what, rubbing alcohol? I think they have to pull the weeds or lay a ground cover

FredPret 2y ago

I wonder if the your argument holds true for organic food as well. The farmers have to fight off the same pests and weeds, just with “natural” compounds instead of strong, tailor-made artificial ones. But surely the natural spray and the artificial spray has to have either the same active ingredient, or ingredients that are chemically very similar? And if it doesn’t work as well, the farmer will surely end up using even more of “natural” compounds than he would’ve if he just went with RoundUp?

jfengel 2y ago
The alternative to Roundup is labor. Mulch, weeding, interplanting, and others. Similar for many pesticides: instead of spraying chemicals, you use different planting techniques, including more diversity in your fields. That was the original definition of "organic" farming. It's not the food that's organic; it's the farmer. That has since become captured by agribusiness, who wrote the rules to exclude the kinds of small farms that practiced organic farming before it became a buzzword.
- FredPret 2y ago
  I’d like my carrots to cost less than $100/lb thanks
  - jfengel 2y ago
    It is more expensive, but it's twice as much, not orders of magnitude. And given that we now consume twice as many calories as we need, we can eat vastly better on the same budget without destroying the environment. It's unreasonable to expect 100% of our food supply to come that way. But we can do a lot better than we do, and actually looking at the numbers instead of guessing makes that clear.
    - PaulHoule 2y ago
      It is not a simple story https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/07/09/organic-vs-conventional-farming-lower-environmental-impact/ https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2021/07/09/organic-vs-con... The most important advantage traditional agriculture has is that it uses less land and frees up space for nature.
  - nativeit 2y ago
    It’s a good thing that’s an exaggerated and disingenuous notion, then.
idunnoman1222 2y ago
A natural defoliant? Would be what, rubbing alcohol? I think they have to pull the weeds or lay a ground cover