3 ms·

I'd say the point is mostly that those big, scary sounding chemical names you see in products that "Organic" companies like to point to really aren't scary at a

• zzzeek 13y ago
  what are some of those specific "scary sounding chemical names" an "Organic" company points towards? I'm not familiar with organic companies intentionally trying to fool people that particular naturally occurring agents are harmful. The kinds of agents they do point to are typically synthetic compounds which are widely suspected of being harmful but are still in wide use such as bisphenol A used in plastic containers.
  • aroch 13y ago
    Many organic companies, particularly in the cosmetics and toiletry market, like advertising their products as "all natural" and "without scary chemicals". For example, products that like to villainize both Nitrates/Nitrites and MSG. Hell, pretty much any bacon, sausage or cured products advertised as "Nitrate-free" or as "No Nitrated added" are relying on the fact that you think Nitrates are bad while still adding nitrates. Instead of adding Sodium Nitrate to their products they remain "all natural" and "organic" by adding celery juice, which is high in nitrates.
    • anthonyb 13y ago
      Nitrates aren't harmful in themselves - it's the Nitrosamines that they can produce under certain conditions, which are very definitely carcinogenic. Probably not so bad these days, since there have been steps taken to reduce the amount of nitrosamine in all sorts of foodstuffs. There's a good overview at http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/f-w00/nitrosamine.html http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/f-w00/nitrosamine.html Given most of the information there, it's possibly a good reason to avoid the hippie celery juice bacon (though I've never seen it in the stores), mainly because you don't know how much nitrate you're getting. But it's a little more complex than "Lol, hippies."
    • zzzeek 13y ago
      the potential harm associated with "nitrates" has been addressed by someone else, and with MSG specifically, some people simply have unpleasant reactions to it (though these results are difficult to reproduce clinically, they are listed at http://www.mayoclinic.org/monosodium-glutamate/expert-answers/FAQ-20058196 http://www.mayoclinic.org/monosodium-glutamate/expert-answer..., the desire to avoid the risk of these effects is quite rational) and there's additionally no reason a non-essential compound such as MSG needs to be used - using artificially-isolated compounds to modify one's neurologic reaction to food is a practice that a lot of us choose not to participate in, and we'd prefer the food is of enough quality to start with that such modification is not necessary in order for it to taste good. There is no "fear" that MSG is causing actual harm, only that it's a sign of an otherwise low-quality food product. Hence we appreciate when a product marks it as not included.
  • Blahah 13y ago
    glyphosate is one
• Natsu 13y ago
  They also neglected to include any information on the radiation dose you get from the radioactive potassium in an ordinary banana. Brazil nuts are also naturally radioactive, as are a few other foods.