Monday, October 5, 2009
I was appalled when I read Sai Folmsbee’s column “Organic Foods Revealed” on Friday. First, the author talks about Dr. Borlaug who started the “green revolution,” but opposed organic food. Obviously he did that because he worked for DuPont, the world’s second largest chemical company. Those chemicals are used in industrial agriculture and genetically modified foods. Thus, Borlaug was against his competition.
As for organic foods not being healthier than their counterparts just look at Central Alternative High School in Wisconsin. Notorious for its delinquent students, the school witnessed a marked improvement in truancy, grades and behavior once the cafeteria switched to organic food.
The French Agency for Food Safety determined that organic food is better for you because of higher nutrition content, fewer pesticides and less nitrates, according to an article in Food Magazine last month. Organic food was found to contain more minerals, anti-oxidants and phenols.
The article also mentioned the USDA acknowledging organics were not different than industrial food, but readers should keep in mind that the USDA has been influenced by biotech companies — DuPont and Monsanto — by accepting company-sponsored studies.
Monsanto is responsible for RoundUp and Agent Orange. Should a company that has created environmental hazards be making food?
Folmsbee also wrote about how organic foods were not truly organic. He is right — “organic” means only 95 percent organic.
He implies that industrialized farming could feed a starving world. Yet, Stop Hunger Now affirms that although there is more food available, it isn’t as nutritious as it once was. Genetically modified food cannot be given away because biotech companies patent the genes used in their products.
Humanity was on an organic diet till the early twentieth century. Since then we’ve lost one-third of America’s topsoil, buried toxic waste, depleted water systems and exacerbated cancer and obesity.
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Comments
Letter to editor: Sticking with organic foods
Food wharrgarbl. "ACA was open a year and a half prior to the implementation of the Nutrition and Wellness Program. Unfortunately, no behavioral data was collected before or after the implementation of this program, nor were the changes documented. Clearly no scientifically sound conclusion may be drawn regarding the effects of the program on student behavior. Because we are relying solely on anecdotal descriptions by the staff who implemented the program, there exists a barrage of possible explanations for the perceived increase in better student behavior." http://www.michaelfieldsaginst.org/work/urbanag/case_study.pdf
Wait, who wrote this? Is it an anonymous letter?
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