Is organic produce an excuse for selling second rate produce at a premium price?

Question

In my experience organic fruit and vegetables are very poor value for money.
They look unappetising, rot in days and taste appalling, isn't the organic trade just another rip off?

Answer 1

Shhhh, the yuppies aren't supposed to know that.

Organic veggies and fruit are (supposed to be) free of pesticides and chemicals (like those that prevent rot). They also are only supposed to use natural fertilizer (which is why they look so poorly).

The effect of some of the chemicals we use in our food has not been well tested on humans, why I don't know. Some people feel that the addition of these chemicals can cause problems for the human body, although they are not exactly sure of what harm. By using a campaign of worry the agriculture industry has been able to push organic foods. This has been a boom for the small time farmer who can't afford the fancy extras of industrial size farmers (sometimes called truck farming). So when you buy organic you are supporting (sometimes) the small time farmer. Of course if you want to do that then just go to a farmer's market.

Large scale farming feeds a whole lot of people, more than any organic farms do. To do this the farms have to submit to market pressures. They use intense chemical fertilizers to grow the crop, they keep it insect clean with pesticides, and often cloned plants, or special cuttings (plants reproduced by cuttings, a practice as old as the middle ages at least) are used to keep the product uniform in size, shape, weight, and color (or at least as uniform as possible.)

Then after the harvest the food is treated with artificial colors, chemical cleaners and other materials. Most of these chemicals were not in the normal diet of primitive man. However, there are no cases of modern humans being harmed by modern food. That is not to say there aren't problems occurring, but to say that these problems haven't caused major trouble and haven't been studied.

If you are hyper worried then you should stick to organic produce. Of course it has been found that children from hyper clean homes are the ones more likely to suffer from asthma, because their young bodies are used to handling a lot of nasal irritants and germs.

As for me I prefer the benefits of modern farming and I will stick to processed foods. There just isn't enough evidence to go either way so I will stick with what seems better (after all I don't want to eat a rotten apple).

Answer 2

Not down here in Australia - there are strict guidelines, and the organic buying public are much more aware of the quality of what they're buying. Most organic buyers do NOT use the big supermarkets, but the dedicated retailers. By 'dedicated' I mean those who sell only one type of product - like fruit and vegetables - and must keep up the quality or lose business. Big supermarkets only look at the profit they make, and are basically not interested in what used to be called 'customer service' if it lowers profit. True organic produce has no preservative chemicals in or on it, and therefore must be used fairly quickly, so it might look different from mainstream products. If it's kept for long periods, or transported across the nation, it'll be a bit daggy when it gets to you.

Answer 3

It all depends on your attitude to food. I believe we are what we eat. So , if you fill your body full of chemicals, pesticides and additives that your body has never learned (and never will) to process how can your body extract the goodness which mother nature in all her wisdom has provided. In Brazil they call Bananas the "toxic Fruit" and in the UK it's advised that children under the age of 3 don't eat un-organic carrots. The use of modified food starches has led to a rise in intolerences in infants - wake up and smell the (organic) coffee Food is supposed to rot - that's how you know when it's BAD for you and you can no longer extract nutrtional content from it. Choice - 1 Year old treated apple - looks good tastes like c%^p vs. apple picked from tree in the garden, sweet, delicious and as nature intended.

NO CONTEST

Answer 4

You're right in some ways, organic food is expensive and is ridiculously priced. The only real benefit to them is that the organic doesn't have fertiliser and insecticides used on them. I think that most fruit is still good for you even if it is radioactive. Organic fruit is for those that are REALLY health conscious or that can afford it.

Answer 5

The organic produce you are buying is obviously rubbish. I must admit I do think its over priced but I can taste the difference.

Answer 6

No it isn't. Good looking fruits and vegetables are an excuse for producers to sell us hormones, pesticides and all the other chemicals that cause cancer.

Answer 7

When it comes to fruits and vegetables, organic and non-organic are virtually the same thing. However, when it comes to meat and dairy products, organic is much better for you because non-organic meat and dairy products use a lot of growth hormones and other things to bulk up production.

Answer 8

I agree that failure to keep bugs from crawling into the food we eat doesn't improve that food. However it does wonders for the profits of the food purveyors and that is what the food industry is really about. They realize that anyone who can do less and get more money for it is onto a path they should not turn from.

Answer 9

I don't know where you buy your organic produce from, but where I shop, it's beautiful and full of flavour. Yes, it does 'go off' quicker than non organic food, but that's because it's not pumped full of toxic chemicals and preservatives. I've eaten only organic food for the past 5 years, and I promise you I've never been healthier in my life.

Answer 10

yeah, man, it's supposed to rot. You're used to things that are picked before they're even ripe. alot of organic produce, at least the stuff I buy, I make sure is fully ripened before being harvested, that way it's at its peak, so you get the maximum flavor. I don't know, man, maybe you're shopping at super wal-mart for your produce, and in that case, you should switch.