Comments about ‘Organic Certification Program may be saved’

Organic foods are like those "wonder" drinks (Noni, Xango, etc) that charge high amounts of money for no real added benefit. If all you want is the placebo effect, then be my guest and prop up the economy, but I have to scoff at these products.

To: "Organic is a sham"

Before you go off hurling at the mouth about something you know absolutely nothing about, first take the time to get some facts.

I have a business that manufacturers natural health products and can say with much study, experience and authority that organic raw materials are of a higher quality and safety than conventionally grown raw materials.

Thousands of mineral ash assays comparing organic grown to conventionally grown show a consistent 1/3 to 40% higher mineral ash content for organic than conventional - indicating that there is far more nutritional density for organic than conventional.

One of the goals of organic certification is to lessen the well studied and established problem of chemical (pesticide and herbicide) residue contamination of the food supply. This is not even an arguable point given the mountains and decades of scientific studies.

And this is just for starters.

Food buyers at some of the nation's largest grocery chains have noted that consumers of organic actually purchase less on their overall food bill as opposed to the non-organic consumers. That surely doesn't appear to be one of your economy propping scenarios does it?

Get your facts correct!

According to the USDA, consumers of "organic" food are 10 times more likely to contract E. coli food poisoning and 15 times more likely to contract salmonella food poisoning. The point is, if you eat organic, be cook your food very well and wash it in disenfectants before eating. Not as safe as some would have you believe.

They purchase less because it costs them more. It's a matter of economics. As one who does research in the vegetable industry (both conventional and organic), the research studies I read indicate no significant differences in nutrition. A carrot is a carrot, and a beet a beet. USDA is right that there is a greater chance for food-borne illnesses with organic produce. Overall, it's a matter of choice. I'll eat either one with the same enjoyment and caution.

One definate plus, a lot less reliance on petroleum based fertilizers. For everyone beating the less foreign oil drum (pun intended) it is a positive that people are willing to buy organic. Additionally, organic farming lets farmers sell their products for a profit without those lovely farming subsidies from the government (we all ove paying wealthy corporations those don't we). It also allows for small scale farming. And it encourages local production of food rather than from hothouses in South America & Mexico. Certainly those big ships & trucks don't produce any pollution.

Even though I don't buy organic, accidentally I bought organic bananas, and it really ticked me off that they tasted better than regular bananas (even though I didn't want them to).

Organic has a lot of benefits, even if the health benefits haven't been proven (& just because they aren't proven doesn't mean there aren't any). It would be sad for the program to go away & I'm glad that they figured out a way to keep it around, even though I don't generally avail myself of it. It is good for business & good for Utah.

During the 1960's a man named Dr. Norman Borlaug, concerned about food shortages around the world began experimenting with the use of inorganic fertilizers, plant breeding and pesticides. The result= the green revolution and the Noble Prize for Dr.Borlaug. Food production more than doubled on the same amount of land and millions of people now had adequate food at affordable prices. If we go back to "organic" agriculture, food production will be cut in half, according to the US Dept of Ag scientists. In order to produce the same amount of food we are today, we will have to plow down all the remaining wildlife habitat in the world. "Organic" food is ok, if you can afford it, the rest of the world can not!