Active Users:169 Time:18/05/2024 11:03:43 PM
Re: I think organic food is a luxury that few will want as food prices increase in the coming -- DomA Send a noteboard - 12/09/2012 02:38:24 AM
perhaps some people who support organic farming adopt the whole package: you start by thinking it's environmentally friendly and suddenly it tastes better and is healthier, too.


I'm sure many reason like that. Organic isn't better in and of itself. The thing is, organic in some cases (rarer, nowadays) is smaller scale and sold locally, meaning very short transportation, no storage problems, fruits and veggies that have time to ripe in the field. And that, whether the culture is organic or not, has a huge impact on taste and quality (and price, and environment).

Buying "organic" veggies that are from very large scale farms and come from the other side of the continent, are stored for transportation and at the distribution centers at a temperature suitable to lenghten shelf life rather than at the proper temperature to preserve taste and quality, which are finally set to rippen at the distribution facilities at the arrival point so they're ready to hit the shelves on just the right day makes absolutely no sense for the gourmet or for health (not to mention that environmentally, it's rather moot). Several veggies or fruits support cold very badly (tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries etc.) but need to be stored quite beneath the optimal temp. for transportation. E.g. Fresh California strawberries or cucumbers from Mexico or Chili sold in eastern Canada are tasteless, their texture is sub-par, whether they're organic or not, and often non organic mass products are even of better quality. I'm sure they're all good on their local markets, it's exportation to get fresh veggies from the other side of the world, out of season, that's a really dubious practice. Frozen products are an alternative of much better quality, for taste, for cost (they're much cheaper to transport and store than fresh products) and healthwise.

My personal bottomline for organic is that it's really perfect and to be strongly encouraged for the home garden. There are really no excuses anymore except lazyness or pure indifference for using chemical fertilizers or pesticides at home when there are tons of other options nearly as easy to implement on the home scale. I'm also OK with it for relatively small scale production sold locally and in season, as long as the "organic" aspect comes with high standards of quality. Big scale "organic" farms, that export their products very far make little sense to me - that's really "organic" not for environmental reasons but to jack up the prices for a product that in the end is of the same sub-quality as the non organic one. I'll favor locally grown and seasonal non-organic to foreign organic any time. For imported or out of season products, I much prefer high quality frozen goods (or when I have time, I do this at home, with local seasonal products). Not that I won't eat exotic fruits or veggies, but more and more I do this mostly during the months there's no local alternatives.

Reply to message
I'd be interested in knowing what you guys think about organic food - 11/09/2012 08:01:41 PM 1007 Views
Re: I'd be interested in knowing what you guys think about organic food - 11/09/2012 08:55:17 PM 541 Views
Okay - 11/09/2012 10:05:39 PM 509 Views
Re: Okay - 12/09/2012 01:26:20 AM 447 Views
Re: Okay - 12/09/2012 04:25:19 PM 537 Views
Re: I'd be interested in knowing what you guys think about food - 11/09/2012 08:59:54 PM 723 Views
I am intrigued by your ideas. - 12/09/2012 03:20:13 PM 450 Views
I'm a biology graduate so I'm a bit bias but... - 11/09/2012 09:41:00 PM 636 Views
Thank you for you perspective! *NM* - 11/09/2012 10:14:49 PM 250 Views
I think organic food is a luxury that few will want as food prices increase in the coming decades. - 11/09/2012 10:11:33 PM 529 Views
Re: I think organic food is a luxury that few will want as food prices increase in the coming -- - 11/09/2012 10:35:08 PM 548 Views
Re: I think organic food is a luxury that few will want as food prices increase in the coming -- - 12/09/2012 02:38:24 AM 534 Views
Good points - 12/09/2012 09:28:41 AM 585 Views
Re: Good points - 12/09/2012 02:09:49 PM 507 Views
Yes. - 12/09/2012 10:01:36 AM 486 Views
I like it. - 11/09/2012 11:29:08 PM 587 Views
What I think - 12/09/2012 03:43:29 PM 426 Views
Re: What I think - 12/09/2012 04:26:34 PM 522 Views
Did you just INVITE me to ramble? - 11/09/2012 11:30:01 PM 661 Views
Actually (minor pedants point) - 13/09/2012 08:23:48 PM 556 Views
I hold to the view that most food is organic - 12/09/2012 12:15:27 AM 592 Views
What I think (now in the right spot!) - 12/09/2012 04:02:31 PM 612 Views
I'm so glad you responded. - 12/09/2012 04:14:31 PM 571 Views
Well... - 12/09/2012 08:15:13 PM 613 Views
I think the organic movement is mostly a big scam: an excuse to charge more money for less food. - 12/09/2012 11:40:40 PM 477 Views
Actually, I believe the "no pesticides" part predates the "no GMOs" part. - 13/09/2012 05:26:53 AM 487 Views
You're right... - 13/09/2012 08:43:52 AM 580 Views
Thanks for confirming my general impression as right on the money. - 14/09/2012 03:35:56 PM 572 Views
Re: Thanks for confirming my general impression as right on the money. - 16/09/2012 07:45:25 PM 527 Views
That is a very interesting overview, thanks. - 17/09/2012 11:22:38 PM 522 Views
Re: That is a very interesting overview, thanks. - 20/09/2012 08:44:45 PM 545 Views
Re: That is a very interesting overview, thanks. - 24/09/2012 03:06:35 AM 551 Views
Curious as to where you read these things - 13/09/2012 08:41:43 PM 531 Views
I am aware of no corroborating scientific research, no - 14/09/2012 03:53:42 PM 551 Views
I have some serious problems with that I'm afraid. - 14/09/2012 05:53:39 PM 440 Views
Fair enough; I have some serious fears with GMOs. - 15/09/2012 03:58:13 AM 607 Views
This is a long one... - 15/09/2012 08:28:36 PM 531 Views
Tends to happen around me for SOME reason.... - 17/09/2012 05:31:44 PM 645 Views

Reply to Message