NLBS 3.02 - "Organic Food" Is Mostly, No, Completely BS

ever heard of Bud Nip?
Not gonna tell me thats good for me are you?

This NLBS brought to you by monsanto??

Other then the flavor and cost there is no difference between organic and non organic.

originally posted by: Sremmos80
I think some people are having a bit of an emotional response.

I didn't hear him say we need to eat things that are loaded with pesticides and chemicals, more that the 'organic' label isn't anything special and just used to jack up the price.

The implication if you aren't eating organics is you are eating GMO produce loaded with pesticides, including bt toxin and glyphosate. Those last two have some incredibly nasty consequences for your health. So are those who get cancer and other diseases from consuming pesticide crisps experiencing the opposite of the placebo effect? Is it all in their doctors heads?

Arguing others should not consumer organics because you personally don't mind pesticides and transgenic frankenfood is like arguing others should not wear seat belts or look before crossing. Nothing might happen. You might die. Worth the risk playing the probability game?

originally posted by: thesaneone
Other then the flavor and cost there is no difference between organic and non organic.

I can think of two differences.

Flavor and the fact non organic food contains GMOs and cancer causing pesticides.

You seriously believe there's no difference between a McDonalds burger (made from reconstituted waste meat rendered from animal fat, gassed with ammonia, and then flash frozen) and an organic quarter pounder? Shame for your taste buds and health.

originally posted by: SkepticOverlord

originally posted by: proob4
I call "organic" what you grow for yourself, right. Tell me it's not better than anything you can get at a store or market? In respect to you, seriously?

There's a great many people that don't have the means for a meaningful vegetable garden -- yours truly included.

After spending time with real, honest, hard-working farmers (I talked to a couple more), it's not about going full-organic, it's about responsible farming, which sometimes includes pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers -- but not overuse of those items.

Responsible farming involves the practice of permaculture, in which no pesticides etc are needed. Unfortunately, (depending on how you view it) permaculture requires extra man power in the fields.

Therefore, we have a world of irresponsible farming practices.

a reply to: Moors

I didn't get that implication at all.

That seems to be what everyone is thinking but there is a middle ground before that.

Farmers do need to use some things to keep their yield high and healthy.

I am very good at tasting foods and deciphering what ingredients they contain. I ignore the placebo effect, actually tasting the food and checking out which foods are best. Now, not all organic carrots blow away the commercial grades, but I can say with confidence carrots are usually worth buying organic. But if you do not like too much sweet in your carrots, you might prefer to use conventional carrots. If you get carrots from a new field, no matter what they all taste better, the quality of the soils is important, NPK does not give carrots a good taste, they need decent soils. The NPK fertilizer does seem to stimulate growth though, so they are bigger.

Organic celery is usually a lot stronger and better tasting than commercially grown, so remember that using less when creating dishes is important. It can overflavor the dish.

The biggest difference in organic veggies is in lettuce, the organic Iceberg lettuce seems to be a lot less sharp. I have only splurged a couple of times on it. It is what they preserve it for shipping that is important here. I guess you can get food grade hydrogen peroxide to neutralize the sulfites or other preservatives for lettuce and it works well. But I have not found that around here, it is 35 percent I guess, one drop in a pot of water does the trick.

Grassfed milk usually tastes better, organic certification does not take the cake on that one. Grass fed aged beef is much better, especially if it is limosine or limosine cross. If you want a little more fat, finishing in some of the real non-gmo grains for a few weeks does add some fat to the steaks. You do not need certified organic in beef, but you do need the farmer to know what cows really need to eat to be healthy and good tasting. Grain fed beef is tasteless unless you really fry it, the fat in the marbling is usually not the best lipid profile compared to the more lean grassfed with a better lipid profile.

But to each his own, I have my beef aged for two weeks and some people don't like that. I have tasted many types of beef, buying a half or a full head of beef every year. I can say the worst I have had for taste is full grain fed angus. It was very tender but unless you were frying it it was flavorless. Too much intermuscular fat. I used to think that the marbled beef was the best till I tasted the grass fed aged limosine, the wife and I will never go back.

There are a lot of variables to organic. A field is certifiable as organic by just being pesticide free for five years, it could have a lot of Pesticides in it from before. Some pesticides had a fifty year half life, that means they degrade to half at fifty years. Now it depends on the farmer, the soil, the natural or artificial pesticides they use, and many other variables. But I can say that most Iceberg lettuce, carrots, and celery taste better as organic.

Eggs taste better from chickens that run around outside and eat bugs in my opinion yet some people do not like that taste. I guess with eggs, your taste buds are what you should pay attention to. I buy locally grown small farm eggs usually, which at the time are cheaper than commercial eggs almost everywhere. You only need to eat real free range eggs a couple times a month to benefit from the immunity they can give, you can eat the store bought eggs all other times. But I can't see paying more for commercial eggs. The small farms don't seem to have a problem with the virus.

They are saying now that people might want to preorder turkeys for thanksgiving from their stores to make sure they get a turkey. Real turkeys grown on a farm that run around outside in the grass and eat bugs taste so much better too. They taste better than commercial turkeys and lots of the organic turkeys grow up in barns all day long.

Some organic veggies and free range/grassfed meats fill you up faster, satisfying your hunger. I am trying to analyze why but that is a hard one to figure out. They have more taste which satisfied you faster. Like I said I can't quite figure it out.

Now, I have found that eating organic or locally grown foods done by responsible farmers does not cost much more because of a variety of reasons. I can't wolf down two half pound grassfed burgers like I can store bought beef burgers, the grassfed fills me up more. If you love to overindulge though, just keep eating your store bought commercial beefs, you will be happier.

a reply to: Tucket

agreed, it's a shame that one of the core food crops in the US, corn, has been now subsidized into growing food to create fuel...

wonder why your staple shelf items have gone up so much in price? look to the real BS ethanol industry..

A few years back, we had a study that said a non crop vegetation, that was easily replicated, and didn't effect the food market, Switchgrass, as a viable alternative to corn to produce ethanol...

The folks in control could give a rat's ass about consumers... they are all about $$$$$...

They have the food market covered and when Nestle's dream of cornering the water market comes to fruition, we have come to the breaking point...

a reply to: SkepticOverlord

I did organic gardening for years. Sadly, apartment living limits what I can do. If someone is having problems with low yields and fungus, their soil isn't worth growing anything in anyways, until you fix the soil.

It really is all about the quality of the soil. I would say the majority of the issues that come with organic gardening, such as pest and diseases, can be fixed via crop rotation, composting, and making sure the soil meets the needs of of what you are planting. Some plants need sandy soil, some do better in clay. Some need low nitrogen, some need nitrogen rich soil.

Healthy soil will repel pest and fungus. I am quite concerned about his statement that the root veggies got fungus. The quality of the soil must have been awful.

a reply to: calstorm

It has to be tough for those attempting to "grow your own" in an urban environment...

The same difficulties will arise should you find yourself in an urban environment survival situation...

Having some tomatoes, or pepper plants on a balcony isn't conducive to a SHTF scenario IMO...

City folks are at a disadvantage in that regard, but.... you have to realize that, and know what options you may have...

WHile it's rough for everyone in a scenario that your life depends on, I do feel for the city folks... your challenges are greater than those who are in less congested areas..

Can we do a NLBS about gluten? I'm sick of seeing 'gluten free' on things like bottled water.

a reply to: JacKatMtn

I had one of those Areogarden things:



It was pretty amazing. I didn't grow tomatoes or veggies, I just did the herb kit. I had more cillantro, mint, dill, thyme, and others than I knew what to do with. I had to actually give it away or toss it -- as the thing would over grow and start choking itself. I ran one indoors all winter up here in Alaska and never had to buy fresh herbs to cook with -- well worth the price, I highly recommend the little unit. Mine broke because I let a friend borrow it and he didn't clean it or take care of it, the roots got into the water pump and burned it out. I replaced the pump, but he kept the unit running with a bad pump for so long that it fried the electronics.

I'm thinking about getting a few now. One for lettuces, one for herbs, and one for tomatoes/peppers. The newer ones use LEDs and are a lot more energy efficient.

EDIT: You could probably build your own setup, but the ease of use for me was what I liked. Just put the pods in, fill it with water and dump in some organic nutrient solution and turn it on. No muss, no fuss. It also looks attractive in your kitchen or home. A lot of home made units look thrown together. It's pretty idiot proof as well, which for me was a good thing.

If you have cats, you might want to watch out -- they tend to nibble on the stuff growing in it. I had to move the thing a few times to keep the cat from eating the chives. Only the chives...weird.

After conversing with a certified organic foods inspector I found out that there is no way to determine the difference between what has been grown organically and what hasn't. They completely rely on paper trails there is no way to test.


Their extra paperwork isn't worth me paying extra money for the same produce.


BTW that was a real short episode the camera angle changes has gotten better, but not looking into the camera is distracting. I will have to check out the street interviews.

a reply to: Grimpachi

Might be why buying from a local farmer's market is a good idea then?

But then again, you never know if they use non-GMO genetics or organic nutrients in their fields...

I know when the BS is organic it smells better. I had to hold my nose while trying to swallow this. Nothing like a little controversy to boost the ratings.

a reply to: MystikMushroom

I buy from farmers markets, but I have never asked them nor have I seen that they advertised being organic GMO or non-GMO. Honestly those things do not concern me anyway.

They are just local growers as far as I know and the produce does taste better, but I attribute that to it being fresher from not sitting on a truck for days in route to a store. Most of them do sell to the outlets, but they get more selling smaller amounts directly.

Organic food is ingenious.

It's a scam.

Basically buy the same thing for a higher price, and people keep coming back for more.

a reply to: Moors

When did I say anything about the garbage from that place? Other then taste and being over charged for something that's going to rot quicker how do you know you are getting what they claim?

I've been gardening most of my life and have always used some chemicals in my garden and nobody has died from eating it or have yet to be diagnosed with cancer.

a reply to: neo96

So clueless man, are you healthy? Good weight, no problems?

a reply to: onequestion

So if organic food makes you so much more heathy then I take it you are no longer bi polar?