Organic farming in many respects resembles the sect of eco-friendly products are much more expensive than usual, but they do not carry any additional benefit to health or the environment. We just sponsoring organic farming, which in many respects resembles a cult.
Passions around organic food.
Why are we willing to pay big bucks for organic vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, and without batting an eye, agree on the fact that the European Union generously subsidize organic farming? Consumer surveys in different countries show similar results: people are convinced that organic food is not harmful chemistry, first of all pesticides. In second place is the desire to buy more useful (ie, containing more vitamins and trace elements), and at the same time more delicious foods.
And third, by a considerable margin, are the arguments for environmental protection, for ecological agriculture, as it might seem judging by the name, is not harmful to nature.
On the advantages of eco-friendly power supply not only speak manufacturers and organizations that support them green, but also the media. TV cook like a mantra repeated thesis that the delicious and healthy meals can be prepared only with organic products. These statements are not getting denials, so that in the public mind eco has become synonymous with the useful.
As for skepticism is not space here to practically do not reach the public voices of experts in toxicology, nutrition, agriculture, chemistry, or environmentalists. It is a pity: because most of our ideas about organic products - are myths.
Natural vs. Artificial
Organic farming is based, essentially, on one key principle, which states that chemistry, a man-made (ie, artificial fertilizers and plant protection products) is harmful and bad by nature. Therefore ekozemledeltsy use natural fertilizers, plant extracts and tools that are considered traditional, such as sulfur, which is used in agriculture to control mites and fungal diseases for five thousand years. The problem is that the artificial division of the bad and good life chemistry is scientifically absurd.
As far as a substance may be harmful to man and depends on the nature and properties of the dose and not by its origin.
So is there a chemistry of organic food? Yes. First of all, we eat, is composed of the chemical elements and chemical compounds. A good illustration of this is the recently circling the picture on the internet with a list of the usual apple.
This dihydrogen monoxide (i.e., water), vegetable oils, sugars, starch, carotene, tocopherol (E306), riboflavin (E101), nicotinamide, biotin, folic pantothenic, palmitic, oleic, linoleic, ethanedioic and salicylic acid, ascorbic acid (E300), stearic acid (E570), gidroksibutandiovaya acid (E296), purines, sodium, potassium, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, phosphorus, colorants and antioxidants.
Second, although the ecological products contain fewer pesticides, it does not mean that producers of organic vegetables do not use crop protection chemicals. EU rules allow the use of 26 so-called environmental pesticides - this is referred to the traditional, compounds of plant origin. However, they are not always less toxic.
For example, until 2011, the European and American ekohozyaystvah were allowed to use rotenone - a substance derived from tropical plants, and is actively used as an insecticide. It had to be removed from the list when studies in rats showed that high doses of rotenone cause symptoms similar to Parkinson's disease.
Not so scary pesticides
Curiously, no one in the world (the Americans are going to start this year alone) does not follow the real volumes of natural pesticides that are used in ekozemledelii, or because of their concentration in the product. According to studies, Eurobarometer, 78% of Poles (and an average of 72% of Europeans) fear artificial pesticide residues on vegetables, fruits and grains. These sentiments are largely echo the situation 50-60-ies, when the fertilizers and insecticides used in agriculture massively and quite nonchalantly.
Fear of DDT, which, as mentioned, will bring the world to an ecological apocalypse, has created the phenomenon of himiofobii - an irrational fear of any kind of chemical substances created by man.
Are the fears of fifty years ago are still relevant? Since the days of DDT in many countries the situation was quite different. There are state and inter-state institutions that deal with conservation and control used in agriculture synthetic agents (producing their industry has also changed: it is now paying much more attention to the safety aspects of the environment).
Changed and our knowledge. In 2000, two scientists from the University of California, Professor Bruce Ames (Bruce Ames) and Lois Gold (Lois Gold), published a very important study. It implies that with the food a person eats 5-10 thousand species of pesticides to protect against pests produce plants themselves. Among all pesticides used by man of 99.99% are of natural origin.
And if synthetic pesticides are well understood, then a plant we know much less. About 100 kinds of natural pesticides have been tested on animals, and found that half of them have provoked the development of cancer.
Does this mean that the edible plants cause cancer? No, but the example shows the absurdity of our antihimicheskoy hysteria. By focusing attention on the part of man-made plant protection products, we are afraid of 0.01% contained pesticides in our food!
Meanwhile, 71% of synthetic pesticides used today in agriculture, less toxic than vanilla, while 97% - than caffeine or aspirin.
U.S. and EU spend in this area a thorough inspection. Recently, the European Agency for Food Safety (EFSA) has published a detailed report on pesticides in food products. Was examined 77,000 samples from 29 European countries, as a result of suspicion of experts called a pesticide concentration of 0.4 samples. However, according to experts EFSA, even eating these products would not constitute a health hazard.
Experts from University College Dublin, in turn, show that among people in the diet which most cereals, the use of synthetic pesticides is at the level of 0.1 to 10% of the safe dose of pesticides established by the World Health Organization (WHO).
Neither useful nor tastier
The assertion that the certified organic products guarantee our favor, is also incorrect. The relevant certificate shows only that something was grown in accordance with the principles of organic agriculture. Therefore, the U.S.
Department of Agriculture, is responsible for the introduction of a certification system in the country, accurately warns icon eco does not mean that the product will be more useful or qualitative.
Oasis at Bird-in-Hand features growing efforts of Plain Sect farmers
It is horsepower food, produced by Plain Sect farmers with animals and without chemicals.
You can buy it by subscribing to a weekly service that will provide you with a share of the fresh, organic produce.
Or you can visit a newly opened retail store in Ronks, where seasonal produce, organic meats and cheeses are available.
By this spring, organizers hope a creamery will be churning out pasteurized milk, yogurt and other dairy products there, and possibly offering raw milk.
Oasis at Bird-in-Hand features the growing efforts of about 30 Plain Sect farmers, who raise everything from beef to beets.
"Our whole goal is to strengthen the ag heritage in the area," said Reuben Stoltzfus, of Bird-in-Hand, one of three principals in the project.
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