Going crazy for organic

[mindfulmarket]

It seems more and more people keep buying organic foods, and they are willing to pay sky high prices. Just last week while on vacation, I saw my aunt and uncle buying absolutely everything organic, even sunscreen for my young cousin.

To me, it seems ridiculous that people pay so much more money for an organic apple that is soft. Things like organic milk, organic honey, organic eggs, are these things even that much healthier for you?

From your perspective, perhaps as a farmer growing fruits or vegetables, what do you think about organic produce? Obviously eating healthy is good, but it seems like a lot of this is just a marketing scheme.

I do not mean to ruffle any feathers, I am actually just curious about what actual farmers think about everyone buying everything organic.

John

Organic products avoid synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, reducing chemical exposure. They often have higher nutrients and are non-GMO. Organic farming helps the environment by improving soil and water quality. It also supports animal welfare and sustainable farming, benefiting both people and the planet.

 

[Bruce from Can.]

My dad an I farm conventionally, but I
buy organic stuff. Not really much
different in price. If a couple bucks
here and there are gonna break the bank,
you have more serious things to worry
about. I can choose what I want to eat
and buy, so I do. Part of our farm is
rented out to an organic farmer, he does
a good job, clean crops. I personally
don't really want to eat a ton of stuff
that has been loaded with herbicide. We
try to use as little herbicide as
possible, one time per season, with as
light of application as possible. Some
guys will spray the same fields numerous
times even after harvest to keep the
weeds down during the fall, or spray in
the spring before planting and then after
planting, using flood nozzles so they can
spray in 20 mph wind. If crops are
sprayed at the optimum time, it works a
lot better than the guys that you watch
spraying in the wind where the liquid
leaves the nozzle and immediately is
blown away from the flood nozzle at a
right angle. But a lot of guys do it that
way. Ever see how many times potatoes and
sugar beets are sprayed for bugs, blight,
diseases? Just about every week. The
spraying of foliar feed doesn't bother me
as much as the other stuff though. You
spray enough of that stuff into the dirt,
it's going to be there permanently in
some form or another. Why do you think
you aren't supposed to just drain your
engine oil into the dirt? Superfund
sites? Have one of those near me, that
used to make all sorts of chemicals that
are now embedded in the soil. I know I
eat some stuff that is conventionally
grown, and I'm ok with that, but I get to
choose what I want to eat for the most
part. Some people don't care what they
eat, and I'm ok with that too. I've been
exposed to enough chemicals in my
previous jobs when I was younger and
didn't know any better, and still am when
I'm working on someone's truck, tractor,
etc. I get oil on me sometimes, covered
even, but I sure don't make it a point to
stick my hands in used engine oil for no
reason, or swallow gas if I can help it.
There's a few orchards around me. There
has been a couple older fellows that used
to work in the orchards that ended up
with nerve damage and Parkinson's
disease. The doctors told them it's a
more common thing, or something they have
seen among orchard workers around here
when exposed to the sprays that are
used/used to be used in orchards. Back in
the day, these guys sprayed on open
station tractors, at the mercy of the
wind and drift, and some pretty nasty
stuff back in the day. They're gone now,
but they both said looking back they
wished they'd been more careful in what
they exposed themselves to. I'm not
saying anyone is right or wrong, everyone
is allowed to do and buy what they like,
but when you spray water on a plant, it
absorbs it. When you spray water with
chemicals on a plant, it absorbs it. I
don't feel like absorbing what was
absorbed into that plant intentionally if
I can help it. I do eat Cheerios for
breakfast though, and I think we all know
how they say Cheerios contain glyphosate.

Cherrios are made from Oats, farmers don’t use Glyphosate spray on Oat crops. Oats are a simple grass, not genetically modified, and die when sprayed with Glyphosate. For weed control in crops like Oats or Barley, typically 24D is the herbicide of choice, And is sprayed long before the grain goes to head