I wish I could remember where I cut that from - I would like to verify it also. However - it does not say "non organic- it says preservatives and processed foods.
If you look at statistics done on rising levels of Obesity and Diabetes - it is not such an outrageous claim. Also we have all seen and eaten tomatoes that are almost white inside and have almost no taste. Both sides of the argument have their "spin".
I have not been reading widely on both sides of the debate. I have swallowed some Organic Propaganda without verifying the facts. As for being emotional - yep I am guilty there also - I blame discovery channel and visiting national parks. I wanted to believe their is a non-synthetic way out of this mess. Same as many people would like to see a pure geothermal solar solution to our energy needs.
I have been doing some reading on the "other side of the argument" Environmental degradation is real - some of it is caused by bad agricultural practices - however...
Organic farming - is not always clean - using manures can be very dangerous. Sprays made from Natural materials can be more dangerous than isolated chemicals that are designed to break down quickly.
Many organic farms use more land to produce less and are more labor intense.
Not all Modern Agriculture practices are producing dead lifeless soil and salted up water sources. In fact they can be rich with earth worms, use crop rotation, permanent ground cover and no- till methods.
Perhaps this is a bit like the Renewable energy vs Fossil fuels and Nuclear debate? - the result of which will likely be a blend of both with great ideas and results coming forth as each facet has to compete with the other.
If Modern Mechanized Agriculture can continue to produce higher yields on less land without damaging water sources. If it can increase fertility of soils by increasing the life in the soil, if it can selectively kill pests with poisons that break down fast and do not wipe out predators. If Monsato can create strains of high yield staples that do not adversely affect existing "heritage" species - then I have no complaints.
However - I suspect that Increasing Bio-diversity and building growing systems that learn from nature can reduce our dependance on the less salubrious aspects of Modern food production.
I think you are correct - the Organic Flag is being waved from a moral high ground that is not completely justified - I am guilty of this.
End of the day it comes down to Inputs and outputs. Learning from working models is good so long as we don't break anything beneficial either through foolish over-regulation or damaging biodiversity and ecosystems with magic bullets.
Lesson learnt - I will be more careful to read both sides of the fence in future. I will remain an emotional dreamer also
