Most of the time when food claims to be organic, my mind almost immediately jumps to the conclusion that it's food gussied up to be much more expensive without any necessary benefits. Organic food is a huge business, and when that much money comes into play, there's always an incentive to fudge or lie for the bottom line. I remember reading that organic labels mean almost nothing because so many of the terms are defined so badly - here's a
nice summary which I just found. What regulation is there to ensure that your food is actually 'organic' - and what does that even mean?
These articles, one from a
Scientific American blog and another from the
BBC show that it doesn't even mean the food is free from pesticides. Nor does the fact that 'organic' pesticides are used make it any better. When we grew our own veggies, we didn't use chemical pesticides - but we did have bugs so we used neem oil.
Neem oil is as natural and 'organic' as it gets - it also should not be ingested by pregnant women.
I agree with what the writer says - that many 'organic' practices are better, but I think it boils down to the fact that most factory farming, whether they claim to be organic or not, tends to not be your best bet. Buying local is - and in a farm where the producers are happy for you to come around and stick your nose in and ask what they use. When I called around the farms in our area, everyone invited me over to come take a look, and answered my questions on whether the chickens were free range. I would happily pay more for stuff which is responsibly grown but unfortunately this isn't possible in Singapore where almost everything is imported and we can't verify the source of most of our food.
Also 'organic' doesn't always equate expensive - in Amish country, where I saw the chickens running around the yard - eggs cost just over $2 for a dozen.
