We just celebrated Earth Day–ooooo we–a whole day to celebrate the earth, now there is something Americans can get into. They do not have to give up anything, just listen to a few speeches and such. then go back to 364 days of polluting and such.But we were gonna talk about organic foods, so I will jump down off my soapbox on Earth Day.
Large food conglomerates are buying out organic brands. Hain Food Group, for example, owns such brands as Health Valley, Celestial Seasonings, Bearitos and Garden of Eatin’. And who are some of the principal investors in Hain Food Group? ExxonMobil (gasoline, oil spills and global warming); Philip Morris (tobacco); Monsanto (genetically modified foods and hormones); and Lockheed Martin (weapons of mass destruction). What does this mean?
Clearly, as large corporations continue to take control of the organic industry, ethical and safety standards are falling. Free range, for example, does not necessarily mean that the chickens or cows are spending much, if any, of their time in bucolic bliss. And from an environmental perspective, an organic artichoke from California might avoid pollution through pesticides, but it uses a great deal of fossil fuel pollution to arrive at your front door. As Stephen Hopp, points out, “Americans put almost as much fossil fuel into our refrigerators as our cars.”
But that isn’t the only thing we should be worried about. For example, There are only six corporations control 98 percent of seed sales around the world. Some of these companies genetically modify their seeds so that you must buy their expensive fertilizers to make the seeds germinate. These companies also promote growing limited varieties of plants, which is troubling from a biodiversity standpoint.
My point is that, if you go to the store and buy organic foods….you may be mislead.
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Seafood that comes from the sea cannot be labeled ‘organic’, but pen or pond raised ‘farmed’ fish or shellfish can. Go figure.
our 90 year old neighbor passed a short while back and we offered to help her family clear the house of 55 years worth of stuff. Found a little store front church on Chicago’s west side (poorest part of town) who was thrilled to receive Bettys 1956 Hammond organ as a donation. Anyway, chatting with the deacon about this and that, we got around to food prices and eating healthy. He pointed out how buying/eating organic was pretty much out of the question due to cost. Something like “can feed the whole family on Browns chicken for what I’d spend on milk and a few vegetables from an organic store”.
Another generation to face diabetes and obesity? Makes me sick.