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Russell A. Paielli's avatar

I know nothing about farming, but I thought organic farming had to do with fertilizer and pesticides. As a consumer, I am more concerned about pesticides on my foods, particularly fruit, than I am about what kind of fertilizer was used.

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Ken Mull's avatar

You are right. Organic farming eliminates both manufactured fertilizer as well as pesticides. Even though I didn’t spend the time going into it, producing enough food to feed the world would not be possible if pesticides that control weeds and insects were completely eliminated. If you can afford the higher price of organic fruit it is ok for you to enjoy it. But if ALL fruit was required to be grown organically, the supply would drop and fewer people would be able to afford to buy it in the quantities that we are used to enjoying and that promote good health. One thing everybody can do is always wash their fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating.

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Russell A. Paielli's avatar

It's hard to know what to believe about the benefits and costs of organic produce. I'm sure you know far more about it than me, but there seems to be widely differing opinions among the experts.

In the past, I read and believed that the extra cost of organic food is a waste of money. More recently, however, nutritional experts that I have respect for claim that the extra cost of organic is justified, particulary for certain fruits, including strawberries and blueberries, which I eat a lot of.

I'm not sure what to believe, but lately I have been buying organic fruits and some other produce just to be safe. As for washing fruit, I usually just rinse under the faucet for a few seconds. I'm not sure how to actually wash fruits or whether I want to spend the time to really do it "right".

By the way, I usually spray strawberries and blueberries with vinegar to extend their shelf life, then I rinse it before I eat it.

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Ken Mull's avatar

Good point. I’m with you on knowing there is conflicting info about organic food on the internet. A doctor I trust published this:

“ But remember, "organic" farms still use various chemicals and pesticides. They just use ones certified by the National Organic Standards Board. Two of the most common organic pesticides are rotenone and pyrethrin. At high exposure levels, rotenone has a possible link to Parkinson's disease, and pyrethrin can cause people to have tremors, aggressive behavior, and excessive salivation.”

He continues:

“ The rinse I prefer for produce is a mix of water and white vinegar (about 3 to 4 parts water to 1 part vinegar). I let everything soak for a few minutes and then rinse off the fruits and vegetables with just water. This method is effective since most of the pesticides' residue sits on the skin.”

It isn’t crazy to be concerned about pesticides, but we have to be realistic about the consequences of totally banning all of them if we care about everyone in the world having enough food.

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Russell A. Paielli's avatar

I've heard that ladybugs can serve as an organic pesticide. Is that true? Or is the scale limited.

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Ken Mull's avatar

It is true that beneficial insects (which eat the eggs of the bad ones) can help control undesirable ones. The problem is gathering enough of them up and keeping them alive.

Many farmers are careful to apply insecticides in such a way that it has minimal impact on beneficials. Most farmers really do care about the environment and wildlife and all that stuff.

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Russell A. Paielli's avatar

Again, I know next to nothing about farming, but common sense suggests that lady bugs and other "beneficial" insects should be used as much as possible, with pesticides used only as needed after that. If the beneficial insects do only 1% of the job, then they are probably not worth bothering with, but if they get, say, 30% or more, then they should be worth using.

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SmithFS's avatar

What do you think of Joel Salatin's ideas:

Joe Rogan Experience #1478 – Joel Salatin:

https://www.jrepodcast.com/episode/joe-rogan-experience-1478-joel-salatin/

https://polyfacefarms.com/

Note BBC's big Fear Porn documentary on Livestock farming, they interviewed Joel Salatin but curiously left out the interview entirely on their documentary, but had a few seconds of him on their trailer:

Meat: A Threat to Our Planet:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11466036/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

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Ken Mull's avatar

I’m not familiar with Mr. Salatin. But generally I like the approach of doing a cost/benefit analysis of any proposal, such as banning meat. Then weighing the benefits of doing it against the cost, including the unintended consequences of doing it. In other words, using common sense when evaluating a proposal. I find many of the extreme proposals like banning meat do not make sense for the vast majority of the population of our planet.

If someone chooses to abstain from meat I respect their decision. But I don’t think they should force it on people (including children who need protein in order to grow) all over the world.

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