Could Organic Produce Be the New Ritalin?

[davidstcldfl]

This is a pretty interesting article on organics.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-walter ... 18855.html

There's a doctor here in central fl, who helps treat ADD kids by changing their diets....to a more natural, healthier one. He has a 90% success rate. He also has a few parents who say it's too much effort to make the change....
One thing he points out is, a lot of the problems are related to something as simple as, the food dyes...especially the red coloring.

On the 'flip side' of organics....I was listening to an AG agent talking about how there is different kinds of spray they are allowed to be used on 'organics'.
Also another problem is, a large farm may set aside a block of the farm to be organic....problem is, when the non-organic sections are being sprayed, the 'organics' right next to it, is being over-sprayed too.
Read the first two 'comments' at the end of the article....before I talked the the ag agent, I would of thought the comments were from some paranoid 'veggans'.....not so much now.

[badflash]

The studies are not rigorous. All the same, pesticides can't be good for you and something sure as hell has created an ADD epidemic. The problem is that without pesticides of some sort, we can't grow enough food to be the world's bread basket.

[rfeiller]

we are destroying our land trying to be the worlds food basket, we are depleteing our water and overstressing the earth. let the rest of the world figure it our, if they can't maybe that is a natural form of population control.
i have 5 grandkids that if allowed to eat the chemically formulated food junk that is so prevelent they will show all of the symptoms of ADD, when their diets are restricted to natural fruits and veges with meat without hot dog/lunch meats their symptoms all but dissapear.

their are two different worlds of organic certification. the facilities that produce both types have to have facilities at least 1000 feet apart.

[urbanfarmer]

I agree we should allot certain wasted resources to aid our own nation rather than others (both foreign and domestic), but I think your focus on WHAT resources is misplaced. Far more money is wasted on other things than giving aid to other countries, and to be honest we HAVE to do this if for no other reason that for OURSELVES (plus some may argue it's the Christian thing to do, which if we have the resources, I too agree with that).

The global economy is far too complex and ever-influencing for us to simply close our doors, and we ARE a world economy whether we like it or not. To let our neighbors starve and fall into chaos and war would doom us.

Let me share to you one of the most interesting pieces of wisdom my father shared with me. As I was visiting one of his restaurants located in a mall's food court, I scoped out his competition. I spoke with one of the owners next to him. When I returned I told him, "Dad, the guy running the biggest unit other than you is an idiot. You could put him out of business in a few months." He replied to me, "Son, it's better to have an enemy that you know who you can keep weak. If I beat him out of here, my new enemy might be smarter and stronger. I give him advice when his business is getting too slow and talk to him to give him hope. I don't take all his customers that way he has just enough to survive." I stood there stunned at his genius.

I always knew the saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer", but I never truly understood its practical applications until that moment.

Basically, the US needs to tread carefully and do what we need to in order to ensure our safety and prosperity. China used to have a closed door policy, and as soon as they became an active member of the global economy, they have been growing more rapidly than you can believe. The US has sold a majority of its national debt to who? China and Japan? Well, I don't need to tell you, we're not alone and we can't act as if we're alone in the world without compromising the welfare of our friends, family, and country.

God bless.

[rfeiller]

if the focus in our country was on the nutritional quality of the food we grow and not on the ability to mass produce food for export to fill the pockets of wall street (the local farmers are still going out of business) not because of "Christian duty". the incidence of ADD would probably diminish. but the emphasis is on production and the ability of our food products to last on the store shelves for months thanks to the preservatives.

if you believe for one moment that shipping food to foreign countries is to help those poor people and keep them from starvation, i think something has been left out in the equation.

the world bank is not the least bit interested in the christian thing to do.
sorry, oh yes our country has been sold to foreign powers also by the same people that profit from food exportation.

i believe in training people to survive not welfare, but then you can read accounts by the peace corp and how as soon as peace corp voluntiers left the people fell back into their old ways.

[badflash]

I also believe in teaching them to fish, not giving them fish.

[urbanfarmer]

Those are all good points, and I'm sure the Truth lies somewhere in between, but likely more towards the existence of profiteering tyrants running our government. Sadly, I am aware that politicians or others in power will exploit the constituents for cold hard cash. However, I cannot discount the fact that there are politicians who try to do good, that there are good people, and hopefully, that there eventually will be a change by the people to self-govern themselves collaboratively as a self-aware and intelligent nation.

Until then I will continue saving my money to build a space colony equipped with an astro-sized aquaponic system and a window large enough to watch the world governments launch ICBMs at each other thereby wiping out the populous populace of the world.

[rfeiller]

I do believe we have an obligation to help folks become able to produce their own food. Aquaponics and bioponics can go a long way to help accomplish that task.
Just completed a 1000 gal tank in my crowded greenhouse. Cycle with turtles, remove turtles, then add young Koi.

[Brier]

It could be argued that organic agriculture has brought down entire civilizations. Think fertile crescent. Without outside input the fertility was depleted. The problem with organic agriculture is materials handling. It takes a lot of manure to provide the same fertility as a 50 pound bag of triple 20. It is hard to feed the world if you have to rely on organic fertilizer. Believe me I am all for organic agriculture, but it is not sustainable with the current paradigm. Works just fine on my small farm to feed my family though.
Then there is the pesticide issue, which is almost as big of an issue as fertility, but more easily overcome. There are some very effective organic approved pesticides, but they are very expensive, and very short acting. To keep flea beetles off of my eggplant requires nearly 2 applications of neem per week. Do the math, and organic agriculture on any large scale makes very little sense.. Unless we all had much more disposable income to spend on high quality food. In the world 2010 organic food is a luxury.

[rfeiller]

You are absolutely correct brier which brings us back to maybe this earth can not support as many people as some would like to believe. The cost of mass produced food may be in the long run the most expensive.