Fact: Organic versus conventional fruits &
vegetables
When
it comes to dangerous cancer causing chemicals being found on and in the
produce, organic wins hands down, right? Maybe not exactly:
Conventional
Agriculture has become a cesspool of chemicals. Most are legal and chemical
companies rely on the fact that the common person, indeed even most scientific
people, cannot separate fact from hype. Growers have long since learned that no
one is checking what they do. And, no one is. When a state or federal
organization says they are monitoring pesticide residues, they do so by the
slightest least-intrusive means possible to still be within a mandate requiring
them to do so, but without really doing anything protective. In all my
years of consulting work in The USA I have never witnessed one single chemical
residue sample being taken or one single inspection of spray records. I
have seen it happen in Canada.
I have heard of it being routine in the EU but I have not witnessed it.
We
have worked with thousands of growers, on hundreds of thousands of crop acres,
over dozens of years all across North America. We have
been told, constantly, that it is an "honor" system and that the
majority of growers are honest. This is not a discussion about how honest the
growers are, this is a discussion about the chemicals and the chemical residues
found on virtually every fruit and vegetable we have tested. And the
point we are trying to make is that no one is checking, because if they did,
the reverberation throughout the food industry (a.k.a. the consumer) would be
deafening.
The
amount of chemicals used in Agriculture is staggering. Millions of tons. It has
evolved to this number over the years so the cumulative effect of these chemicals
is now starting to be felt in the health and illnesses of the consumer. Cancer
rates, birth anomalies, ADD/ADHD, asthma, allergies: where and what the roles
chemicals have played in these health issues is not vigorously investigated by
your federal, state or local governments. If at all. What discoveries are made
concerning connections between chemicals and health related issues are often found
by small research labs who are vilified and attacked first and, if evidence is overwhelming
and cannot be refuted by the chemical industry, an inquiry may be made. The
past 10 years the EU has banned many of the chemicals we use today. The USA
chemical industry claims that the EU gives-in to consumer fears whereas “real science”
continues to rule here in the USA.
In actuality, “real science” is being done in the EU whereas corporate sponsored
“mis-information” seems to be the rule here. Again, the consumer is the loser
in this debate.
Many
of the larger produce operations, especially in California,
do not even spray their own fields. They contract this work to a local
fertilizer/chemical supply company. Maybe not even a local company. The grower gets a “sheet” of what chemicals
were applied or, in most cases, the spraying company keeps all the records
until requested.
The
fields are sprayed with tank mixes of multiple over-lapping chemicals because
many of the pests, insects, or diseases, are long since resistant to the older
chemicals in use. This also helps the applier cut costs--cheaper is better in
the eyes of most growers. Resistance to the older chemicals, however, is why
new chemicals are constantly coming into the market and exactly why the actual
toxicity issues are, at best, minutely investigated. In fact, the EPA, USDA,
and FDA doesn’t actually do ANY of the toxicology to test the dangers of new
chemicals themselves. They allow the chemical application company to “submit”
toxicology work done by whatever testing source they choose. It’s a “trust”
system. Do you trust that the chemical companies have only your best interests in mind?
The knee-jerk response of the growing industry and their aligned partners is that growers do not apply anything beyond what is cost-effective.
We have learned, by being in those same fields, that the growers will spend as much as it takes to minimize their losses. If that means spending $5000/acre to harvest a crop only worth $3000/acre then that is better than no crop at all. The grower's hope is that they will recoup those losses the following year. And it is also why many growers go out of business: their losses out-weigh their gains over the long haul.
So,
when the question regards "chemicals," organic seems the better
choice, right?
Not
exactly.
Organically-classified chemicals can be just as deadly as
any synthetic chemical. Take pyrethrins for example. Toxic, deadly, and
organic. Or rotenone: world-wide usage for organic crops and a carcinogenic
material. Most chemicals that kill insects can kill you too. We all share the
same cells with the same cellular chemistry! The argument that an insect is not
a human is often used as justification for producing chemicals that the
manufacturer claims "does not affect people." But, a living cell is a
living cell: It doesn’t know whether it’s in a tree, fish, bug, dog, cow, or
human. The metabolic pathways of a cell cross all living creatures whether you
want to believe it or not. And your not believing it is the reason so many
companies can get away with dumping toxins into the environment, onto your
foods, and into your homes as they do by the millions of tons.
So one of the sources of toxic chemicals in your diet is the very foods you eat
to make you and your family healthy. And because the amounts of these toxins
are so small, parts-per-million, they are not easy for you, the consumer, to
recognize/see/taste. Even though parts-per-million are enough to give you
cancer and other illnesses, because you don't instantly die, you gain a false
sense of security that it is safe to eat these foods. That someone is watching
for you. Sadly, no one is watching for you.
That is why we take what we do at BPG so seriously. There are no ideology issues
for us. No agendas. No alliances. We grow healthy, highly nutritious and safe,
sustainable fruits and vegetables because that is what we want to do to help
you and your family.
We know full well that you trust the grower to have your health and safety in
mind.
We will not compromise that trust. Not for any reason.
You see; we eat what we grow too. When I was younger I became the General
Manager of a very large cattle breeding operation in Virginia.
Thousands of animals. The cattle operation used growth hormones, systemic
insecticides and routine antibiotics, all of which was perfectly legal to do.
The owners only ate organic beef; wouldn't touch their own production animals.
???
I was very glad to be out-of-there. And in very short order! Unfortunately,
it is these very people who run corporate agriculture in the USA.
Their companies grow what you eat but the owners eat "organic."
BPG's promise to you is that we will never, ever compromise our commitment to
your trust and your safety.