Dr
Bob the Health Builder
Weekly
Newsletter for Wealthy Healthy Wise
Vignettes to make
Life a Little Better and More Prosperous
I
found this article on MSN and it is not exactly true
6 Myths about Organic Food
All
organics aren't created equal. Here's what's hidden behind the label
By Sarah Z. Wexler
MYTH #1: ORGANIC FOOD IS ALWAYS
BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
Organics don't contaminate soil and
groundwater with pesticides and chemicals like regular farming does, but
there's a surprising downside: Since organic farming is only about half as
productive as conventional farming, it requires far more land to produce the
same amount of food. Dennis Avery of the Hudson Institute's Center for Global
Food Issues estimates that modern high-yield farming has saved 15 million
square miles of wildlife habitat, and that if the world switched to organic
farming, we'd need to cut down 10 million square miles of forest.
Less-productive farming could also lead to even less food for the worlds undernourished.This is an out and out lie. Organics have been proven
to be more productive than chemical agriculture. A study from the University of
Michigan proved that organics were safer and more productive. This attitude
against healthy food has been promoted by chemical corporations to justify
their profits and attempt to control the world population since the end of
WWII.
MYTH #2: IT'S MORE NUTRITIOUS.
Studies keep flip-flopping on this:
One found more vitamin C in organic tomatoes than in conventional ones; another
found more cancer-fighting flavonoids in organic corn and strawberries. But
other studies haven't found organics to have a nutritional edge. What makes the
biggest difference in nutrients is how long produce sits on the shelf. Spinach,
for instance, loses about half of its folate within a week. This is another out and out lie. Organic foods have been
proven to be more nutrient dense in every study done. In fact, there have been
studies that prove that food today is 80 % less nutritious than food fifty
years ago. "Conventional" agriculture with herbicides and pesticides has been
proven to cause cancer and other health issues. This is just another attempt by
chemical companies to justify their existence. The part about freshness is
valid. This is why I and many others recommend local foods in season - not
shipped from hundreds or thousands of miles away.
MYTH #3: IT TASTES BETTER.
Nobody has been able to tell the
difference except in one study of apples, where organics came out ahead. To get
raspberries that taste raspberrier, buy produce that's locally grown, is in
season, and hasn't been sitting on the shelf too long. Let's face it: Nothing
is at its best when it's flown halfway around the world and waxed, and then has
to spend a week in the grocery store. This part is
mostly true except the part about studies that say you can't tell the
difference between organics and conventional grown food except apples.
MYTH #4: YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE AS CAREFUL ABOUT WASHING IT.
All produce, whether purchased from
a grocery megachain or your local organic farm is susceptible to nasty
bacteria, such as E. coli (the news-maker that's also been known to kill
people). Soil and runoff water that's contaminated with E. coli-harboring
animal poop can get onto produce -- particularly melons, lettuce, sprouts,
tomatoes, spinach, and green onions, since they grow close to the ground. Your
best defense: Wash everything thoroughly under running water. You should wash all fruits and vegetables no matter where
they come from, but the E-coli they mention only comes from cattle raised in
feed lots under terrible stress and a diet of grain. Cattle were put on earth
to do one thing - eat grass. They can convert something we can't eat and turn
it into a health food. They were not designed to eat grain and when they do eat
grain, they end up with an extremely acid stomach condition that creates the
E-coli and destroys the beneficial fatty acids that beef is known for - Omega
IIIs, CLAs, etc.
MYTH #5: YOU'RE SUPPORTING SMALL FARMS OR ECO-COMPANIES.
General Mills owns the Cascadian
Farms brand, Kraft owns Back to Nature and Boca Burger, and Kellogg's owns
Morningstar Farms, to name a few conglomerates basking in organics' glow (and
dough). And with such high demand (in the past year, the market for organic
milk outstripped the supply by 10 percent), these giant companies are importing
organic ingredients as cheaply as possible -- often from other countries. Whole
Foods sold roughly $1 billion in produce last year; only about 16 percent was
locally grown. So with all the CO2 spent in transport, some organics have questionable
eco-virtues. This is very true and it is the reason why
you should buy local in season. If you look your producer in the eye it is hard
for them to lie to you. Develop a relationship with your food producer whether
it is vegetables, fruit, or protein.
MYTH #6: IT'S BETTER FOR YOU.
Not if it's organic chips, organic
soda, or organic cookies. Cane sugar is still sugar and fried chips are still
fried, no matter what kind of compost was or wasn't heaped onto the potatoes.
Sorry! The key here is not if is organic but if
it is processed. There is no doubt that organics are healthier but processed is
unhealthy in all cases. Remember here that preserved for later use is not
processed.
WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT ORGANIC FOOD
IT'S MORE HUMANE.
Much of the country's organic milk
and meat comes from small farms, where animals are often given more space to
roam than those at larger factory farms. They are also
not fed hormones, steroids, and antibiotics, or grains that are unhealthy for
two reasons - Genetic Engineering and toxic fertilizers, herbicides and
pesticides.
IT MAY REDUCE YOUR RISK OF GETTING MAD COW.
Organic meat can't have any animal
by-products in its feed, which is a primary contributor to mad-cow disease. This is obviously true.
IT'S GETTING EASIER.
Companies like Kellogg's and Kraft
are rolling out organic versions of their cereals and mac and cheese, so it's
hassle-free to convince kids and boyfriends to eat it. And with discount
superchains like Wal-Mart (the country's number-one seller of organic milk)
slashing the organic markup to 10 percent (it's usually 20 to 30 percent),
organics aren't just for the Whole Foods elite. This is
a bunch of cow manure. Large chains and producer corporations are trying to
lower the organic standards so that they can produce more for less money.
Recently there were 38 petitions on the desk of the USDA to weaken standards.
In fact, many people like me believe that the term organic has already been
downgraded to be almost worthless. Watch for other terms like healthfully grown
or Wholistically TM grown - which brings us back to buying locally grown by
someone you can talk to at time of purchase.
HOW "ORGANIC" IS IT?
Products labeled "organic"
must consist of 95 percent organically produced ingredients, but products that
contain only 70 percent organic ingredients can use the phrase "Made with
organic ingredients." Read carefully. This is the
only totally true statement on this article.
Organic milk is not much
better than regular milk. The only safe healthy milk is grass fed,
non-chemical, non-pasteurized, and non homogenized milk. Do not buy ultra
pasteurized milk. It is raised above 200 degrees to destroy bacteria or extend
shelf life. It can actually set on a shelf without refrigeration for 30 days.
If bugs will not eat something, why should you eat the stuff?
Everyone should know that
meat - chicken, beef, and pork - is pumped up in most stores today with a
mixture of water, salt, MSG, high fructose corn syrup. They are also putting
ammonia in beef to tenderize it. The packages also have the air removed and
replaced with carbon monoxide to make it look better on the shelves for a
longer period of time. To be sure they have not injected it with E-coli that can
kill or make you deathly sick, they now use radiation that kills the E-coli and
destroys all the nutrition in the meat product.
If you think your
government would not allow this to happen to you, then you need to think again.
The government has sold you out to international food manufactures.
I suggest you go to www.eatwild.com and www.westonaprice.org if you want to know
more about healthy food.
To Your Good Health
Dr Bob the Health Builder
To ask questions please call 214 615 6505 ext
1748
Also go to www.fmgradio.com for my radio show. If we use your question on the
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