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      10-17-2013, 08:34 AM   #56
mattj3
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Nothing is this black and white. There are merits to both sides, but the reality, like everything else in life, lies in between.

Organic does not by definition equal healthier or better - in fact, no measurable health benefits over conventionally farmer products have been proven.

I see my friends post crap about Monsanto (usually from sites that also have articles on 9/11 conspiracies and ancient alien visitors that built the pyramids) that is neither peer-reviewed nor scientific, merely wild claims and exaggerations without convincing or thoughtful substantiation. Considering that many people's livelihoods depend on Monsanto (and other vilified "evil" corporations), it is amazing that people are so willing to accept accusations without proof and to attempt to destroy lives with little thought. Rather than simply accepting what you read online and saying your studies are better, you should be more flexible and open minded to the possibility that you are wrong. Going all in on your opinion is usually a losing strategy.

While this is a blog, the sources are peer-reviewed, scientific studies.
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...l-agriculture/

"Not only are organic pesticides not safe, they might actually be worse than the ones used by the conventional agriculture industry. Canadian scientists pitted ‘reduced-risk’ organic and synthetic pesticides against each other in controlling a problematic pest, the soybean aphid. They found that not only were the synthetic pesticides more effective means of control, the organic pesticides were more ecologically damaging, including causing higher mortality in other, non-target species like the aphid’s predators9. Of course, some organic pesticides may fare better than these ones did in similar head-to-head tests, but studies like this one reveal that the assumption that natural is better for the environment could be very dangerous.

Even if the organic food you’re eating is from a farm which uses little to no pesticides at all, there is another problem: getting rid of pesticides doesn’t mean your food is free from harmful things. Between 1990 and 2001, over 10,000 people fell ill due to foods contaminated with pathogens like E. coli, and many have organic foods to blame. That’s because organic foods tend to have higher levels of potential pathogens. One study, for example, found E. coli in produce from almost 10% of organic farms samples, but only 2% of conventional ones10. The same study also found Salmonella only in samples from organic farms, though at a low prevalence rate. The reason for the higher pathogen prevalence is likely due to the use of manure instead of artificial fertilizers, as many pathogens are spread through fecal contamination. Conventional farms often use manure, too, but they use irradiation and a full array of non-organic anti-microbial agents as well, and without those, organic foods run a higher risk of containing something that will make a person sick."
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