Top 10 reasons to buy organic.ppt

Pesticides 300 active ingredient 10,000 uses 1.2 billion pounds ~ 8 lbs/ person (applied) $20 billion crops destroyed (w/ pesticides) Fungicides prevent aflatoxin Increase yield, decrease crop losses Regulated by EPA, USDA, FDA Many arguments for and against pesticides -impact of genetic engineering Pesticide Testing (is limited) No detectable pesticides in 60% of conventional produce Pesticide Testing (is limited) No detectable pesticides in 60% of conventional produce Pesticides are detected in 40% of produce Pesticide Testing (is limited) No detectable pesticides in 60% of conventional produce Pesticides are detected in 40% of produce In 39%, detection is at less than one-tenth of tolerance level (which has 100-fold safety factor) Only 1 % of produce tested has pesticides in excess of tolerance Wash with warm soapy water Antibiotics and the danger of antibiotic resistance Is agricultural use of antibiotics a significant part of the resistance problem? Antibiotics, 60 years - Bacteria, millions of years Other nasty beasties Carcinogens in smoked foods Pyrolysis products PCBs – chloroacne, headache, numbness “The hypothetical risk posed by food additives is greatly exceeded by the very real risk posed by not eating.” Enjoy your food. -Prof. Don Schaffner, Rutgers University Top 10 reasons to buy organic 1.) Protect future generations - not 2.) Prevent soil erosion -not 3.) Protect water quality -maybe 4.) Save energy – maybe 5.) Keep chemicals off your plate - not 6.) Protect farms worker -maybe 7.) Help small farmers - maybe 8.) Support a true economy – probably not 9.) Promote biodiversity- not 10.) Better quality –relative to what 11. Animal welfare -maybe 12. Sense of control -yes 13. Sense of community -yes In the case of “Big Ag” organic, I would say that 3,4,7,8,11 become “not”. Also covered: Regulation Labeling “Natural” Organic Food, should you join The rebellion ? the chicken factory Today’s Class:Additives, Pesticides, and Natural Toxicants