Jim, the long and short of rhe reasoning is "IT IS THE IN THING". Most of these people have no idea what they are feeding, organic or not.
I had a friend that had a small truck garden, which he raised plain old veggies. Which he sold at the farmers market. A few years before he passed, he notice some people selling the same types of veggies only at twice the price. Checking this out he found they called their veggies "organic". During the week he made some organic signs and sold all his veggies as organic from the day on. Never did he change his way of growing them. I do understand those sold in stores today can be tested, but are they. The same goes for the organic feed some feed their animals, half the field is sold as feed and the other half is organic.
Shame on your friend for not knowing what organic is and then trying to use it to his advantage. You can't just put a sign out there and legally call something organic. Even vegetables have to be raised by certified organic seed to be called organic, regardless whether the vegetables were raised without pesticides. The land they are grown on also has to be certified unless you are a small enough business (under $2000 in sales) and you can provide proof that the land is truly organic. At least that is how it is in MN with our laws. If you sell at farmer's markets, etc. you must be certified here in MN. Also, for chickens, which we used to raise organically, if you sell processed meat birds, you need to be inspected and licensed by an organic organization inspection to make sure your entire process is also organic. If you have someone else process your birds, they must be certified. There is a lot of paperwork involved. If you are not certified, here in MN you can buy a license from the state that allows you to label your products "Minnesota Grown", but that in no way implies organic, or even without pesticides.
As far as Why Organic? Organic is a chosen way of life. It is very difficult to be fully organic, but every little bit can't hurt, at least that is what we believe.
1) If you search the web, you can find a lot of
benefits to organic ways of life. Europeans have set a good example for us to follow, especially in Germany. You can also read a about organic benefits that have been studied at John Hopkins.
2)
Pesticides are a big problem for both the consumer and the environment. With all the lakes here in MN, we see plenty of runoff problems and it is continually a topic of polical debate. We have also seen a steady incline in 6 legged or other types of deformities in frogs. All researchers in our area say amphibians are the animals to watch when concerned about environmental hazards.
3)
Runoff Concerns We have also chosen to drive a Jetta TDI that uses a bio-diesel blend. Our tractor also runs on bio-diesel blend. We actually make our bio-diesel by using old frying oil from a local restaurant at a cost of about $.87/gallon. It's work, a little chemistry, but also very good for recycling. Our car gets 45-50 mpg depending how fast I drive
4)
Genetically modified material is also a concern. There isn't a lot known about what long term effects this will have on humans or animals consumed by humans.
Organic is more expensive because you generally get less production out of the same space due to lack of fertilization, weed/pest control, no synthetic modification, etc.
We grow our own garden (not fully organic, but without pesticides) and raise a lot of our own fruit so we can control the salt and sugar levels that are used during their preservation processing. We can a LOT of our own beans, corn, peas, tomatoes, etc. so we know where it came from. We use organic seeds when we can find them, but not always and we try to buy heirloom varieties (non-modified) otherwise.
5) In order to fully benefit from organic, you have to try really hard to
eliminate modern marterials like plastics, instead choosing glass, natural cotton, etc. No dyes, unnatural chemicals. Right down to the clothes in your closet, tooth paste, dish soap, etc. We don't get it all right, but we keep working towards it.
OK. Speech done.
