[Editor’s note: Jenny Splitter is a writer, storyteller and mother of two.]
A few years ago I learned that most of what I believed about organic is wrong. For example, I thought organic produce always meant pesticide-free, but it turns out organic farmers use pesticides too. So what’s the difference? Well, the pesticides used in organic farming are mostly natural, rather than synthetic, but the law regulating organic food even allows some synthetic pesticides too.
Since these organic pesticides are natural, that must mean they’re at least gentler and less toxic, right? Not necessarily. Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s less toxic. There are plenty of natural things that can make you sick….
So maybe what you’re really worried about is GMOs (genetically-modified organisms). Well, it’s true that by law, organic food can’t include genetically modified ingredients, but I don’t think there’s any reason to avoid GMOs either. The overwhelming scientific evidence suggests GM foods are just as healthy as the non-GM version of these foods. And if you think GM foods are “unnatural” because they were created with scientific tinkering, check out seedless watermelon and ruby red grapefruit. These two bred-by-science crops are welcome in organic agriculture because scientists just happened to use a different method to create these seeds.
Related on the SLP
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Why I Don’t Worry About Feeding My Family Organic Food
For more background on the Genetic Literacy Project, read GLP on Wikipedia
