I recently had an encounter on Twitter with the CEO of the Organic Trade Association (OTA), Laura Batcha. The OTA represents many of the largest organic corporations in the United States including Whole Foods, Organic Valley, and Danone.
Ms. Batcha took issue with a Christmas joke I had made playing with the fact that many consumers believe incorrectly that organic food is “chemical free.”
The chemical free myth itself was recently perpetuated by OTA in an ad they placed in the Wall Street Journal. Using the gish gallop technique, they printed the names of hundreds of chemicals that organic industry regulations do not allow farmers and manufacturers to use. Of course they failed to mention chemicals the organic industry is allowed to use….
In her response to a post making fun of organic cinnamon rolls, she blatantly claims that they are grown without chemicals. Assuming of course that she doesn’t actually believe there are cinnamon roll farms, she still couldn’t be more wrong.
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The primary ingredient in Ms. Bachta’s “chemical free” cinnamon rolls is wheat. According to the Penn State Extension, at least three different insecticides are commonly used with organic wheat. These include Bacillus thuringiensis, silicon dioxide, and pyrethrum.
Read full, original article: Organic Trade CEO says cinnamon rolls are grown without chemicals
