The great organic myths

[aphar]

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/green-living/the-great-organic-myths-why-organic-foods-are-an-indulgence-the-world-cant-afford-818585.html

1. Organic farming is good for the environment
   A litre of organic milk requires 80 per cent more land than conventional milk to produce, has 20 per cent greater global warming potential, releases 60 per cent more nutrients to water sources, and contributes 70 per cent more to acid rain.


2. Organic farming is more sustainable
   A hectare of conventionally farmed land produces 2.5 times more potatoes than an organic one.


3. Organic farming doesn't use pesticides
   Actually, organic farmers also use pesticides. The difference is that "organic" pesticides are so dangerous that they have been "grandfathered" with current regulations and do not have to pass stringent modern safety tests.


4. Pesticide levels in conventional food are dangerous
   there is no epidemic of cancer. When age-standardised, cancer rates are falling dramatically and have been doing so for 50 years.
   If there is a "cocktail effect" it would first show up in farmers, but they have among the lowest cancer rates of any group.


5. Organic food is healthier
   Large studies in Holland, Denmark and Austria found the food-poisoning bacterium Campylobacter in 100 per cent of organic chicken flocks but only a third of conventional flocks; equal rates of contamination with Salmonella (despite many organic flocks being vaccinated against it); and 72 per cent of organic chickens infected with parasites.


6. Organic food contains more nutrients
   The easiest way to increase the concentration of nutrients in food is to leave it in an airing cupboard for a few days. Dehydrated foods contain much higher concentrations of carbohydrates and nutrients than whole foods. But, just as in humans, dehydration is often a sign of disease.


7. The demand for organic food is booming
   Less than 1 per cent of the food sold in Britain is organic, but you would never guess it from the media.

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