Mucky Ado: is it nothing?

Recently, in both the mainstream media and blogosphere, there's been a dumpster full of confusing (and insulting) material published about organic foods. You probably read that a study claimed organic produce is no more nutritious than its commercial cousin. The findings ignore known health risks from pesticides in those conventionally produced victuals. Glossed over is the fact that organic fare is shown to have superior flavor. Oddly enough, the results are an amalgamation of various studies, some dating from the 50s. For an in-depth look, read this  Rodale review.  

As is the way with new media, the original article, titled Organic Food No More Nutritious, has been reposted slightly fewer than a gazillion times. And that's fine; adding to misperception and flawed conclusions, but fine. However, one such repost has already garnered twenty pages of surly, accusatory comments between a group of people alleging that organics are a scam and a group alleging that everyone who thinks so is a chemical company tool. Back and forth it goes; where the merry-go-round shall stop, nobody knows.

A few weeks earlier, a health blog's poll found that the majority of readers (participants, at any rate) consume organics either much of the time or as often as possible. The aforementioned blog's followers routinely post caustic comments alluding to a perception that organic cuisine is for the wealthy.

Cruise around the interwebs and you'll soon bump into similar enclaves of hotheads busily insulting one another. Why, you'd think that by choosing to tread lightly and to steward our land as if what we did today mattered tomorrow, organic farmers have kicked muck into the eye of more than one beholder.

Or would you instead wonder if what's happening in the unkind avenues of the Web is a call for old-fashioned personal responsibility? Perhaps boutique shoppers who pay a premium for any old product bearing the word 'organic' and who then hop into their gas guzzling automobile to drive an hour from the grocery store to their brand new 5,000 square foot home are being asked, however impolitely, to review their commitment to the health of their family and our planet.

Perhaps.

Maybe the backlash is birthed by a sense of inequality. Could be those who snark about organics wish they, too, could shop the trendiest green grocers and throw away their money on over-priced goods.

Here's the thing: you don't need a lot of cash to eat well. Instead you need to pay attention. The do's and don’ts of quality provisions haven't changed: consume more fiber and fewer processed foods; cook at home using low-fat recipes; grow a portion of your sustenance; don't put into your garden what you don't want on your plate.

So from what pit cometh the notion that good food, real food, healthy for the planet, the body, and the soul food is elitist? I'm not sure, but I do wonder if big agricultural and chemical corporations are concerned for the health of their bottom line as the public grows ever more aware of the dangers of factory farming. Perhaps they've charged PR hitmen with the poisonous task of mowing down the growing real food movement. That's a wild guess.

One thing is certain: the food fight is just getting started. Maybe that means we should expect less than courteous behavior between factions to continue, but I'm hoping farmers, cooks, eaters and grocery baggers everywhere will instead recall the premier lesson of kindergarten: be respectful of others. Don't get me wrong, I'm not asking you to be quiet. I'm asking that we allow others to disagree with our most cherished beliefs without responding with name-calling.

While I'm wishing on that star, though, I shall continue to garden organically and to support other organic farmers. Because this earth momma intends to leave the planet better for having hosted her, for she believes that what she does today will absolutely matter tomorrow.

 


Thinking I've overdrawn the snarkiness? Grab a mouse and watch the war; use these phrases for an eye-popping Web search: locavore Taliban; organic not more nutritious; can organic feed world.