Cookbook talk:Organic

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Lots of POV here. Let's make it more neutral. [said by 137.222.40.132, so I can't easily respond]

I'm not so sure you improved things.

While organic food is a dream come true for corporate marketing, it isn't really a scam. Well, not more than anything else being pushed these days. You do get what you pay for. Just realize that you're not avoiding big agriculture corporations. They love having a premium price product to get some extra profit out of people with money to burn.

Organic food IS often a scam. Most large-scale producers take the minimum amount of measures necessary to receive organic certification, ie. not very many. They are very good at finding loopholes. In many cases they simply stick the organic label on the food they would have sold as non-organic and triple the price. 137.222.40.132 18:33, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

To me, "scam" implies that you are being cheated. You are not cheated. Of course, you should not expect the producer to go above and beyond the minimum requirements. You might argue that the requirements are too loose of course, but AFAIK they are being met. AlbertCahalan 19:39, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

The "Because organic food commands a high price, it is often treated better than non-organic food." paragraph is not really an argument against organic food. You only see it that way because of your viewpoint. The paragraph argues for both sides. If you buy food for taste, you want it packed in foam and shipped by air.

It's not my viewpoint. It was only suggested by the previous negative tone of the article. 137.222.40.132 18:42, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

Where do you get the idea that "Organically farmed animals generally receive more welfare"? I suspect that this is a hope you have. More than anything else, corporate marketing is about image.

What does corporate marketing have to do with animal welfare? Certification by the soil association for instance requires higher standards of animal welfare than government regulations. That's a fact, not a hope. 137.222.40.132 18:33, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

What does a soilassociation certification have to do with "organic" products? At least in the USA, I'm pretty sure the FDA and USDA won't care. You can market something as organic with or without soilassociation certification. AlbertCahalan 19:39, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)

What do you mean that "Organic farming methods often discourage monoculture and its impact on species diversity."? Everybody sane does crop rotation. Nobody can afford to grow things the old way, with beans growing up corn stalks and squash to provide weed control. In any case, species diversity of farming pests is not exactly a good thing.

As you have mentioned before, you get what you pay for.

Sure, but nobody pays to have beans growing up cornstalks with squash all around. Normal "organic" produce comes from rather ordinary fields. AlbertCahalan 19:39, 14 Apr 2005 (UTC)