- more minerals in vegetables
- no antibiotics abuse in livestock
- much higher biodiversity in farm fields
- no dying farm workers
- lower water use and topsoil depletion, less desertification
- lower expenditures for farmers leading to more reliable profits
The above are facts. And yet these are the half-baked "arguments" which miserable "organic" idiots keep dragging out:
- taste better (this is largely the result of processing, breeding, and self-delusion)
- use land more efficiently (this one isn't trotted out so often anymore since it has been largely disproved)
- save animal welfare (screw animals, what about poor people?!)
- less toxic than pesticide-laden food (based on what evidence?)
Organic people are the kind of utter fucking scumbags who care more about some cow or pig's welfare than an immigrant farm worker dying of pesticide poisoning.
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4 comments:
If by 'organic people' you mean 'my impression of some people I have met who support organic farming', then I suppose your assessment might be correct. I don't know who you encounter on a given day.
If by 'organic people' you mean 'all people who buy organic food and support organic farming', I would offer myself as a counterexample. I am mostly motivated by the better nutritional content of organically farmed vegetables, and I am very concerned about the abuse of antibiotics in livestock.
I remember reading a fairly interesting article not long back on how farm subsidies artificially skew the supply of agricultural products such that unhealthy processed foods are made cheaper than better alternatives. I wish I could find it back.
Off topic: what's with the hate? Some folks are dumb and wrong. If you get mad every time this happens, you will spend a lot of time mad.
Farmers like growing Genetically Modified crops because it lets them use less pesticides and gives them more free time with their families.
YouTube: Overview of the Worldwide Impact of Plant Biotechnology
Farmers like growing GM crops because it allows them to use MORE pesticide. Please spare me the goddamned propaganda.
SP, my blog entry was in response to this story on reddit. If you read through the comments, you'll find these people deserve the contempt I heap upon them. What's worse is that their comments are typical of people who buy organic while your position is distinctly atypical.
I remember reading the article you spoke of, the one that made mention of the farm bill subsidizing wheat, corn, and other such foods. The New York Times has walled it off but energy bulletin has an almost copy.
Part of the answer to your last question lies in a couple other blog entries I've written. More substantially, it's because magical thinkers have an untreatable mental handicap. This handicap shows up in their thinking on EVERY subject. Not just organics but global warming, energy, transportation, cities, child abuse, violence, sexism, tribalism, religionism, racism, authoritarianism, totalitarianism, egotism, genocide, war, peace, anti-science, and all the relativisms. It shows up everywhere. It's the single most important reason why the world is fucked. And arguably, it's the only reason.
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