| About Mid-Isle Farms | Nutritional Info | Recipes | Potato Guide | Contact Us |
Kudos to Barry Cudmore for his piece, ‘Sustainable agriculture and the environment’ (The Guardian, Aug. 7, 2006). Thankfully, the word ‘organic’ is absent from his excellent article. The word ‘organic’, as in organic food, organic produce and organic vegetables, is one of the greatest misnomers of our time. Anyone with a basic knowledge of chemistry knows that all substances fall within two broad categories: inorganic compounds and organic compounds. Almost everything we eat or drink is organic, regardless of how it is produced, and whether or not pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, growth-producing hormones, or preservatives have been used in its production or preparation. Other than water and salt, which are both inorganic compounds, virtually all life-sustaining substances we put into our bodies are organic — by definition. ‘Organic’ includes many industrial chemicals, including benzene and toluene, which are carcinogenic; dioxins; DDT; and practically all of the pesticides in use today. Gasoline and furnace oil are organic, as are creosote, most herbicides, PCBs, freons and dry cleaning fluids — the latter are not called organic solvents for nothing. Too bad that those seeking to reform the food production industry did not hit on a more appropriate term, than ‘organic’. Anyone for organic parsnips? How about organic ethanol produced from organic grain? We can burn it as organic automotive fuel, or use it for organic martinis. Me? I simply want my food to be high-quality, safe, wholesome, and produced sustainably.
By Earle Lockerby Darnley |
Why Potatoes are so
healthy – 8 Interesting Facts A great misnomer
of our time is the word ‘organic’ Potato Nutrition
|
| Submit Recipes | Potato History | The Best Potato | How Did They do That? |