Is Oganic food a rip off?

G

GMD

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http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2009/jul/organic

Why do we pay more for Organic food?
Fruit and veg sprayed with insecticdes and fungicdes can be sold as organic. Production still at 1% in Ireland

My point was that following on from the FSA UK published report yesterday that many of the perceived benefits of consuming organic food are just not there and therefore the price disparity between conventionally produced food and Organic produe not justified.
 
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TBH I've never really bought into the whole organic thing.

For me it's all about taste. If it tastes better I'll buy it (at a reasonable price) whether it's grown by buddhist monks and fed with spring water or grown inside a nuclear power plant.

There are plenty of things in the air we breathe to harm us anyway.
 
Personally I feel its just another marketing ploy to overcharge consumers
 
I'm a farmers son and my own view is that much of what is written about organic products is rubbish. There are some valid points, for example, the crop yield to the farmer may be less if he uses organic methods rather then forced and some pesticides and chemicals used in non-organic methods may not necessarily be the best for us. Having said that, if it is not forced intensive farming, eg battery hens, then I can see nothing extra to be gained by buying organic products. Frankly if I ate lamb from my fathers own farm(non organic, lambs/sheep out in the field) and organic lamb, I couldn't taste a difference
 
A farmer once described organic to be very simply.

"If an organic animal gets sick you don't bother calling the vet."
 
I can definitely taste the difference in organic carrots and potatoes. But it's all down to price, and if they're way overpriced compared to non-oganic then i just can't afford them.

I also grow my own lettuce and a few cherry tomatoes and the flavour is so different from the non-organic ones you buy in the supermarket.

I think (open to correction on this though!) that the clear/white liquid that comes from chicken fillets & rashers when cooking, is a hormonal growth promoter?

it's quite scary how long things like tomatoes last when treated with preservatives.

edit: i have my own hens and the eggs look and taste much better than non-free range eggs from shops. The yolks are so yellow they look almost orange.
(not quite organic yet, as they get layers pellets that aren't organic)

The normal layers pellets are around €9 per bag but the organic ones are twice that price. Until i can source them significantly cheaper, we'll be sticking to non-organic.
 
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I think (open to correction on this though!) that the clear/white liquid that comes from chicken fillets & rashers when cooking, is a hormonal growth promoter?
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More likely to be a saline solution injected to bulk it up so that the meat can appear heavier than it really is thus attracting a higher price as meat is generally sold per kg.
 
some interesting points made by tom doorley on his irish times blog in relation to this, as he points out the reaction to the study published by the UK FSA have been totally overblown, wow organic isn't significantly healthier. organic is about supporting a more sustainable ecosystem that may produce smaller yields and then require higher prices but in the long term will be better for the country if adopted.

his blog here
[broken link removed]
 
woodbine said:
I can definitely taste the difference in organic carrots and potatoes. But it's all down to price, and if they're way overpriced compared to non-oganic then i just can't afford them.

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It's possible, but unlikely that you can tell the difference in taste.

Most people confuse "organic" with "fresh".

If you control for freshness, people generally cannot tell the difference. So a stale organic potato would not taste as good as a fresh inorganic one.
 

I suppose too that much 'organic' produce can be mass produced/forced grown and produced by every other trick in the book whilst still keeping within practices that allow it to be labelled organic?

Occasionally, I have tasted 'organic' fruit and veg that I consider to have superior flavour (esp. tomatoes) but this could be down to freshness (as you say) quality procedures, specific variety of the fruit etc. as much as anything else.
 
I think the increased cost of organic food production cost is based on four things in the main:
Firstly, it is labour intensive, i.e. if you have a crop of organic vegetable you must physically weed the field as opposed to spray the weeds, and labour is costly. Secondly the amount of time and effort required to complete the paper trail to maintain proof that the product is organic is also costly.
Thirdly, say you want to rear organic lamb on your farm, you can't do it for 20 acres out your 100 acres, your entire farm has to become organic so all of your costs go up. So if you have some crops on the farm, or other stock, that system must also become organic, and as the circle widens it becomes more expensive to maintain
Finally, I am not sure of the percentage of organic produce that is on the shelf that is 100% Irish, but would think that some of the additional final cost is shipping it from far flung places.

The organic principle is great. We've often discussed the variety of sprays that our crops must take in order to be fit to harvest. Then when we tie that back to products that we eat made of flour, we do think, God all of those chemicals are in our bread bin/pasta etc.. But it is too expensive for most food producers to implement and for the average household to afford. So, following Darina Allens mantra, Buy Locally and Buy In Season which seems to tie in with comments above.
 
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