The food we eat and irresponsible journalism.

[atenbacon]

Luckily, organic farms use less than 10% of the pesticides as the conventional farms use

and the organic pesticides stick around in the environment less than 10% as long as the synthetic pesticides.

When tested for pesticide residue - organic is about 99% less.

Luckily.

97.6% of all statistics that have no source are completely made up and ignored by 98.7% of the people reading them. The remaining 1.3% tend to post a comment regarding the lack of source. This leaves the statistics having 0% effect on the discussion.

[Thinktank]

Go visit some organic farms in Canada's Organic Farm Capital. Cawston.

Learn something.

[mysideofthings]

i have a big issue with the way things are presented about food to consumers. maybe i am a little more sensitive to the issue because i struggled with anorexia for several years, but i find a lot of it to be just ridiculous.

yes, it is common sense to eat things in moderation. that depends also on the person, if they have allergies, intolerances, or medical conditions that require them to eat a specific meal plan.

my issue is that so many things are said to be good for us from gluten free diets to atkins diet, what foods have what in them and what is good or bad, etc. the problem with that is that not every person's body is the same. not everyone needs or should cut out certain things because it can actually cause them more harm than good. not everything that is said to be good for us IS good for us.

i am not sure people in general know what is even okay anymore with what they eat because of the constantly changing opinions on things or people recommending they should eat/not eat what THEY eat/don't eat because 'it worked for them' completely disregarding the fact not every body is the same.

on the other side of that, people really lack knowledge of nutrition, not just food, but how the body works, what it needs, what organs need, etc. that taught me so much about things that now i can try to separate all the crap i hear about how i 'should' eat or not eat, etc. and try to do what works for me, not what i am TOLD.

i guess having had an eating disorder too though, it has allowed me to search out legit information, not from TV, not from my neighbor, etc., not from the internet, etc. as a way to relearn what is healthy compared to what my head screamed at me al the time......but it has also allowed me to learn about what works for me and my body. i just wish all this other crap would go away since it still can be hard to not freak out over things i eat at times when i hear 'this is bad for you.'

i could trip and fall over my own feet and die...so i would rather eat what i enjoy in moderation and be as healthy as i can (but still enjoy 'junk' food) instead of be afraid of eating something 'bad.' having had an eating disorder has taught me that i don't need to be a slave to food anymore, and it's still a learning process...but i'm still winning that battle since eating something is much better than not eating something even if someone doesn't agree that what i eat is 'okay.'

[Keith Duhaime]

97.6% of all statistics that have no source are completely made up and ignored by 98.7% of the people reading them. The remaining 1.3% tend to post a comment regarding the lack of source. This leaves the statistics having 0% effect on the discussion.

That's about on par with the anti-GMO folks. In the meantime, we have reality and the facts, where GMOs have been shown to significantly decrease the use of pesticides ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25760405 ). And when talking about 'organic' pesticides versus modern synthetics used by 'conventional' farmers, we might also want to consider that we aren't exactly comparing apples to oranges either. Copper sulfate (used by organic farmers) verus glyphosate (used by "conventional" farmers) is a good example; LD50 of the first: 30 mg/Kg in rats ( http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/ex ... e-ext.html ), and of the latter: 5600 mg/Kg.(http://pmep.cce.cornell.edu/profiles/ex ... e-ext.html ). In other words, a lab rat needs to consume about glyphosate equivalent to about 185 times the level of the organic pesticide copper sulfate,

[Puddlejumper40]

Allow me to give you a little example ,, when I manufacture my cooked meat products in my deli as I prepared my cures the amount of nitrite / nitrate ( or even saltpeter ) I added was approximately 22 mg. per 5 pounds. Soya based infant formula can contain over 90 ( NINETY ) mg. per 5 pounds. Also to point out, the high majority of meat products we consume originate in a Canadian Food Inspection facility and as I mentioned in a previous post Canadian federal food inspectors are assigned to these facilities on a full time basis and food safety / hygiene regulations are strictly enforced.

When manufacturing cured meats most of the nitrite added is depleted during the manufacturing process and storage. This particular article that I read pertaining to " cancer causing foods " mentions " non organic fruits and vegetables " what an utter crock of nonsense. Do you wish to add to your monthly food bill by only buying organic foods ,, it's another game in the food industry I liken it to the bottled water nonsense.

If most of the nitrate that is added and converted to nitrite is depleted during the manufacturing process, how can your example from your above statement be accurate? If you added 22 mg of nitrate per 5 pounds of meat and the "nitrite added is depleted" during manufacturing, what is the real amount of nitrite left in that 5 pound slab of meat? How much weight does that 5 pound slab of meat become?

[maryjane48]

Canadian federal food inspectors are assigned to these facilities on a full time basis and food safety / hygiene regulations are strictly enforced.

but the farms do not have inspectors fulltime, hygiene and safety is not strictly enforced there

[36Drew]

So can you tell me what kind of pesticides these organic farms use?

Imidan 70-W. The primary active ingredient is Phosmet, which is a phosphate. While only mildly toxic to humans, it's known to be highly toxic to honeybees.

[Thinktank]

Imidan 70-W. The primary active ingredient is Phosmet, which is a phosphate. While only mildly toxic to humans, it's known to be highly toxic to honeybees.

No they don't.

No organic farmer uses Imidan.

[36Drew]

No they don't.

No organic farmer uses Imidan.

Then name one.

[Homeownertoo]

^^^ I stopped eating all items high in sodium, now I'm very careful to check the serving levels of sodium not the manufacturers % levels. Since they don't base it not on Canadian recommended daily intake of 1500mg of sodium.

That low level of salt is now considered detrimental to health for most people. I'd find a website for you but I'm lazy and figure if you care at all you'll find it yourself.

[Homeownertoo]

97.6% of all statistics that have no source are completely made up and ignored by 98.7% of the people reading them. The remaining 1.3% tend to post a comment regarding the lack of source. This leaves the statistics having 0% effect on the discussion.

Do you have a source for those statistics?

[GordonH]

^^^ I stopped eating all items high in sodium, now I'm very careful to check the serving levels of sodium not the manufacturers % levels. Since they don't base it not on Canadian recommended daily intake of 1500mg of sodium.

That low level of salt is now considered detrimental to health for most people. I'd find a website for you but I'm lazy and figure if you care at all you'll find it yourself.

Check it out Homeownertoo http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/ ... eng.php#a2

High sodium intake will lead to hypertension (high blood pressure), which unchanged or treated will lead to 2 main problems heart problem &/or type 2 diabetes.

Table salt is sodium chloride, its sodium thats the problem.
Here are few commonly sold items:
Big Mac 970mg sodium
Double Whopper 1050mg sodium
Campbell's chicken noodle soup per 250 mL serving 830mg sodium

etc… etc

[Barney Google]

This think the OP has some very valid points. It never ceases to amaze me how uninformed and gullible some people can be.
You only have one body and, most of us, only get one kick at the Life can. Food that is actually GOOD for your actually tastes GREAT! Sure, I am guilty of indulging in the rare junk food feed. BUT when it boils right down to it...its the fresh and natural food that I really enjoy. IMO people need to quit believing every flîppin thing they read and go and do their own fact finding. I think its high time that parents AND our school system should start teaching our children what GOOD food consists of and how to properly feed and take care of themselves. I met a kid once who thought hamburgers from McDonalds was made from Ham...when I asked him where ham came from he said the Ham Store. Really...this kid was 10! The Okanagan Chefs Association members have initiated a program called Growing Young Chefs and its fantastic. But its just the tip of the iceberg. There is so much more that can be done. FIRST step is parents properly educating themselves and second is for them to stop using fast food and overly processed foods as a diet source for themselves and their children.

[Barney Google]

Gotta love it...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=26&v=0weSjPKi4cs

[Homeownertoo]

^^^ I stopped eating all items high in sodium, now I'm very careful to check the serving levels of sodium not the manufacturers % levels. Since they don't base it not on Canadian recommended daily intake of 1500mg of sodium.

That low level of salt is now considered detrimental to health for most people. I'd find a website for you but I'm lazy and figure if you care at all you'll find it yourself.

Check it out Homeownertoo http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/ ... eng.php#a2

High sodium intake will lead to hypertension (high blood pressure), which unchanged or treated will lead to 2 main problems heart problem &/or type 2 diabetes.

Table salt is sodium chloride, its sodium thats the problem.
Here are few commonly sold items:
Big Mac 970mg sodium
Double Whopper 1050mg sodium
Campbell's chicken noodle soup per 250 mL serving 830mg sodium

etc… etc

None of that disproves what I said. You'd get further researching appropriate sodium levels rather than sodium levels in various fast foods.